Jose Lopez is one of thousands of workers who are changing the face of San Diego yet remain invisible to the city.
He is building the 36-story twin-tower Grande Sante Fe Place apartments on Pacific Avenue, making his mark on San Diego's skyline. But his home and his heart are two and a half hours and a world away in Tijuana. Lopez is one of San Diego's secret workers.
Almost 35 percent of San Diego's workforce is from Mexico. According to Lauren Mack, public relations officer for the San Diego office of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 120,000 cross the San Ysidro border daily. It is estimated that more than 500,000 Mexicans cross the border to work in California every day, chasing the American dream.
Lopez says he has "a lot of friends and family that work in the States." He makes "mucho dinero," here, $10 to $12 an hour but would make just $8 to $9 a day in Mexico.
After working all day on the towers that are becoming a city landmark, Lopez disappears into a trolley that will take him back to Tijuana. Lopez remains a shadow in the city. Perhaps Mexican workers prefer to be ignored. Lopez didn't want to be photographed, and the co-worker who boarded the trolley with him got off when a reporter started asking questions.
Lopez is a large, muscular man with well-worn, callused hands. They shake as he writes the nine letters of his name.
Lopez leaves his home in Tijuana at 2:30 in the morning to arrive at work by 5 a.m. To work in the United States, immigration workers must have an employer petition for them to receive work visas. The visa is based on two things. First, the workers must have skills in their field and prove it with a labor certification. Second, the immigrant worker must not displace American citizens from jobs.
After Lopez has finished his work at 4 p.m., he will catch the trolley back to Tijuana. If the border is not too crowded, he can make it home by 6:30 p.m. After working hard all day, Lopez's face brightens as he speaks longingly of his daughters, ages 8 and 12, who wait for him at home every day. Weekends are sacred to him because that is when he can relax and find out what they have been doing throughout the week. He has been doing this since his oldest girl was 7.
Lopez one day wants to become a resident of the United States, like the people who will live in the apartments he is helping to build. If he does, he will join more than 300,000 Latino immigrants who have come to San Diego looking for a better life.
When asked if he dislikes his five-hour daily commute, he responds simply, "It's a living." By the time the trolley ride ends, Lopez has fallen asleep standing up, dreaming of a better world far from the Mexican reality of poverty.