Credit: Stefany Lemus
Mishell Quintero moves a cash register at J.C. Penney on April 9.
A number of employed individuals in Northwest Arkansas still struggle with money. One Springdale resident not only deals with that problem, but also finds it challenging to see a way out because of her status as an undocumented immigrant.
Mishell Quintero, 23, works two jobs to help her five-person family make ends meet. At J.C. Penney, she works as a cash room clerk four days a week, which involves sorting and depositing the retailer’s money and fixing cash register malfunctions. She also works as a private caregiver for a paraplegic individual in the area.
Because the work in both fields is oftentimes tedious, Quintero said she wishes she could work for a better paying job that would give her the time and money to get a bachelor’s degree.
After Quintero’s mother illegally crossed over the border through Arizona, she, then 7 years old, and her younger sister hid in the backseat of her uncle’s car as he used fake papers to transport them across. Her parents had extended family in Springdale, so they immediately moved to the area and have remained since.
“My parents didn’t lie to me. They didn’t say that I did have papers here, but they never told me that I didn’t have papers,” Quintero said. “I was never worried about having to have a job until I was 18 or never having to drive until I was 18 because they were always like, ‘You’re not going to do anything until you turn 18.'”
After turning 18, she began searching for jobs to help support her family. That’s when reality hit: she wasn’t a legal resident of the country. Quintero is a Dreamer, meaning she qualifies for and takes advantage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The topic of illegal immigrants’ children receiving certain benefits afforded to citizens who were born in America has been a political debate on a national scale.
She applied for and was granted a work permit, but she said she was scared of what employers might think.
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At J.C. Penney, Quintero makes $9.50 an hour part time. In her role as a caregiver, she makes $15 an hour. With that money, she splits the cost of a mortgage, rent, food, utilities and car insurance with her mother, father and younger sister.
There are times when the family gets so tied up in paying bills that they eat at food pantries and soup kitchens. In the end, Quintero wants to attain citizenship so she can get a higher-paying job and eventually live her version of the American dream.
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