<div>**Please see the 4/1/26 update below - Santiago needs our support!**
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<div>My name is Santiago Mendez. I am 19 years old. I left Ecuador at 17; I arrived here in Denver on June 10, 2024 with my sister and her family. They returned to Ecuador 2 months ago after being violently attacked in the Denver immigration court. Now I find myself alone in this country, hoping to get a juvenile visa. I'm asking for support for legal costs (to pay the lawyer and immigration filing costs).
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<div>I made the decision to come to the United States because the uncertainty and danger in Ecuador gets worse every day. I worked as a street vendor, selling a dessert called milk cheese. I offered it to all the people I knew and they bought it. But as time passed the gangs began to have more power in the streets. They began to extort every commercial enterprise in the city, charging a monthly fee to be able to work.
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<div>Although I didn't have a store - I was a street vendor - I sold a lot and the gangs noticed. One day they stopped me and stole my money. I had to accept extortion if I wanted to keep selling, until one day I got tired because all my profit was taken by the gangs. I was going out to work and there was shooting in the streets, dead people lying on the ground, heads of people in boxes in the streets. These were warnings from the gangs and I felt insecure. There were no more people on the streets because with the insecurity people didn't go shopping and my sales weren't going well.
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<div>One day my sister came to my dad and told him that she was going to the United States. I decided to go with her. I took out a loan of $10,000 that I am still paying so that I could go to the United States and have that security that I longed for so much. I left my house on April 6 with my brother, my sister, her son and her husband, heading to the United States. Everything went very well until we arrived in Mexico. People said that Mexico was very dangerous, we lived through it.
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<div>It took us a month to cross Mexico. It was a traumatic trip, very dangerous, and we lost all our money on the way. We finally made it to the US border. (You can read more details about the trip at the end.)
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<div>One morning, they called us on the phone and told us that in 30 minutes we have to be ready because we are going to cross the US border. We all changed and they gave us a map; we walked in the dark and when we were lead to cross the river that divides the country, the Mexican migration appeared behind us, following us. We all ran and ran desperately. I was going first and was surprised by a Mexican policeman; he grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up and mistreated me. He asked me where I was going. I was a child, very skinny; he lifted me up so easily that he surprised me. I turned and cried and we asked him to please let me go. He asked us for money and we gave it to him and crossed to the United States.
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<div>I don't remember the name of the city we went to, but I do remember that we were dirty because the mud from the river went up to our waist. The US Immigration officials quickly identified us and put us in a car and took us to the station. We were there for a while. And because I was a minor, I was locked up in a shelter for a month, until my sister got settled in Denver and I could live with her.
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<div>My sister helped me process the juvenile visa for minors unaccompanied by their parents. When my sister was deported, I was left alone without their affection, without my family, without my help.
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<div>My sister helped me so much. When she left, a new chapter of my story started because I had no one. I had to be responsible for my life. I came to this country to fulfill my dreams - to be an incredible person, a good human being, to help many people, to help my parents, to help my siblings, and to take another step forward every day, because that's what life is about - to overcome obstacles.
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<div>And that's why I'm working to become legalized in this country because if I don't become legalized, it's going to be very difficult. That's why I set aside the shame and the pain and I ask you sincerely if you can help me raise funds so that I can start processing the juvenile visa. Every day that goes by is another day lost. I wanted to start processing the juvenile visa with my sister on February 15, 2025. We were excited to start, but unfortunately we were scammed due to our lack of knowledge and ignorance. Now I understand. But the money can no longer be recovered and my sister is no longer here to help me. I'm starting the process again, with a new lawyer, and new sponsors.
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<div>Every day that goes by, I feel insecure, afraid to go out to buy food, to take a walk, to distract myself, but sometimes I prefer to stay at home for fear of what is happening now. I want to start the process as quickly as possible because I don’t want to return to Ecuador, like my sister had to, and not be able to fulfill everything I wanted.
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<div>Thank you, have a wonderful life, and love your loved ones, because you never know when they will be taken away from you.
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<div>Our martyrdom in Mexico
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<div>We entered Mexico at Tapachula, the border with Guatemala in the morning, and in the afternoon we had already been kidnapped. They took us to a farm, they locked us in a cell with many people inside. Everyone was armed, hooded and going through people's belongings. They wanted $500 per person; there were five of us, we had to pay it. We had to give them our jewelry. They said that if we didn't pay we were going to be locked up, or that they would take advantage of my sister, or many other things. We gave them all the money we had to make the trip so that they would let us go, because our life was more important.
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<div>Finally! We went out and they stopped in front of a river with guns in hand and told us to run fast or they would shoot us. And that's what we did: we threw away our clothes, our bags and just ran. Then we got to the highway and we already felt safer. We went to another town, walking. And we traveled from town to town this way—walking. And in each town we saw something new: rape, abuse, police taking advantage of migrant women, taking their money in the middle of the forest. We had to pay sometimes, and cry because we didn't have the money. We went like this, from town to town, five people eating from a single plate and walking with the sun burning down on the asphalt and without having a bottle of water because each bottle of water was sold for $10. Sometimes we bought one for my sister and her eight-year-old son.
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<div>We arrived at a town at night after having walked all afternoon. We rented a hotel room with a single bed. My sister slept on the mattress with my nephew and my brother and my sister's husband and I slept on the floor. Then we bought two bicycles. I was riding with my brother on a bicycle and my sister was riding on a bicycle with her husband and her son, until the police stole our bikes and again we were left walking beneath the burning sun.
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<div>Once the police followed us among the grass and thorns. They followed us and followed us, we ran and ran. We didn't stop until they fired a gun. They pointed it at my sister's husband's head, and asked him why we were running. And he told him that for him to be able to let us go we had to pay him $100. And we didn't have the money. Again, we had to cry in front of him, because the gun was on my brother-in-law's forehead and he said pay me the money, or else, I'll return you to Ecuador. We didn't want that, because we had already been through a lot and spent a lot of money to just get sent back. We gave him the money.
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<div>This happened to us again and again; when we arrived in Mexico City we contacted a coyote (smuggler). The coyote charged us $1500 for each person to cross the border from Mexico to the United States. We accepted because we were tired. We spent a week in Mexico City, waiting for the coyote to contact us to start the journey. The second week the trip began. We also had problems with the police - they took advantage of us, they discriminated against us, but we were under a coyote that in quotes we had protection from. We arrived at the Juárez border after a week. It took us almost a month to cross Mexico.
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<div>———————-
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<div><br />
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<div>Yo soy Santiago Mendez, tengo 19 años, salí de Ecuador a los 17, llegué aquí a Denver el 10 de junio del 2024 con mi hermana y su familia. Ellos regresaron a Ecuador hace 2 meses después de ser violentamente atacados en la corte de inmigración de Denver. Ahora me encuentro solo en este país, con esperanzas de lograr una visa juvenil. Estoy pidiendo apoyo para los costos legales (para pagar al abogado y los trámites con inmigración).
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<div>Tomé la decisión de venir a Estados Unidos porque la incertidumbre y el peligro que se vive en Ecuador, cada día es más grande. Yo vendía un producto que se llama queso de leche, es un postre, en las calles de mi ciudad, caminando ambulante Iba y se la ofrecía a todas las personas que conocía y me lo compraba. Pero pasa el tiempo y los delincuentes comienzan a tener más poderes en las calles. Cada local comercial de la ciudad, lo comienzan a extorsionar, pidiéndole un dinero mensual para poder trabajar.
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<div>Aunque yo no tenía un local—era trabajar ambulante—yo vendía bastante y los delincuentes se daban cuenta. Un día ellos me pararon y me robaron el dinero. Yo tenía que aceptar una extorsión, si yo quería ir a vender, hasta que un día me cansé porque toda la ganancia se la llevaban los delincuentes. Salía a trabajar y había tiroteo en las calles, gente muerta tirada en el suelo, cabezas de personas que se encontraban en cajas en las calles. Eran advertencias de las pandillas y me sentía inseguro. Ya no había gente en las calles porque con esa inseguridad la gente no salia a comprar ni nada de eso y no me estaba yendo bien.
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<div>Mi hermana un día llega donde mi papá y le dice que se va a ir a Estados Unidos. Yo decidí ir con ella. Saqué un crédito de $10,000 que aún sigo pagando para poderme ir a Estados Unidos y tener esa seguridad que tanto anhelaba. Salí de mi casa el 6 de abril con mi hermano, mi hermana, su hijo y su esposo rumbo a Estados Unidos. Todo fue muy bien hasta que llegamos a México. La gente decía que México era muy peligroso, pero uno solo escucha, no lo vive.
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<div>Nos tardamos un mes en cruzar México. Fue un viaje traumático, de mucho peligro, y perdimos todo nuestro dinero en el camino. (Puede leer más detalles sobre el viaje al final.)
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<div>Una madrugada, nos llamaron por teléfono y nos dijeron que en 30 minutos tenemos que estar listos porque vamos a cruzar la frontera de Estados Unidos. Nos cambiamos todos y nos dieron un mapa que camináramos en la oscuridad y cuando llevan a cruzar el río que divide el país, aparece la migración mexicana atrás de nosotros, siguiéndonos. Todos corríamos y corríamos desesperados. Yo iba primero y de sorpresa no lo vi a un policía de México y me cogió del cuello y me alzó y me maltrató. Me decía que adonde iba. Yo era un niño, era muy flaco, me alzó con tanta facilidad que me sorprendió y volví y lloré y le dijimos que por favor me soltara y nos pidió dinero y se lo dimos y cruzamos a Estados Unidos.
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<div>No recuerdo el nombre de la ciudad a la que pasamos, pero sí, recuerdo que entramos sucios porque el barro del río nos daba la cintura. Los policías de migración de Estados Unidos rápidamente nos identificaron y nos metieron a un carro y nos llevaron a la estación de policía. Ahí estuvimos algo. Y yo, por ser menor de edad, estuve encerrado en un albergue por un mes, hasta esperar que mi hermana se estableciera y poder yo vivir con ella.
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<div>Llegué a Denver para vivir con mi hermana y su familia. Ella me ayudaba a tramitar lo que es el documento de la visa juvenil para menores de edad, no acompañados con sus padres. Cuando la deportaron a mi hermana me quedé solo sin el cariño de ellos, sin mi familia, sin mi ayuda.
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<div>Mi hermana me ayudaba demasiado. Cuando ella se fue, comenzó otra historia para mí porque no tenía nadie. Me tocó ser responsable de mi vida. Yo vine a este país a cumplir mis sueños—a ser una persona increíble, un buen ser humano, ayudar a muchas personas, ayudar a mis padres, ayudar a mis hermanos, y escalar cada día un paso hacia arriba, porque de eso se trata la vida—de superar.
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<div>Y en ello está yo legalizarme en este país porque si no me legalizo va a ser muy difícil. Por eso dejo la vergüenza y dejo la pena y les pido con toda sinceridad si me pueden ayudar a recaudar fondos para yo comenzar a tramitar la visa juvenil. Cada día qué pasa es un día perdido. Yo quise empezar a tramitar la visa juvenil con mi hermana el 15 de febrero de 2025. Lo empezamos emocionados, pero lamentablemente me estafaron por la falta de conocimiento y la ignorancia nuestra. Ya hasta ahorita caigo en cuenta. Pero el dinero ya no se puede recuperar y mi hermana ya no está para ayudarme. Estoy empezando el proceso de nuevo, con una nueva abogada, y nuevos tutores.
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<div>Cada día qué pasa, me siento inseguro, con miedo de salir a la calle a comprar alimentos a darse una vuelta a distraerse, pero a veces prefiero quedarme en la casa por miedo de lo que está pasando hoy. Quiero empezar el proceso lo más rápido posible porque no me gustaría llegar a Ecuador, igual que mi hermana, y no haber podido cumplir todo lo que quería.
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<div>Gracias, que tenga una maravillosa vida y amén a sus seres queridos, porque a veces no saben cuando se van a ir de su lado.
</div>
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<div>Nuestro martirio en México
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<div>Entramos a México Tapachula, la frontera con Guatemala en la mañana y en la tarde ya nos habían secuestrado. Nos llevaron a una finca, nos encerraron en una jaula con muchas personas dentro. Ahí todos estaban armados, encapuchados y revisando las pertenencias de las personas. Nos pidieron $500 por persona, éramos cinco, tuvimos que pagarlo. Tuvimos que dar prendas nuestras. Decían que si no teníamos nos íbamos a quedar encerrados, o que utilizarían a mi hermana, o muchas cosas más. Les dimos todo el dinero que llevábamos para hacer el viaje para que nos soltara, porque más importante era nuestra vida.
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<div>¡Listo! Salimos y nos pararon frente a un río con pistolas en mano y nos dijeron que corramos muy rápido o si no nos iban a disparar. Y eso fue lo que hicimos: botamos la ropa, los bolsos y sólo corrimos. Luego llegamos a la autopista y ya nos sentíamos más seguros. Avanzamos un pueblo más, pero caminando y así viajamos de pueblo en pueblo caminando. Y en cada pueblo veíamos algo nuevo: violación, maltrato, policía aprovechándose de mujeres de migrantes, quitándoles el dinero en medio del bosque. Teníamos que pagar a veces, y llorar porque no teníamos el dinero. Ibamos así, de pueblo en pueblo, comiendo de un solo plato cinco personas y caminando con el sol ardiendo el asfalto y sin tener una botella de agua porque cada botella de agua la vendían en $10. A veces comprábamos una para mi hermana y su hijo de ocho años.
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<div>Llegábamos a un pueblo en la noche después de haber caminado toda la tarde. Alquilábamos una habitación de hotel con una sola cama. Mi hermana dormía en el colchón con mi sobrino y yo y mi hermano y el esposo de mi hermana dormimos en el suelo. Luego nos compramos dos bicicletas. Yo viajaba con mi hermano en una bicicleta y ahí mi hermana viajaba en una bicicleta con su esposo y su hijo, hasta que los policías nos robaron las bicicletas y nuevamente nos quedamos caminando con el sol ardiente.
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<div>Una vez los policías nos siguieron entre la hierba y espinas. Nos seguían y nos seguían, corríamos y corríamos. No parábamos hasta que dispararon un arma de fuego. Se la apuntaron al esposo de mi hermana en la cabeza, y le dijeron que por qué corríamos. Y le dijo que para él podernos soltar a nosotros teníamos que pagarle $100. Y nosotros no los teníamos. Nuevamente tuvimos que llorar al frente de él, porque la arma de fuego estaba en la frente de mi cuñado y él decía me pagan el dinero, o si no, los regreso a Ecuador. Nosotros no queríamos eso, porque ya habíamos pasado muchas cosas y gastado mucho dinero para que nos regresara. Le dimos el dinero.
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<div>Como así nos pasaba una y otra vez, cuando llegamos a Ciudad de México nos contactamos con un coyote. El Coyote nos cobraba $1500 por cada persona por pasar la frontera de México a Estados Unidos. Aceptamos porque estábamos cansados. Pasamos una semana en Ciudad de México, esperando que el coyote se contactará con nosotros para comenzar el camino. A la segunda semana comenzó el viaje. Igualmente teníamos problemas con los policías—aprovechaban de nosotros, nos discriminaban, pero estaban bajo un coyote que entrecomillas teníamos protección del. Llegamos a la frontera de Juárez después de una semana. Nos tardamos casi un mes en cruzar México.
</div>

Katie Nittmann

Solidarity Warriors

Anonymous

Jessica Ahern

Rachel Coles

Linda Taj

Edith Sangueza

Arnie Carter

Kelsie Bedard

Beck Seren

Juvenile Visa is Santiago's Lifeline - Please Donate

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Juvenile Visa is Santiago's Lifeline - Please Donate

Still $2,237 to go. Help us build momentum.