My (Underground) American Dream: My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive

by Julissa Arce

In the heady days of the most astronomical stock-market rise in Wall Street history, Julissa Arce climbed the corporate ladder-a rare Hispanic woman in a sea of suits and ties. In 2005, against all odds, she landed one of the most coveted jobs as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. Over the course of the next six years, even while the financial markets crashed, she continued to climb the corporate ladder-riding a series of promotions to become a Vice President, complete with a high six-figure salary and all of the perks that come with living the Goldman Sachs life.

What none of her colleagues knew is that she wasn't just a young woman who broke through ceilings in a cutthroat male-dominated field: she was also an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. In MY (UNDERGROUND) AMERICAN DREAM, Arce opens up about the true price of pursuing the American Dream. In telling this personal story of sacrifice, lies, pain and suffering, Arce shifts the immigration conversation and changes the perception of what it means to be an undocumented immigrant.

• ISBN10: 1455540242
• ISBN13: 9781455540242
• Publish Date: 29 September 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Center Street
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Heather]

Julissa Arce's parents were working legally in the United States while she and her older sisters lived with her extended family in Mexico.  Her younger brother was born in the United States.  When Julissa started acting out in school at age 11, her parents brought her to live with them.  She had no idea that it was illegal for her to go to school.  She didn't know that she had outstayed her visa until her mother explained that she couldn't go back to Mexico for her quinceanera because she wouldn't be able to come back into the United States.

She was a star student but was not accepted to any colleges because she didn't have a social security number.  At this point Texas passed a law that allowed undocumented students to go to college at Texas state schools.  This allowed her to be able to go to school.

I was conflicted when reading this book.  I think people should follow the rules of the country they live in.  I also think that it should be much, much easier for people to come to the United States from Latin America so people aren't required to sneak into the country.  Julissa also buys fake documents as an adult to be able to get a job.  I can see that she was brought into the country by her parents and she had no intent to do anything wrong at that point, but now she was actively breaking the law because she felt she was entitled to stay here and get a very high paying job.  She talked a little bit about whether or not she should go back to Mexico because she would be able to get a very good job so it wasn't like she didn't have options.  She also marries specifically get to a green card.  The more unethical things she does, the less sympathy I retained for her.

This book made me understand the issues around children of undocumented immigrants.  They are stuck as they become adults.  I think there should be a way for these children to be able to be legally documented.



First come first served and if you want to throw in a few dollars for shipping that would be great but not required.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story