Many immigrants to the United States arrive in the footsteps of family members who have already come to this country. This creates an invaluable network. Family members direct newcomers on where to find jobs, grocery stores, and the best places to live. But for those without a family network, the experiences are different. Minnesota Public Radio's Ambar Espinoza explores the touchstones new immigrants use to make Minnesota their home. In the past nine years, a man from Mexico named Arturo Cordova has lived in 11 different states. Today, he's sitting at a table at Mercado Central in Minneapolis, eating lunch with a friend. This cooperative is a place where many Latinos do business, but it's also a place where new immigrants look for community.
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AMBAR ESPINOZA: In the past nine years, a man from Mexico, named Arturo Cordova, has lived in 11 different states. Today, he's sitting at a table at Mercado Central in Minneapolis, eating lunch with a friend. This cooperative is a place where many Latinos do business, but it's also a place where new immigrants look for community. Cordova says his first stop in a new place is always a Mexican restaurant. He's looking for more than food.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
ARTURO CORDOVA: I'll ask the manager to give me work or if he knows of a room I could rent. I'll have a bundle of savings with me at all times so that I can pay my rent in advance and travel a little bit. And so that's what I've always done.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
AMBAR ESPINOZA: This technique has never failed Cordova. When he moved to Minnesota more than four years ago, he found his first job and a room to rent through a manager at a Mexican restaurant. Since Cordova has become a pro at moving from state to state, he has insight about what other immigrants do to find touchstones.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
ARTURO CORDOVA: I've noticed that new immigrants go to restaurants. That's the only thing they do, they ask for jobs. During the summer, they don't care about sleeping in a park. Sometimes, bars stay open late, and they'll hide in corners until they can get a job. If they get hired at the bar, they'll work and just sleep outside when they're done.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
AMBAR ESPINOZA: Cordova has also noticed more people take advantage of social services offered by Latino-based organizations like CLUS, Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio. Cordova says new immigrants also find resources by networking with other Latinos. And that information through word of mouth is powerful.
Laura Sanchez is also from Mexico. And she moved to Minnesota three years ago. She says the public bulletin boards at Mercado Central make it easy to get connected within the community. People are always posting information about jobs and rooms for rent. Sanchez says any Latino business in the Twin Cities is a touchstone, especially when an immigrant doesn't have family.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
LAURA SANCHEZ: To come here, you always need to have someone here. Otherwise, the world can close in on you because we're coming here without a language. And that's difficult. It's very difficult.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
AMBAR ESPINOZA: Sanchez's friends were already living in Minnesota when she moved here. So they set her up with a job and a place to live right away. She learned through word of mouth about one of her special touchstones, church. A group of 30 teenagers sit at a long table in the kitchen basement of Holy Rosary Parish in Southeast Minneapolis. This is Laura Sanchez's church. These kids just finished cooking as part of their weekly nutrition class. Marisela Dale is a co-director of the youth group program. She says about 60% of those in the youth group are immigrant children.
MARISELA DALE: They're looking for a place where they can speak Spanish and feel comfortable. The meetings that we have here at Holy Rosary are in English and Spanish. So for the kids, they're just coming from a different country, they don't feel like, oh my God, I cannot go to this youth group because everything is in English.
AMBAR ESPINOZA: The church offers a number of social service programs that attract many new immigrants. Jose Santiago is a priest at Holy Rosary. He says new immigrants come up to him all the time to ask him questions about where they can find work, food, and a place to live.
JOSE SANTIAGO: Many immigrants come to the church, first of all, to identify with their faith and their culture. Because they know that in the church, they're immediately accepted. They're welcomed. They can pray in their language. And many times, most churches provide social services and other services for them to welcome them into the country.
AMBAR ESPINOZA: Santiago says it's difficult for immigrants to establish themselves in the US. He says some new immigrants find an anchor in their lives through church because they find a supportive environment socially and culturally. But for nearly every new immigrant who speaks Spanish, familiarity means language. As they work to make the Twin Cities feel like home, many are seeking out the variety of places that sound like home. Ambar Espinoza, Minnesota Public Radio News.