The “American Dream”
“Now that you've read our father’s stories, you can see how even after all that hard work, compassion, ambition, the American dream can be elusive. Even with all of these traits that our fathers share, it still doesn’t allow them to reach anywhere near the American dream. Unfortunately this is the case for many immigrants that come to America.”
Many of us have seen pictures on the news of immigrants making the journey to America. We’ve seen people being forcefully stopped at the border before crossing. We’ve heard stories of people getting killed attempting to cross the border, people stacked on top of each other in trucks, risking their lives for a better future. Although the majority of those people are coming to America for a better life, they usually end up detained and denied entry. Unfortunately for them the U.S. government has painted a bad image for immigrants. “They come to steal our jobs,” they say. Or: “they're criminals.” They do this to justify their reluctance to let in new coming immigrants.
According to usafacts.org, around 1.5 million immigrants come to the U.S. every year. Last year, according to Migration Policy, the amount of immigrants and their U.S -born children totaled up to “approximately 87.7 million people, or close to 27 percent of the U.S population.” What exactly is an immigrant? An immigrant, as defined by Oxford Languages, is “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.” People come to the U.S. with the idea that America has many jobs and opportunities for all. Unfortunately this isn't the case for everyone. Many people take the risk and leave everything behind in order to grant their children better opportunities that they were not given.
Corruption is everywhere in Mexico and it's become a huge problem. There are a lot of problems regarding stability – such as poverty, the cartel, economic development, political instability, ineffective public services, crime, and more. These are many reasons why Mexicans immigrate to the United States; for better opportunities and proposes. David and I have experienced the first hand results of this, as our fathers are immigrants who came to the U.S. seeking better opportunities and to achieve the American dream.
But what is the American dream? Imagine yourself in a big house, sitting in your backyard as your spouse is flipping burgers and your kids run around chasing your golden retriever. Ideally this is one version of the American dream, but is it truly ideal? The reality is that the American dream – for most immigrants – is completely unattainable.
This article will focus on the lives of two fathers, ordinary men, who have undergone the extraordinary task of immigrating to the United States in pursuit of the American dream.
Oscar Osorio
My biggest inspiration, my #1 supporter, my father: Oscar Osorio. Growing up, my parents gave me everything I needed. My dad was constantly working but he never failed to show up for me. Although he may not realize it, he has and will continue to be my ultimate inspiration. My father is a hard working man, a family man, a motivated, confident and resilient man. From the hundreds of lectures he has given me, he has taught me to work for what I want and to never give up. I am the person I am today because of him, his guidance and his support.
My father grew up in Mexico, where life was completely different. “In my case I was not able to continue my education,” he told me, “it was either I go to school or my siblings would eat.”
Born and raised in Tehuacan, my dad was 1 out of a family of 7. The economic state of his family was a huge contributing factor as to why he decided to ultimately come to America.
On December 24, 1996, at the age of 19, my father left everything behind and came to the U.S. This decision changed the whole trajectory of his life. Arriving in Queens, NY on Christmas Eve with nothing but the clothes on his back he felt extremely out of place when staying with a neighbor from back in Mexico. He quickly got his first job at a Korean restaurant as a dishwasher.
Coming from a whole different country with a different native language he struggled to learn and speak English, “The only thing I knew how to say was yes.” Being in a kitchen setting he realized that he loved the kitchen. He knew he wanted to gain experience in different positions within the restaurant business. The fact that he had no prior experience made it hard for him to move up to any other job position. My father was well aware of this and to combat this issue he would arrive at 5 am, an hour earlier than he was scheduled for, and he would get ahead of his work so that when the Chef would arrive he would have the time to assist the chef and learn from him.
Although he was not paid for the time he spent arriving early, his efforts were definitely acknowledged and helped him advance in his career. Eventually in 2002, he was offered his first position as a line cook at a well known restaurant at the time, BlueFin. From that job he was able to learn more and move forward by developing skills as a chef. This offer was a reflection of his motivation and hard work.
In 2010, he was finally offered a job as a Chef, then once again in 2014 he was promoted to a Banquet chef. Unfortunately, not too long after this promotion, my father received a life changing call. My mother had called him to let him know his father had passed away. Unable to contain his emotions he immediately broke down into tears and was sent home soon after while being given a couple days off to recover.
Although I don’t remember much of this time, I do remember how strong my father was and how he kept his composure. Never shedding a tear in front of us. However, this fatality did not stop my father from progressing. In July of 2015, he left Bluefin and began working at The Smith as a Sous Chef. Leaving only a year after, in 2016, when he had the opportunity to open his own business: Bronx Brick Oven Pizza. This had been one of my father’s dreams. He ran this business from 2016 all through 2019 when he later sold it. This was a family owned and run pizzeria.
From a young age I would help my father by working the register, stocking, and cleaning. At the time, I disliked doing this, but I am now grateful that I did, because I developed many skills that kids my age did not have. Being a business owner was not easy and my father had to sell the pizzeria in 2019, so he went back to working as a sous chef, which eventually led him back to his old job at The Smith, where in 2021 he was promoted to Executive Sous Chef. After a year and a half of being in this position in 2022, he once again got promoted to Executive Chef. My father was able to work his way up to this position and he is now at the highest position of the restaurant he works at. Of course this wasn't an easy path; my father has spent his whole life working.
Although my dad wouldn’t show when he was struggling because he didn't want his daughters to worry, I could see these problems affecting him and changing his persona. All these years my father spent working, I would rarely see him.. Leaving early in the morning and arriving late at night.
“Obviously everything hasn't been easy, I’ve had tough moments where I’ve wanted to give up but my biggest influences have been my daughters” he tells me. My father sacrificed so much for my family, “the price I have paid is enormous, not being at home for long days and not seeing my family has not been easy.” Working an average of 12 hours a day, there's times where we don't even see what time he leaves or arrives at home. My father had to pay a price to be at the position he is in today. Not only did he have to sacrifice relationships but he had to sacrifice seeing and spending time with his family. I then asked him why he continued to do it if he had to put the only thing he had here on the line, “I want my daughters to be proud of who I am” he told me.
Fermin Cardoso
Who am I? Where did I come from? When did it all start? How did it happen? Well, I’d love to start off by giving credit to my father: Fermin Cardoso - the man who brought me here. He is someone who I’ve been idolizing throughout my whole life. He is someone I could describe as hard working, disciplined, honest, ambitious, and reliable. I am who I am because of him.
My father grew up in Puebla with a family of nine. It was a very heavy and pressured life for him due to limitations. While he was still working his way through school, he would help out his parents at home. Also, he would sell clothes, furniture, knit sweaters, and wash cars with the friends of his parents. After he finished highschool, he wanted to pursue a career in architecture. His father was in shock and described it as if my dad was in over his head because it was an expensive career. However, he said it would pay off if he can present his work in a very detailed way. He would go to the library for information on anything he wanted to learn about to sharpen his mind, and study english in school.
In 1993, there was a devaluation crisis that happened that caused construction to come to a stop. There was no work nor any money provided, everything just crashed. However, it didn’t stop him from trying to find some type of work. He would express that he would go door to door actually for some type of work - paid or unpaid, to learn. Luckily, he was able to find many jobs by being recommended by many contractors. Suddenly when technology was introduced, he was unable to implement his work onto a computer, but the newer generation did. In some ways, he felt left behind.
In October 2004, he left Mexico to immigrate to the United States with his partner to seek better opportunities and more stability. This became a huge struggle for him because he had never been to America or anywhere else. This would be a huge experience for him and be hard for him to adapt. He began to pick up jobs doing deliveries in Manhattan, and working at a 99 cent store. Some of his companions had known some people in a HVAC company, and attempted to bring in Fermin as a mechanical assistant. Working in the United States became very difficult when it came to English. His English wasn’t fluent. It was very basic. All he knew how to say was: “Hi, how are you?”
When he would be told to do certain work like making sure a duct goes at a specific floor, at these coordinates, with these measurements, and more – his mind was blown. It didn’t take long to push my father to his breaking point which caused him second thoughts about coming here. Yet, he still stayed, for his kids — his motivation. While he gained more experience while living in America, he came to realize that there are so many opportunities offered, but it depends on the person if they want to take advantage or not. By the time he did, he also realized that time got him. Time went by so fast, he felt that he had missed out on so much.
The system here is a working system, which is why he wishes for his children to receive the best education and to take advantage. “Work experience is extremely important, and if you don’t have any type of experience of reality… no sirves para nada” he shouted.
He continues to work till his day and feels that he is no where close from retiring or settling. He doesn’t have the same pressure he once had when he was first here about job hunting or English at all. Giving his all in his work and for his children.
Two completely different stories and experiences but both with the same goals, to take advantage of the opportunities this country has to offer and to secure a better life for their family and kids. Now that you've read our father’s stories, you can see how even after all that hard work, compassion, ambition, the American dream can be elusive. Even with all of these traits that our fathers share, it still doesn’t allow them to reach anywhere near the American dream. Unfortunately this is the case for many immigrants that come to America. Stereotypes play another role in this story, but this doesn’t stop them from continuing to work hard. Being told that they were not capable of reaching the “level” of the White man.
The majority of immigrants, like our fathers, came to America because it’s been painted to be this amazing country. The American dream is really nothing but an advertisement to just bring in more workers into the industry to keep it running. Regardless of the amount of opportunities that may be offered, it still doesn’t allow immigrants to achieve the life they deeply desire. The dark untold truth is that it’s made nearly impossible for immigrants to even come near this dream. Whether it's their access to education, their legal status, or their language barrier; there are many blockages placed that prevent incoming immigrants from rising above and being able to obtain high status jobs.
It is important to shed light on this darker truth because this is the reality that immigrants are living. People romanticize the idea of the American dream, when the reality is that it’s unobtainable for most immigrants. It’s sad that it takes years of working in the industry to figure out the truth but we believe this needs to change. This country runs on immigrants, so we need to do better for them. It’s important to acknowledge that most people who live in the United States are either immigrants or products of immigration. They can bring a diverse range of skill sets. Immigrants are people too. Everyone deserves the chance to achieve living happily and satisfied — not some bullshit hope created by the American system.