Gabriela “Gaby” Reyes first came through the doors of ELPC in fall 2018, when she heard that Casa San José and ELPC were offering afternoon ESL (English second language) classes. She could see the ELPC steeple from her apartment building in East Liberty, and Gaby and her sister Elizabeth were able to take a long lunch break from their cleaning jobs to attend the classes.
Neither of them had been able to attend much school in El Salvador, and they loved the learning environment that ELPC member Linda Harrington and other teachers provided. On the one hand, learning English felt like an insurmountable goal, and on the other hand, seemingly insurmountable goals had not stopped the sisters before.
In 2010, their oldest sister had left her children with the sisters and grandparents to find work in the U.S. with the goal of getting them out of the daily violence and corruption that had taken over their town, Izalco. She applied for asylum and came to Pittsburgh where they had a distant family member. A year later, she was able to send money for Gaby and Elizabeth to come and bring her two children. Even though they hated to leave their grandparents and their home that looked up towards Izalco Volcano—known as the Lighthouse of Central America—life was increasingly dangerous, and the economic situation was tenuous.
Their journey took eight months. They boarded buses, trains (yes, the famous La Bestia), cars, and trucks, as well as walked. They crossed the border and were taken to a detention center, while Immigration determined whether or not they could await their asylum case in Pittsburgh. After four months of waiting in detention, they travelled to Pittsburgh to reunite with their sister. They quickly found work cleaning. And soon thereafter, Gaby married a man from her hometown who also was in Pittsburgh.
Five years later, Gaby was granted a green card (permanent residence)—and five years after that, she was allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship, which required her to pass an English test and the U.S. citizenship exam. Casa San José set her up with ELPC member John Benedict to help her prepare. She passed, and on April 29, Gaby—along with 35 others—were sworn in and granted U.S. citizenship.
Gaby’s journey took 11 years and more than $15,000 in immigration legal fees. Her next goal and dream is to buy a house and see her grandparents. Now her sons point to the ELPC steeple and know that is where their mom studied to become a U.S. citizen. She shares her story to encourage others that they too can become citizens.
Thank you to ELPC who has hosted ESL classes since 2018, and provides volunteer teachers, tutors, and childcare. New classes will start in September and volunteers are always needed.