Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America

During the summer between high school and college, Yadira, Marisela, and Clara work to register voters, and Yadira and Marisela are paid through a convoluted scheme in which they partner with Clara and a boy from their school named Julio. Marisela tries to get an identity card with the Mexican consulate, but the experience leaves her feeling that there was “not a bureaucracy that could recognize her” (106). Meanwhile, Marisela argues with her parents, as her father, facing lower wages, decides to move to North Carolina and thinks she should go with the rest of the family. Marisela lives with an ex-boyfriend before school starts.

At the same time, the political situation is heating up, as a company called First Data Corporation, which is the largest ATM network in the U.S. and is owned by Western Union, is at loggerheads with congressman Tom Tancredo. First Data, which is located in Tancredo’s district, dislikes Tancredo’s stance that the "remittances" workers send back to their countries to the U.S.—which represented "more than $150 billion" (108)—should be taxed. First Data sponsors a political opponent of Tancredo’s and hosts forums on immigration with all pro-immigration speakers. The panel is interrupted by members of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR), which opposes immigration and whose members shout “liar, liar, liar” (110) at the speakers.