Migrations: From the American Dream to prison

The story of Eric, a forty-year-old Armenian who tried to migrate to the United States, starting from Armenia and crossing Europe, China and Mexico. His arrival as an irregular migrant in the USA coincided with prison. Released from prison thanks to a lawyer, he is now trying to rebuild his life

The American Dream – a belief that in America, people can achieve success and prosperity regardless of their social background or circumstances if they have diligence and determination. It encompasses ideas such as economic opportunities, freedom, equality, and improving the quality of life. This dream often inspires migrants and their families in search of a better life, although in reality, many face challenges and obstacles.

“I spent exactly 2 months in prison; I had never experienced such suffering in my life. It was chaos”, begins Eric (the name has been changed), a 40-year-old man who recently arrived in the U.S..

A resident of Yerevan, about a year ago he started applying to the U.S. Embassy, but was rejected several times and did not receive a visa. After yet another rejection, he shared his dream with a close friend, who advised him to contact a special organization that could help him.

“I called and met with a man. He wasn’t Armenian. He assured me that he could help me get to the U.S. The service cost $25,000, which would cover everything—flights, hotel accommodation, and so on. I didn’t have that kind of money, but I had a good car, which I sold, and we started the deal”.

Eric obtained a Schengen visa, which would allow him to enter the EU, from where he was supposed to travel to Mexico to enter the U.S. He was warned that he needed to be ready to depart at any time. That moment came very quickly and unexpectedly. He says that after receiving the visa, he checked almost every day to see if there was any update on when he would be leaving, but he always got the same answer: “Today is not the day”. After receiving such a response again, he received a call about two hours later, saying he needed to go to the airport quickly because his flight was soon.

“I left Yerevan for Barcelona. According to the arrangement, I was supposed to stay there for one night and then travel to Mexico. Upon arriving in Barcelona, I was greeted and taken to a hotel. There was another man there who had also arrived under the same ‘service,’ and we were supposed to leave together. That night, I hardly slept, and neither did he. We smoked and discussed the future; we both felt we were on the right path”.

The next day, however, they were informed that they would have to wait one more day. The following day, a car approached them and took them to the airport. However, the plan did not materialize.

“At the airport, our documents were checked, and we were not allowed to board the flight to Mexico. We contacted our acquaintance, who sent a car for us, and we were taken back to the hotel. We stayed there for another two days, and they said there were problems. Then we learned that we couldn’t fly to Mexico through Spain and had to depart for Brussels. So we went. The same story happened there. In Brussels, we were also not allowed to fly to Mexico, and we stayed there for one more day before being brought back to Barcelona”.

Eric and his companion remained in Barcelona for another two days before heading to Madrid, but instead of going to Mexico they ended up in Dubai.

“We were told that we couldn’t go to Mexico through Europe. They suggested calculating how much money we had already spent and returning the rest, but I hesitated, insisting that I needed to reach the U.S. We stayed in Dubai for a few more days, then departed for China. In China, another man joined us, who had been on the road since December and had been unable to reach Mexico”.

Eric and his fellow travellers stayed in China for about a week and say they were almost desperate, no longer believing they would be able to reach Mexico when luck smiled upon them. Just as he had quickly left Yerevan for Barcelona, he quickly left for Mexico. He says that upon arriving there, he was confident that he was close to his dream.

“I stayed in Tijuana for over a week. We crossed the border by car. At that moment, I thought it was over; I had arrived, I was close, but I never reached my desired destination; instead, I found myself as an illegal migrant in an American prison”.

From that moment, Eric’s life turned into a nightmare. He says he had not been warned about such dangers. In the cell, there were dozens of other illegal migrants like him. Remembering the living conditions horrifies him.

“There was a cup in the bathroom designated for Muslims prisoners to wash. One day when we needed water, one of them had to take water with that cup… I don’t want to remember… No… I got sick there and was hospitalised… To get out of prison, I needed a lawyer. I had been given a contact for a lawyer to help with legal issues, and when I finally got the right to call, I contacted him. He was the one who started working on my release”.

Having never been behind bars in his life, Eric had only seen prisons in movies, and this prison reminded him of those depicted in Hollywood films. There was one church in the prison compound, where inmates could work for a dollar an hour.

“It was a janitor’s job. I applied to the priest to work too, but not for the money; I just wanted to do something to avoid going crazy. The irony is that when I received a response from the church that I could start working, I was informed on the same day that I was free”.

After two months in prison, Eric was released with the help of a lawyer, to whom he currently owes about $9,000. He still does not know how he will repay that amount because he does not have work authorization; he is still conditionally free, with a metal device attached to his ankle that monitors his every move.

“I left my family in Yerevan—my wife and two small children. When I was leaving, my wife and I had agreed that they would come too, but that is no longer an option. I have felt on my own skin what illegal border crossing is. I am still fortunate. In prison, I met people who have gone through even more suffering. There was a family that came through Africa. They brought along their pets in cages…”.

Having had a stable job, housing, and a car in Yerevan, Eric now dreams of working as a taxi driver so he can at least pay off the lawyer’s debt and buy a return ticket. He is unaware of the fate of the men who reached Mexico with him, saying that they were taken to another prison and he has no means of contacting them.

“Maybe one day my American dream will come true; I don’t rule it out, but I feel that day is far from close”.