Advocates pointed out Merced County’s undocumented population is estimated to pay nearly $9 million in local taxes this year alone. Additionally, the community plays a major role in the local economy as the undocumented labor force supports much of Merced’s agricultural industry--valued at $3.5 billion in 2015.
Above: Tonya Mendoza shares her story of struggling to pay for medical care without insurance; at times she had to decide between paying her utility bills and rent or buying medicine.
Above: Alex Carrillo may be a recent transplant to Merced but he’s already leaving his mark on the city–making the most vulnerable communities feel seen and heard.
Above: Dozens of residents gathered in Winton earlier this year for one of several Know Your Rights events hosted by community groups and immigrant advocates throughout Merced County.
What are we doing and why are we doing it? Those seem to be the questions that keep coming up as I try to differentiate my thoughts from a once thoughtless category of opinion. What opinions you ask? Well let’s start with the obvious narrative of politics and all its rich participants, oh sorry, I meant rich discussions.
My mom and her sisters grew stressed and depressed. They missed their dad a lot. We also began to struggle financially. We expected Grandpa to only be gone a year at the most, but it’s been almost seven years now. Since then, we’ve struggled to make enough money to send to support him and support ourselves.
But despite the difficulties, we continue to help him as much as we can, hoping to bring him back to us.
