Mexican migrant killed in California capsize left daughter
The 22-year-old’s body was one of eight found shortly after the crash on Black’s Beach last Sunday, one of the deadliest maritime smuggling incidents off US shores.
The story of Lazcano Soriano, a single mother, was almost a microcosm of the desperation that drives many immigrants to America. About 129,000 migrants were stopped trying to cross the US border in February..
At the age of 15, Lazcano Soriano went to live with the father of her child, but was kidnapped and disappeared, e.g. More than 112,000 other Mexicans who have disappeared since drug cartel violence in 2006.
Lazcano dreamed of opening his own store in Soriano Tehuacan, a poor agricultural town located between the cities of Puebla and Oaxaca in south-central Mexico. There, most grow flowers or corn to form a weak organism. A single mother sold fruits and vegetables in the local market.
But with jobs scarce, he decided to follow his aunt Wendy Valencia, who left Tehuacan to immigrate to Dallas six years ago.
Lazcano Soriano left Tehuacan weeks ago, telling his two relatives. The last message he sent was a heart emoji to Valencia. After that, there was silence, until the chilling news came: authorities had identified him from identification documents found on his body.
“She wasn’t afraid of work,” Valencia said in a telephone interview. “She was a warrior, a woman who was used to struggle.”
He left his daughter in the care of her 72-year-old grandmother and two other aunts, but hoped to be reunited with the girl.
“His goal was to give his daughter a better future, a proper home,” Valencia said. Life was never like this for Lazcano Soriano. His companion’s disappearance has never been solved.
A total of 23 people were on board the two boats that capsized near San Diego. Many of the other passengers are believed to have disembarked and escaped.
Mexican officials said preliminary identifications based on records found on the bodies of people showed seven of the eight dead were Mexican.
In the town of Tlacotepec de Benito Juarez, just 25 miles (40 km) from Tehuacan, Alma Figueroa touched Gorgoria’s family.
Figueroa Gorgoria turns 18 next week. She left for the United States with her aunt, 23-year-old Ana Jacqueline Figueroa. Their bodies were identified in San Diego.
Just seven miles (12 km) in the other direction, the nearby farming community of Santiago Mihuatlán was the hometown of Guillermo Suárez González, who also risked the journey by boat to reach the United States. A worker at a local export assembly plant, the 23-year-old dreamed of a better life. He left behind four children. Eloy Hernandez Baltazar, 58, also lived in Santiago Mihuatlán, and was among the dead.
Puebla state’s migrant assistance office said paperwork has been submitted to return Suarez-Gonzalez to his hometown for burial.