((PKG)) CONNECT WITH RAUL CEDILLO
((TRT: 3:40))
((Topic Banner: Connect with: Raul Cedillo))
((Reporter/Camera: Arturo Martínez))
((Locator: New Orleans, Louisiana))
((Main character: 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Text-over-Video:
More than ten million people live in the United States without official documentation))
((Raul Cedillo
Louisiana resident))
My name is Douglas Raul Cedillo. I'm Latino. I come from Honduras, you know. I came battling on the way. Thank

God, I made it here. But life here in the United States is not easy.
((NATS))
I live with my sister, my brother-in-law, my niece and her two children, my two nephews.
So, in this cabin, we live like, six people and humbly.
We stayed there during Hurricane Ida. And it didn't blow the cabin away, thank God, because we trusted in God.
You don't come here [United States] to sleep, no. You come to work, to be motivated, always moving forward.
Got in illegally. I crossed the border of Guatemala, El Salvador. I came alone, batting all the way.
When you travel alone this way, it's nasty. You suffer quite a lot. You get hungry and cold. You need to beg for food. Begging.
You begin Mexico for a taco or something to eat. It's different. You suffer. Sometimes you risk your life in what's called, “The Beast” freight train. Some people lose their life. I saw many cases. Many people died [while riding on top of] the train. Yes. Some of them were falling asleep and I tried to help them but one of them was crushed by the train. The boy felt asleep and I'm not sure if he was wobbling while sleeping but since the train is constantly shaking, he let his guard down and fell down. It's awful for everyone who is over there.
((NATS))
Well, people over there [in Honduras] look down on you. There are no jobs sometimes and people look down on you. So, you don't have money and people look down on you. And such is life. So, many people thought I would not make it to the United States.
I crossed the Rio Grande twice. Because the first time I could not make it because they caught me at the checkpoint here in the United States. I made it the second time, thank God. You have to cross a big river though. [The water] was over my waist. So, the first time we crossed, wow...although the current wasn't strong but in between, the alligators and all that. So, it didn't look good. But thank God, nothing happened. We crossed.
But anybody who comes here knows what it takes and suffers, knows what it takes to get to the United States. So, one must harness the opportunity.
((NATS))
It's been five years since I've seen my children. And it's hard for me because they're already growing up. They no longer feel the love of a father like I used to give them. Their mother lives in Pennsylvania. They are together. They came later as well, thank God. She is a good mother. I can't complain. But sometimes, you know, sometimes couples fail. But that's the way it is. You have to go on with your life. There is not only one woman. There's more. And sometimes women want to see you destroyed. But no, you can't because you have to move forward, thanking God.
((NATS/MUSIC))