Jose's Immigrant Story
Immigration Coalition of the Quad Cities
This is another in a series of stories about local immigrants that will be appearing on the QCIMBY (Quad Cities In My Back Yard) Facebook page. These stories are also available in the Immigration Coalition QC Substack email. Please subscribe here.
Name: José Burgos
Family: 1 brother who lives abroad.
Native country: Venezuela
Occupation/Volunteer or School: Multilingual High School Teacher
When did you immigrate to the United States?
January 2021
What motivated your decision to immigrate?
Actually, I did not want to immigrate to the United States! I was based in Honduras and I came here as an international student on a graduate scholarship with Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. My plan was to return to Honduras once I finished my program, but I had visa complications with Honduras and I had to find a way to stay in the U.S.
Who accompanied you when you immigrated to the U.S.?
I traveled alone.
Why did you choose the Quad Cities area for your new home?
It was by chance. Once I finished my program at SIUC, I found a teaching job in the area.
What language or languages did you speak when you arrived in the U.S.?
Spanish and English.
If English is not your first language, how did you become more familiar with English?
I got my bachelors in ESL Education in Venezuela, where I learned English.
How were you treated when you first arrived in the Quad Cities area?
Everyone has been really welcoming. I was lucky to find a Latin dance community through which I have met a number of really great people. Communities around the QC area truly know how to utilize the human and professional capital I have brought.
How do you get more involved in life in the Quad Cities area?
I love going to events around the area. Me and other friends started a social event called the Quad Cities Spanglish Table on Facebook, where people who speak a little bit of both languages (English and Spanish) come together to socialize and discuss various themes. I also volunteer every now and then with some nonprofits, churches, and social initiatives in the area. Last year, I helped with the organization of WQTP PBS Multilingual Education Conference at Western Illinois University. You can always find me involved with something outside of work.
What work, volunteer activities, children’s activities and/or hobbies keep you engaged?
Aside from what I said before, I serve in a couple of committees at my workplace, and I’ve volunteered teaching English as a second language with Black Hawk. I’m planning to do that again as soon as I find the time. I am also involved with the Illinois Education association and other pro-public education organizations. In my free time, I enjoy working out, dancing, playing the piano, learning new things, and spending time with my girlfriend. I really like the events that some nonprofits put out here for the community, such as El Ritmo, The Gray Matters Collective, QC AIR, and St. Anthony Catholic Church in Davenport.
What gives you the most joy?
Making someone’s day a little easier and better, especially for young people. Youth in the U.S. have it incredibly tough right now, and they need our compassion and guidance more than ever.
What challenges have you navigated as an immigrant?
The list is heartbreaking: language barriers, cultural isolation, social and systemic discrimination, traumatic stress related to my immigration status, my mom passing and being unable to travel abroad, being taken advantage of because I don’t “know the system” well, higher taxes, higher interest rates, SIUC losing my international transcripts and effectively making it borderline impossible for me to get a teaching license in the U.S., the Midwest weather.
Who are your mentors, the people you admire most?
When I was growing up, one of my uncles, one of my aunts, and one of my teachers were my biggest mentors. They taught me how to be a decent human, to always seek to add value, and to always have fun while doing it. I also admire a couple of historical figures like Simón Bolívar and Joan of Arc, who so brilliantly fought for the freedom and independence of millions of people from massive empires.
What gives you hope?
Seeing my students being kind to one another gives me hope; seeing this makes me think everything I do is worth it.
What is your favorite quote, motto or religious verse?
“I shall make the child I once was proud of the adult I am becoming” - Me
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
In the good years of Venezuela, before the dictatorship, I look back realizing that I grew up in a multicultural environment where the children of immigrants seamlessly became Venezuelan; a place where the word “foreigner” carried NO negative weight, and where the education system, the media, and politicians taught people to welcome them as “siblings.” This so organically nurtured a culture where being born abroad or speaking with an accent was met with curiosity, fascination, and utmost hospitality. Yet, I must admit there was much I didn’t fully understand about my neighbors’ lives back then, nor did I ever asked many questions; I grew up hearing a beautiful tapestry of Italian, Portuguese, Colombian, Peruvian, and German accents all around me, always engaging with them and having fun with people, but never quite stopping to realize the journeys behind them.
Having witnessed a world where people from different backgrounds smoothly and happily integrate to enrich the economy, culture, and the very soul of a nation. It is my hope that the people in the United States can one day move past this country’s historical tensions surrounding immigrants and teach their children to truly embrace people for who they are: human beings deserving of dignity based on their deeds, not their passport stamps or the miles they traveled to get here.
Allison Ambrose
This is another in a series of stories about local immigrants that will be appearing on the QCIMBY (Quad Cities In My Back Yard) Facebook page. These stories are also available in the Immigration Coalition QC Substack email. Please subscribe here.
Name: José Burgos
Family: 1 brother who lives abroad.
Native country: Venezuela
Occupation/Volunteer or School: Multilingual High School Teacher
When did you immigrate to the United States?
January 2021
What motivated your decision to immigrate?
Actually, I did not want to immigrate to the United States! I was based in Honduras and I came here as an international student on a graduate scholarship with Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. My plan was to return to Honduras once I finished my program, but I had visa complications with Honduras and I had to find a way to stay in the U.S.
Who accompanied you when you immigrated to the U.S.?
I traveled alone.
Why did you choose the Quad Cities area for your new home?
It was by chance. Once I finished my program at SIUC, I found a teaching job in the area.
What language or languages did you speak when you arrived in the U.S.?
Spanish and English.
If English is not your first language, how did you become more familiar with English?
I got my bachelors in ESL Education in Venezuela, where I learned English.
How were you treated when you first arrived in the Quad Cities area?
Everyone has been really welcoming. I was lucky to find a Latin dance community through which I have met a number of really great people. Communities around the QC area truly know how to utilize the human and professional capital I have brought.
How do you get more involved in life in the Quad Cities area?
I love going to events around the area. Me and other friends started a social event called the Quad Cities Spanglish Table on Facebook, where people who speak a little bit of both languages (English and Spanish) come together to socialize and discuss various themes. I also volunteer every now and then with some nonprofits, churches, and social initiatives in the area. Last year, I helped with the organization of WQTP PBS Multilingual Education Conference at Western Illinois University. You can always find me involved with something outside of work.
What work, volunteer activities, children’s activities and/or hobbies keep you engaged?
Aside from what I said before, I serve in a couple of committees at my workplace, and I’ve volunteered teaching English as a second language with Black Hawk. I’m planning to do that again as soon as I find the time. I am also involved with the Illinois Education association and other pro-public education organizations. In my free time, I enjoy working out, dancing, playing the piano, learning new things, and spending time with my girlfriend. I really like the events that some nonprofits put out here for the community, such as El Ritmo, The Gray Matters Collective, QC AIR, and St. Anthony Catholic Church in Davenport.
What gives you the most joy?
Making someone’s day a little easier and better, especially for young people. Youth in the U.S. have it incredibly tough right now, and they need our compassion and guidance more than ever.
What challenges have you navigated as an immigrant?
The list is heartbreaking: language barriers, cultural isolation, social and systemic discrimination, traumatic stress related to my immigration status, my mom passing and being unable to travel abroad, being taken advantage of because I don’t “know the system” well, higher taxes, higher interest rates, SIUC losing my international transcripts and effectively making it borderline impossible for me to get a teaching license in the U.S., the Midwest weather.
Who are your mentors, the people you admire most?
When I was growing up, one of my uncles, one of my aunts, and one of my teachers were my biggest mentors. They taught me how to be a decent human, to always seek to add value, and to always have fun while doing it. I also admire a couple of historical figures like Simón Bolívar and Joan of Arc, who so brilliantly fought for the freedom and independence of millions of people from massive empires.
What gives you hope?
Seeing my students being kind to one another gives me hope; seeing this makes me think everything I do is worth it.
What is your favorite quote, motto or religious verse?
“I shall make the child I once was proud of the adult I am becoming” - Me
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
In the good years of Venezuela, before the dictatorship, I look back realizing that I grew up in a multicultural environment where the children of immigrants seamlessly became Venezuelan; a place where the word “foreigner” carried NO negative weight, and where the education system, the media, and politicians taught people to welcome them as “siblings.” This so organically nurtured a culture where being born abroad or speaking with an accent was met with curiosity, fascination, and utmost hospitality. Yet, I must admit there was much I didn’t fully understand about my neighbors’ lives back then, nor did I ever asked many questions; I grew up hearing a beautiful tapestry of Italian, Portuguese, Colombian, Peruvian, and German accents all around me, always engaging with them and having fun with people, but never quite stopping to realize the journeys behind them.
Having witnessed a world where people from different backgrounds smoothly and happily integrate to enrich the economy, culture, and the very soul of a nation. It is my hope that the people in the United States can one day move past this country’s historical tensions surrounding immigrants and teach their children to truly embrace people for who they are: human beings deserving of dignity based on their deeds, not their passport stamps or the miles they traveled to get here.
Allison Ambrose
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