The Profound Loneliness of Being Deported

[title dings]

[Operator] In this case, ma’am,

you were only able to receive one pair,

which were some flats that actually had flowers on them,

correct?

Mm-hmm, that is correct.

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you can go ahead and choose out a pair of heels,

whatever you have in mind,

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besides doing this?

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between four to seven business days

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[crosstalk]

[phones ringing]

[multiple voices speaking]

[multiple voices speaking]

Good afternoon, thank you for calling.

My name is Charles,

I’ll be your fashion consultant for today.

My name is [indistinct],

I’ll be your fashion consultant for today.

Uh, any dollar amount, minimum or maximum?

Is this the patient to the City of Chapeau Healthcare

coming from California?

Sorry, once again, just wanted to refresh with you,

see how things are going.

Not sure if you do need some more time.

[man sighs]

[speaking in Spanish]

[Another Operator] If you have any additional questions,

well, we’re available 24/7.

So give us a call at any time.

[electronic voice speaking in Spanish]

[Another Operator] Alrighty, well,

thank you so much for calling.

I hope you have a good day.

Thank you. Bye-bye.

[computer buzzing]

[dull typing]

[mouse clicking] [soft message ping]

[dull typing]

‘Sup YouTubers this is Oscar here once again.

Basically I wanted to talk to you guys about a few things

about, you know, what’s been going on here.

What we hearing about the dreamers, the DACA,

you know, the build the wall type of stuff.

But anyways, what I wanted to focus on

is basically first getting to TJ straight off the bus,

straight out the ICE chains, you know,

the shackles, et cetera.

For most of you guys, you guys never been here before,

you know, which is, you know, kind of sucks.

You guys going to be here all by yourself.

So as far as jobs goes, here’s different,

reality check.

You’re going to be earning pesos right here.

You know what I mean?

You’re not going to be earning dollars.

The jobs that you going to get is not going to be kind of

like the ones over there in the states.

Most of the jobs you get as deportee

that with good English proficient skills

in writing, typing computer skills,

good verbal spoken English.

You could get a job at a call center.

There’s hundreds of call centers.

[cars driving]

[suspenseful music]

[Woman] I’m gonna ask you a few questions.

What’s your age?

[Man] 52.

[Woman] For how long have you been here in TJ?

[Man] I have been here, uh,

a week.

[Woman] Any health condition?

[Man] No, not at all.

Thank God.

I studied in the United States.

I was raised in the South Sioux City, Nebraska.

I graduated from South Sioux City High School.

I’m a good worker. I’m always on time.

I’ve never missed a work.

All my work history background is,

I’ve always took my bonus for being on time.

And I can work immediately. I’m looking for a job.

Okay perfect.

[phones ringing] [voices chattering]

Hello. My name is Allison Solo.

I’m calling you from the National Student Loan Alliance.

The reason for my call is just to update you on your file.

And if you have any questions, you can always reach me.

And my extension is one four two. Thank you.

The file’s ready to go.

Other than that, if you guys get any sales for today,

make sure to update the list,

so that way I can send it to her.

Or just wait until they confirm it.

And once they do, we’ll call her

and let her know that she no longer

is going to be garnished, okay?

Most people, and I’ve met a lot, don’t even speak Spanish.

They’re just in Mexico now.

And they tell each other that.

They actually say, Hey, you know,

where are you from out there?

They always say that, Oh, well, I’m from Orange County.

Well, this is Mexico, now, this is different.

So the only thing you have to do is work.

And where are you going to work? The call center.

So I have adjusted gross income of 51,000

with a family size of four.

Do you owe a mortgage on this property?

So our next step is to go ahead

and pull up your federal student loan term

and see exactly how much it is that you owe.

So just give me a brief second. Okay.

[Allison] I do get a lot of supervisor calls,

where they say,

Hey, I don’t want to speak to this person

because they have a very thick accent.

Where are you guys located?

So if we say Mexico, they will hang up.

They will hang up immediately.

My name is Carlos, ma’am.

What I am doing is conducting a service announcement

so that every homeowner in the city of Mission Hills is –

[phone beeping]

Got hung up on. Things that we go through sometimes.

Every day I see people who’ve just been recently deported.

I can see that they’re having a hard time

coping with everything.

I can see how frustrated they are.

And I know that it’s difficult.

And I know that it’s hard to stay positive

and I don’t demand that they come to work and be cheerful,

but I try to do the best possible

to make them feel like they belong somewhere.

We’re not from here. We don’t speak good Spanish.

We’re not from over there because we’re Mexicans.

There’s a lot of people who are

just caught right in between.

It’s not because we chose to.

[Oscar] Okay, so your bail was $45,000. Okay.

Now the only downside, I’m sorry, go ahead.

[phone ringing] At the Bakersfield office?

So you have about two hours

to make it to the Bakersfield office

so I can continue to secure your bond.

If you don’t feel secure, I feel you,

but I guarantee you, man,

we’re not going to go there and arrest you

or anything like that.

So why don’t you do this?

You or your girlfriend can walk into the office,

pay the 300 bucks, and then just call me back in

once the payment is in, it’s in

and I’ll put you back into good standing.

Alright, man, take it easy. Bye.

From my hometown.

I used to know the neighborhood.

So I kind of relate to the demographics.

You know, where they’re located, you know, stuff like that.

So, it’s cool.

The ankle monitor is not going to be coming off

because he has to, until – oh he’s already in custody?

Even better then.

If the question does come up about the lien,

let her know that she would need to provide us

with the exoneration paperwork.

Yeah. Thanks man.

Growing up, it never crossed my mind

that I was missing something that other people had.

This is Oscar can I help you?

Everybody knows what you have and what you don’t have.

Even among peers, you know, people talkin’, like,

Oh, what do you mean? You don’t have the license?

You know, What do you mean,

you don’t have California ID? Everybody has one.

Well, hold on, not me.

[Man] Novar anything you’re say,

you’re just coming up with excuses. That’s 47 days past due.

So again, okay,

so if it’s not an excuse,

let’s go ahead and make that payment. Stop talking.

Let me just know what type of card are we going to be using?

[Oscar] This is all straight U.S. bail.

We basically collect the money

that the bond agent had already set up the client with.

When are you going to be able to make that other payment

for the remainder of the balance?

[Oscar] And day in day out,

we collect the money for the company.

[Oscar] In the collection business, if you don’t collect,

then at the end day, you’re cutting yourself short.

You know, ’cause they, you don’t get your commissions.

You know, you don’t get your paycheck.

Okay. Sounds good, sir. Thank you. Good luck.

[Oscar] So you have to play your cards right.

[Man] Novar.

Novar, just make sure that the payment is in today, okay?

That’s right, Arturo.

Seventy-five hundred, seventy-five hundred.

Alright, what’s up with that bail?

What’s up with that bail though?

There you are. Damn.

Alright man, good job, though, man.

Let me know when it comes in.

In 10 minutes it’s what? At 3:37.

[Oscar] When you’re at work,

feels like you still work in the U.S.

But as soon as you leave those call center doors,

it’s different.

I know it just, I like messing with you.

You know, you get that little sense of home,

home feeling, that you still talking in English.

I try to, you know, block it out.

If, if I do start thinking about it I get emotional,

So I just don’t think about that.

[somber music]

[speaking Spanish]

Living here has been a way to just

try to forget everything that happened.

Life in California, was really, really, really good.

I was an honors student.

Everybody had really high hopes for me.

But my mother was deported.

[child speaking Spanish] [mother speaking Spanish]

I was alone and I thought, I need her back.

And they told us, well, if you pay $15,000,

you can get her back to your doorstep.

How else was I going to come up with $15,000?

I did something that basically just ruined my life.

I’d been incarcerated for almost four years.

I had my daughter in there.

They told me that somebody had to go pick her up,

or else she would stay with Social Services.

So my mom arranged to have her brought here to Mexico

and she’s been here ever since.

It’s like super rare to have her around,

just because she feels like my mom,

is more her mom than I am.

What’s going on YouTube. This is Oscar here once again.

And today’s video, I want you guys to go ahead

and ask me a few questions by commenting below.

[messages whooshing]

[Kid] Hey look China.

[Oscar] China?

[Kid] Yeah, you can see way over here.

[Oscar] That’s not China, dork.

[Kid] No behind in the house.

[Oscar] China’s like way on the other side of the world.

[Kid] Okay, New York.

[Oscar] In New York. [laughs] The other side.

[Kid] Okay, America.

[Oscar] America. [laughs]

Yeah.

[Kid] You going say it’s the other side?

[Oscar] Yeah, it’s on the other side too.

Across the border.

[Oscar] Don’t be kissing them like that.

Did you feed them already?

[Man] Ate an hour ago.

[Oscar] Okay, good.

[Woman] Crazy bread, no crazy bread?

No crazy bread.

[Woman] Pepsi, no Pepsi?

No Pepsi.

[speaking Spanish]

[Oscar] My wife was coming back and forth once a month,

with the kids.

It got to one point where,

my son was only two years old, but he didn’t know who I was.

I was like, damn.

You guys need ketchup or anything.

[Woman] That’s another thing here.

They eat pizza with ketchup.

All right. Bon appétit everybody.

[Oscar] She decided to follow me and you know,

stay as family, than be separated.

That’s where life is now, you know, TJ.

[Oscar] Let’s thumb wrestle.

[Kid] 1,2,3.

[Oscar] Pretty strong, huh?

I was with my wife in Bakersfield and we got pregnant again.

But at the hospital, our baby passed away.

My wife was in the hospital for the next two days.

We go home with no baby.

The next day I get a ICE officer knocking on the door

and telling us that,

Hey, you know, you need to come with us

because you have an order of deportation.

And I was like, whoa, hold on. You know?

And that’s when I go with my wife, tell my wife, yeah.

I was like, you know, you already know I was illegal.

So, unfortunately I have to, you know,

face, face the consequences now.

Luckily the ICE officer actually told me,

when he took me into the detention center, right.

He’s like, Hey, you know,

I know what you’re going through.

He knew my, my son passed away. He knew everything.

Sorry guys.

And then,

well, two weeks after that,

it was my other son’s birthday.

So I was like, dang.

And two weeks was December 18.

Sorry about that.

I’m gonna go get some water real quick.

[Oscar] When I went to the detention center,

the ICE officer told me straight up

what I’m going to do some give two weeks, within two weeks,

we’re going to deport you.

So I went and celebrated my son’s first year birthday.

We went to this pizza party.

John’s Incredible pizza over in Bakersfield.

And I just told everybody, you know what?

Good goodbye. I’ll see you guys later.

And I just remember taking the ground and from there,

no turning back.

[phone dialing]

[speaking Spanish]

[Oscar] What’s up YouTube, this is Oscar here.

Just bringing you guys another video today.

As many of us are being deported, by ourselves, you know,

back into our home country, where we’re born.

Um just basically giving you guys a glimpse, exactly,

what life maybe for you.

[Oscar] What I want to name this project,

is basically, Life After Deportation.

Because believe it our not,

there is still life, after being deported, from the country,

you were raised in.

If you have any questions, feel free to message me,

directly, on Comment Box.

Hit subscribe and like my video.

Okay, this is Life After Deportation.

Have a great day.

[Man] Thank you for giving us a call,

you have a nice day.

You’re welcome, my name was L.

I was happy gladly to assist you here today.

We are here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

And we are also open on holidays and weekends,

so you should no inconvenience of getting a hold of us.

You’re welcome.

You too have a lovely Monday,

and enjoy the rest of your afternoon.

[somber music]