• Salt Lake City: Overcast 51°
cloudy
Deseret News
Home
  • Login/Register
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Site
    • Text Version
    • Mobile Apps
Powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
  • News
  • Sports
  • Moneywise
  • Opinion
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
    • Cars
    • Jobs
    • Deals
powered by ksl.com
  • Utah
  • World & Nation
  • Politics
  • Business
  • More News
    • Education
    • Salt Lake County
    • Utah County
    • Davis County
    • Police/Courts
    • Legislature
    • Weather
    • Immigration
    • News Wire
Advertise with usReport this ad

Outcast in Mexico, outlaw in Utah

  • Print
  • Font [+] [-]
  • Leave a comment »

By Dennis Romboy, Deseret News

Published: Sunday, Oct. 9 2005 12:00 a.m. MDT

Photos
  • View 7 photos »
Summary

For the first month or so, Humberto "Bert" Fernandez-Vargas couldn't set foot in the town plaza where as a boy he shined shoes and sold candy bars for a few pesos.

More Coverage
  • Undocumented: Emotions run high, but Utah tacitly approves of illegals

Fernandez-Vargas lives in Cuauhtemoc, a city of 150,000 people about 45 miles southeast of Chihuahua City. Farmland and Mennonite camps surround the town named for the last Aztec emperor.

Work is sporadic. He had a job with a crew renovating a soccer stadium but quit after refusing to climb to the top of a scaffold to paint without safety equipment. His pesos for the week amounted to $3. He parks cars on occasion for an acquaintance. His wife can no longer afford to send him several hundred dollars a month. He's hoping to hire on at an apple orchard during the harvest.

He lives with two women and two girls in a light blue masonry house with concrete floors on land his father once owned. The refrigerator is mostly empty. A rooster, a couple of dogs and a cat with kittens scrounge for scraps in the muddy yard. Fernandez-Vargas does work around the house in exchange for a room. He's lost 20 pounds. His rheumatoid arthritis is acting up, and he is low on medication. His body was bruised when a truck hit him while he was riding a bicycle recently. He cries a lot. He's not sure how he is going to survive long term.

"If you don't have the money, you die here," he said.

Fernandez-Vargas spends many days climbing a sagebrush-covered hill above his house or reading on a broken-down couch in the unkempt yard. He has no friends. People laugh at his Spanish.

Fernandez calls him on her cell phone twice a week, hence the mounting stack of prepaid phone cards. Her husband always expresses his love for her and Anthony.

"I try to make him laugh as much as I can," Fernandez said. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

Fernandez-Vargas often sounds depressed. He tells her he is going to sneak back into the country. She talks him out of it. He says he doesn't want to live anymore, and he's getting a gun. She tells him that is the cowardly way out.

"It's not just your problem," she tells him. "It's our problem."

Somehow, though, Fernandez-Vargas intends to find a road back to the place he considers home.

"If I die, I don't want to be buried here," he said. "I told my wife I want you to cremate my body and take me back to Utah. That's where I want to be."


The new INS

The alphabet soup of the American immigration system can be confusing. In a nutshell:

• There is no longer any agency known as U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service or INS. In March 2003, INS became part of the Department of Homeland Security and was split into two bureaus.

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) handles investigations, detention and deportation operations and federal protective services.

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for the administration of visa petitions, naturalization petitions and asylum, and refugee applications.


E-mail: romboy@desnews.com

Related Stories
  • Undocumented: Emotions run high, but Utah tacitly approves of illegals

  • «Prev
  • Page:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Comments
Leave a comment »

DeseretNews.com encourages a civil dialogue among its readers. We welcome your thoughtful comments.
— About comments

About the Author
Dennis Romboy

Dennis Romboy

Dennis Romboy is a reporter for Deseret News where for the past 20 years he has covered a variety of beats including state and local government, human services and the 2002 Olympics. He spent six years as a special more ..

  • Connect:
Advertise with usReport this ad
What You May Have Missed
  • Wives of LDS Church's First Presidency honored by children (+videos)
  • Disney's 'Brave' makeover sparks fury from fans, director
  • Mitt Romney to live in Utah — at least some of the time
Sample morning edition email
Advertise with usReport this ad
Most Popular
Across Site
In Utah
  • Frances Monson, wife of LDS prophet, passes away
  • LDS missionary 'stable' following hit-and-run...
  • Psychologist calls doctor accused of killing...
  • Mitt Romney to live in Utah — at least...
  • Members recall Sister Monson's quiet devotion
  • LDS missionary from Sweden suffers aneurysm,...
  • Steven Powell will not be released from...
  • LDS Church submits temporary Provo MTC plans...
  • Frances Monson, wife of LDS prophet, passes away
  • USA Rugby: 'What BYU won ... was a mythical...
  • Watch a video tribute to Sister Frances B....
  • Mitt Romney talks IRS, AP records, Benghazi...
  • Disney reportedly pulls new 'Brave' image of...
  • LDS missionary 'stable' following hit-and-run...
  • Writers offer personal finance advice to Obama
  • Mormon NFL safety Eric Weddle: Balancing...
Get The Deseret News Everywhere

Subscribe

Mobile

Facebook

Twitter

RSS

Email

Most Commented
Across Site
In Utah
  • Frances Monson, wife of LDS prophet,... 59
  • Mitt Romney to live in Utah — at... 44
  • Police say driver who hit 3 children... 27
  • Angry Orrin Hatch: IRS guilty of... 19
  • Utah GOP convention agenda includes... 19
  • LDS missionary from Sweden suffers... 18
  • LDS missionary 'stable' following... 17
  • New law banning teen drivers from... 16
  • Dan Liljenquist: Chaffetz's search for... 77
  • Considerable work, planning has gone... 71
  • Mormon NFL safety Eric Weddle:... 65
  • Letters: Gun logical fallacies 64
  • Frances Monson, wife of LDS prophet,... 59
  • Ryan Teeples: Ziggy Ansah's story... 58
  • Utes football: No changes imminent for... 55
  • USA Rugby: 'What BYU won ... was a... 55
Advertise with usReport this ad
Advertise with usReport this ad
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Moneywise
  • Opinion
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Obituaries
Home »
  • Blogs
  • Topics
  • Lists
  • Movies
  • Columnists
  • Watch It
News »
  • Utah news
  • World & Nation
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Education
  • Salt Lake County
  • Utah County
  • Davis County
  • Police/Courts
  • Legislature
  • Weather
  • Immigration
  • News Wire
Sports »
  • Utah Jazz
  • Sports Picks
  • BYU Cougars
  • Utah Utes
  • Utah State Aggies
  • Real Salt Lake
  • Salt Lake Bees
  • High school sports
  • Rock
  • Harmon
  • Watch It
  • Scores and Stats
  • On TV
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • Weber State Wildcats
  • Grizzlies
  • Utah Valley Wolverines
  • Southern Utah University
  • Sports Wire
Opinion »
  • Editorials
  • Op-Eds
  • Letters
  • Political Cartoons
Faith »
  • Featured Faiths
  • Mormon Times
  • LDS Church News
  • Mission Reunions
  • Faith Wire
Family »
  • Marriage & Parenting
  • Family Media
  • Movie Guide
  • Calendar
  • TV Listings
  • Family Life Wire
Special Sections »
  • Census
  • City Creek
  • Decision 2012
  • Education Week
  • Fire Watch
  • LDS General Conference
  • Mormons in America
  • Olympics
  • Outdoor Retailer
  • Rugby
  • Sports Picks
  • Sundance Film Festival
  • Utah Blaze
  • Utah Grizzlies
  • Voter Guide
  • Print Subscription
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • FAQ
  • Feedback
  • Jobs
  • RSS
  • E-Edition
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Legal notices
  • Advertise with us
Advertise with usReport this ad