"This (Illegal) American Life" In the story "This (Illegal) American Life" Maria Andreu explains the struggle of smuggling into the United States and living as an alien without documents. Andreu's parents came to the United States in their early twenties, at the time with little Andreu. I look forward to having a better life here in the United States. When Andreu turned six, his grandfather died. Andreu and his mother left the country and arrived in Argentina to attend the funeral. They had no visas. Therefore, they could not legally enter the United States. They were stuck in Argentina for two years. Until his father finally found some "coyotes" who would return Andreu and his mother to the United States for a certain amount of money. They depended on traffickers because that was just the beginning of his next challenges. Andreu could not do certain things because she was undocumented. It struggled for a while, but then Congress passed the Amnesty Act of 1987. And its unsuccessful future ended up becoming bright and doors that were once closed, opened. Then she realized that she is no different from anyone else and fits in with both illegal immigrants and "real" Americans. I think Andreu's biggest challenges as a child were when her grandfather died in South America. , and she and her mother had to leave the country to attend the funeral. It was a challenge because they had no legal way to return to the United States and were stuck in Argentina for two years. As a result, she was forced to return to the United States illegally. First, Andreu notes, "We couldn't get a visa to return. My father sent us money from New Jersey, as the months of our absence stretched into years" (618). When Andreu left the country, she thought she would only be gone for a month. He didn't expect to live the Argentine life for the next two years. Homesickness and missing the things that were part of her daily life in the United States made her realize that this was the case