Since 9/11 tragedy in the USA, the border of the country has been less secure lately than three years ago. Despite all the efforts of the security offices, the number of illegal immigrants has grown immensely.
According to the preliminary data, their quantity will grow up to 3 million people by the end of the year. These man people would need 22’000 Boeing airplanes to transport them all over, which means 60 flights every day during the entire year. This is amount is the record one for the last years.
The main stream of immigrants is still inflowing through the Mexican boundary with about 4’000 people incoming illegally every day. Many of those are getting illegal ID’s, as well as social security cards. A considerable part of illegal individuals is coming to the USA through Mexico from countries that are hostile to the White House. Locals from New Mexico, Arizona and Texas informed that the majority of immigrants are Latin Americans. However, citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, China, Russia and Bulgaria are also frequent ‘guests’.
It’s commonly known that most of the governmental scholarships and international exchange programs approved by the Federal Government, giving temporary visas and part-time employment opportunities create more stable bases for immigration of youngsters.
One of the RealEstateGates’ reporters was talking to a young lady who came from Belarus through an international exchange program. The lady refused to give her real name and named herself Claire. She is now working in New York City in one of the nightclubs. She’s a striptease dancer. We would like to present here a fragment of the interview.
Reporter: Where are you from?
Claire: I’m from Belarus, from Minsk.
Reporter: So, how did you end up here in New York City?
Claire: I came to the USA in 2000 through the Alliance Exchange Program. They offered me a job at one of the up-state resort areas to do housekeeping. The job was full-time with 5 shifts per week. That summer a lot of people from ‘third world’ came there. We had a squad of nearly 50 internationals.
Reporter: What was the purpose of your visit? Did you plan to stay in the US from the very beginning?
Claire: No, I was a university student in my home country. I had two more years to graduate. To go to America was my dream. I don’t mean move but just to visit. Then I decided to apply for the program. And I succeeded. I planned first to work in the States for 4 months and then have a month for traveling.
Reporter: Why did you decide to stay illegally then?
Claire: Most of out squad were staying. They were trying to assure me that there was nothing to do in their home countries. No decent job opportunities, no comfortable housing, no good money.
Reporter: How many of them stayed?
Claire: Many of them. There were very few who went back home. Most of them moved to different places across America and apparently stayed there.
Reporter: So, you decided to stay too? How did you get to work as a stripper?
Claire: After my work at the resort was finished I was trying to find the best place where to go. I went to visit my friend who went to New York City who had finished work for the resort little earlier than me. She was Bulgarian. She rented a small flat in Brooklyn and found a job at one of the restaurants as a waiter. She worked hard getting cash and came back home late at night. She always complained that the rent was very expensive for her alone. She had to pay about $140 every week.
Reporter: Was she trying to persuade you to stay in her apartment in order to split the rent payment?
Claire: Yes, that’s exactly what she offered. She said there’s not much I could do in Belarus to profit from. She promised me to help me find a place to work where they would accept illegal staff.
Reporter: And you found it?
Claire: Not exactly! I went there to have a talk with her boss and he said there was only one place for me to work. It was a position of a dishwasher. I refused because that job was not for me.
Reporter: So, what did you do after?
Claire: I couldn’t find a job for a long time. It’s not about finding that much, but about jobs they offered. They were all low paid and were not appropriate for a pretty girl. We paid rent together and I spent most of the day indoors. They money I’ve saved working for the resort was flowing away fast. It always takes long to make it and it is spent very fast. I desperately needed to do something about it.
Reporter: How did you find this job?
Claire: I went to a disco one night and went to the dance pool. One guy saw me dancing and came up to me to get acquainted. He was a friend of the nightclub owner that I’m now working for. He offered me to have a meeting with the guy and I agreed. That’s how I got the job.
Reporter: Do you like what you are doing? Are you afraid of being deported back home?
Claire: Actually, what I do here seems to be OK for me. I get paid well and I don’t need to wash dirty dishes and mop the floor. Besides, I have more time to rest.
Reporter: Are you still staying with your… Bulgarian friend?
Claire: Well, no! She moved to Ohio to work for a different restaurant. The owner of it is Polish by origin and he hires ‘illegals’ paying some $3 per hour and giving them roof and food. I rent a flat not far from here with two other girls from our nightclub.
Reporter: Are they all illegal here?
Claire: Yes. One girl is from Serbia and another one from Macedonia. We rent a two bedroom flat not far from Brighton Beach. That’s not too expensive. There are many nice people around.
Reporter: Do your parents know what you are doing here?
Claire: Are you kidding (laughing)?! Of course not!
Reporter: What did you tell them?
Claire: I told them that I’m studying in Buffalo for an accountant.
Reporter: Why Buffalo?
Claire: I don’t know really. I’ve heard they have an institute there. That’s it.
Reporter: Do you want to come back to your country?
Claire: Maybe, one day.
That’s how it happens when people come to work for a while and then stay in a foreign country. Claire did not finish her education and will probably never be a doctor. A young and beautiful lady from Eastern Europe working as a stripper without a permanent residency and a decent ID. She’s working to survive in this severe world without any vivid plans for life. This story is probably not even the worst one. One thing is clear. The quantity of such people is still growing.