It was Laura’s late husband who moved the family to the United States—to help his parents start a ministry in Bentonville, Arkansas. His parents were retired missionaries who had immigrated to the United States years earlier and were, by then, U.S. citizens.24
“I didn’t want to come,” Laura said, but for three years her in-laws
kept pushing. “They were insisting.”
Five years after Laura agreed to relocate, her husband was killed in
an accident, leaving her with two children who had integrated into their
new life in the United States. “I started doing any kind of job I could
do because I needed to support myself,” she said. “I knew that not
having a social security number I couldn’t apply anywhere.”
Unauthorized to work in the United States, Laura did what so many
immigrant women in her situation do: she worked as a babysitter and
nanny. There was always plenty of work, and she was, and still is, good
at it, she said. “Every single day I show up.” When a family asked if
she knew anyone who cleaned houses, she said, “I know no one, but I can
do it.”
Laura spent 14 years taking care of other people’s children. Most of
the parents, all U.S.-born, worked for Walmart, which has its
headquarters in Bentonville.
Last year, when Laura became authorized to work in the United States, she took a full-time job at a friend’s office. But she still works part-time for the family she had been nannying for. “I take my lunchtime at 3:30 p.m., and I pick up the kids from school.” She remains in high demand for her childcare work. “A lot of families know me.”
Laura is grateful for the babysitting work, and to have been able to help these American families. “The family I worked for for many years, that family was a blessing,” she said. “They paid me very well. Every year they gave me a bonus. They valued my work.”
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