After over a decade of living across two countries – and navigating the US’s tangled immigration policies – Tom Kobylecy and Yedid Sánchez’s life together is no longer shrouded in secrecy
Last modified on Wed 11 Jan 2023 07.15 GMTom Kobylecy and Yedid Sánchez’s budding romance took place amid the intoxicating odor of woody oak and sawdust of a Chicago-area Home Depot. Her cleaning shift started at 6am, just as his shift restocking store shelves was ending. He would linger to strike up a conversation, but Yedid, a native of Cuernavaca, Mexico, spoke little English. The few Spanish words he could muster came out in a nasally midwestern accent.
Despite the objections of his friend, he asked her to move into his one-bedroom apartment after a few months of dating. Tom told his family and friends that he would not rush things with Yedid even more than he already had. It was a promise he had no intention of keeping. “I was planning on marrying her when we moved in together,” he said. “I didn’t tell her right away, but I knew.”
Their struggle was familiar to the community, and the remedy was the promise of a well-paid job in the United States for anyone willing to risk unauthorized immigration. “My mother didn’t like the idea of me going,” Yedid said, “but she preferred to give me her blessing than to have me leave without it.”for the first time, and made her way to Chicago.
Staring at his son’s toys, Tom resolved to keep his family together. “I thought ‘if I don’t do something, Teddy may never be in the United States again’,” Tom said.Facing such long odds, some attempt to sneak back into the country,but not the Kobyleckys. The familydecided to ride out a 10-year sentence in exile and get right by the law.ew issues elicit as much empathy, or anger, as unauthorized immigration, making reform to the country’s clunky system frustratingly elusive.
“There’s a miscalculation of the political capital to be gained or spent for standing up on some of these issues,” said Kali Pliego, the former president of American Families United, a nonprofit organization made up of mixed-status families.
“We’d hear gunfire at night, and explosions,” Tom said. “We feared for our lives just going to the store for groceries.” Gun battles, kidnappings, hijackings, and military patrols formed the backdrop of their lives. The Kobyleckys learned, as locals do, to follow social media channels that warn of the riskiest areas of the city on any given day. “We knew when it was safe to leave the house, and when it wasn’t,” Yedid said.
Meanwhile, Tom was struggling to manage his stress. The daily commute across the international bridge was a festering irritation that became intolerable when peak traffic caused hours-long bottlenecks. A shouting match with a middle-aged woman who bumped her car into his brought him to the edge of a breakdown. Though he managed to compose himself and maneuver his vehicle out of the situation, there was little doubt that the daily commute was changing him.
There was no sure thing for the Kobyleckys. Immigration decisions can be fickle, and cruel, even to those who do everything asked of them. Structural reforms under the Trump administration made it harder still for immigrants to enter the country. And then, in 2020, the application process was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The sunset and vast cornfields are seen from the home the family shares with Tom’s father in New Lenox, Illinois.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How we met: ‘We got chatting in an online word game – and fell in love’Sarah, 59, and Martin, 56, met playing Words with Friends in 2019. They live at opposite ends of the world, but can’t wait to be together
Read more »
Love lost at popular wedding snap location, One Tree Hill, as farmers shut gates to publicIt is known internationally but from next month newlyweds will no longer be able to enter this property on the Sunshine Coast after the council received several complaints about people using the property.
Read more »
Putin awarded medal for ‘patriotic concern and love’Russian President Vladimir Putin has been awarded the highest medal of honour by Bosnian Serb separatists for his “patriotic concern and love” for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s autonomous Serb-controlled entity.
Read more »
From Abba to enka: how my 10-year-old fell in love with 1940s Japanese musicThis post-war Japanese sound, primarily sung by ladies in their 50s and 60s, is adapting to seek a younger audience. My besotted daughter is first in line
Read more »
Golden Globes 2023: who will win and who should win the film awardsWill Steven Spielberg’s love letter to the movies bring him some love? Will Cate Blanchett score another best actress win?
Read more »
I love pleasuring my partner. But why do I never get anything in return?It seems unfair to ask for something they may secretly dislike, but I feel as though my enjoyment is secondary
Read more »