Unauthorized Love by Jane Lilly López

Author:Jane Lilly López
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

The structural disintegration unauthorized couples face bleeds into other aspects of their lives, shaping their opportunities, relationships, and ability to socially and emotionally connect with their “normal” friends and neighbors. I interviewed Trish and Alberto on a warm summer day. We sat in their front yard in the shade, Alberto swinging in a hammock, as their one-year old boy bounced up and down in a jumper chair. Their small, charming house is in an old neighborhood in the town where Trish has lived almost all of her life. From this vantage point, Trish has been able to observe how the adult lives of the kids who grew up with her have been so different from her own. For Trish, the stark difference between her young family’s opportunities and those of her peers made her question the extent to which they could be considered an “American” family.

When I asked Trish and Alberto about whether or not they felt like an American family, Alberto said he did, but Trish disagreed. “I think that, for him, he feels more American because he has more than he did before. And for me it’s like, I know what we could have if we had more. And so I worry about things he doesn’t worry about because—I don’t know why. But, for example, for him to get a license or for him to, you know—all the things are in my name and if he was to have papers, he could make more money and I could maybe stay home with the kids more; or I worry about him getting pulled over because if he were to get a license he would have to put his fingerprint. And if he puts his fingerprint, then he has the chance of getting deported,” she said, glancing nervously at Alberto as she explained that he had been caught and released at the border the first time he attempted to cross. “And the car insurance is higher because he doesn’t have a license. I don’t know, there are just a lot of little things that put more stress on me because I feel more like everything is on me.” Trish continued, “As far as things financially, legally, and things like that, if he had some kind of citizenship then things would be a lot easier.” She sighed, “People just don’t understand why doesn’t he find a better job? Or why doesn’t he just, you know, get time off or go on vacation? We don’t get those kinds of benefits that other regular families do,” she said, shaking her head. “We wouldn’t be having this stress right now if he just had this privilege—or I wouldn’t have this stress right now. I feel like most of the stress falls on me.”

Trish has been able to keep her family somewhat structurally integrated in the US through the access her citizenship affords. But Alberto’s inability to access those same institutions holds the family back from the progress Trish feels they could otherwise make. The

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