The phrase in search of a better life is something that we usually hear over and over again in the voices of migrants, a desire that pushes many to leave their homes despite the adversities they may encounter along the way. The reason for many behind this, family.
“And the only thing I came was for my family to move forward and my mother, who I may never see alive again, is an 87-year-old woman who has advanced cancer and that is what hurts me,”
Luis Alberto Lizcan, 52, was a military man and construction worker in his native Venezuela.
He arrived in New York in March 2023, in order to provide better opportunities for his four daughters, and to be able to help his mother who is fighting cancer.
After crossing the U.S. border into Mexico, he found refuge in this small shelter in a church in Ridgewood, Queens, where he says he feels at home.
“It means a lot to me, they have given me support, love and shelter,” he adds.
Luis Alberto takes care of the necessary repair work at the church, where he is paid up to $200 a day.
But this opportunity is not constant.
When there is no work at the church, he ventures out to find things to do in the neighborhood.
“This was totally deteriorated and I restored it,” he explains.
Hoping to find additional opportunities, Luis Alberto walks the streets of the neighborhood and knocks on doors.
“I work, I work in painting construction, I need to see if he has anything out there so I can work. to be able to earn some money.
‘“I don’t have anything right now,” says a neighbor.
“Thank you very much,” Luis responds.
A “No” that drives him to continue searching.
But on this journey, Luis Alberto is not alone. His partner, Eric González, another Venezuelan asylum seeker, shares the same desire to work.
“Let’s go over there to the corner.”
Together they try their luck… However, the result is the same, another failed attempt.
“…Looking for work, right, we work in construction,” he tells us.
Eric González, who comes from the Bronx, says that he lived in a shelter in the city, his experience was unpleasant, and led him to make the decision to move into a room with his girlfriend. A rent that he manages to pay thanks to the opportunities that arise working in construction.
“It’s crazy, as we say, crazy, many people who don’t behave the way they should behave,” he says.
After a less than productive day, the two prepare to begin the process of filling out their application for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
“The work permit is very important because I would opt for a more stable job,” says González. “And the problems we have right now with instability would be a little over,” he adds.
“Once I have a work permit, I would stop knocking on doors,” says Luis Alberto.
With their eyes set, and doing everything they can to get to that moment, they continue with their day and head to another church in Brooklyn that is helping them fill out and process the application.
“Having a work permit I will be the happiest man of my life.”
A happiness that is now clouded by the uncertainty of the immigration process.
Luis Alberto says that he contemplates his possible return to Venezuela if he does not obtain his work permit.
“First, I don’t want to put a burden on this country, second, I miss my family, I’m alone.”
