It never crossed my mind, it was never an issue for me. Until I became an adult,
that's where I started noticing the difference.
The person on the other end might have been
Antonio,
or Hugo,
or any of the other of the 100,000+ deportees Mexico receives from the U.S. every year.
Many of these deportees are skilled workers who speak English,
which makes them perfect candidates for call centers like this.
I landed in a country where sometimes I think I don't belong to, but
I think in that require I'm lucky.
I didn't know what I liked to do, or what I'm able to do.
Hugo is one of hundreds of deportees who were hired by Voxcentrix,
a call center located just 10 minutes from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Currently we're about we have about 500 agents and I would say 70 percent are deportees.
This was the first time Hugo and Antonio, another employee of the call center,
had been to Mexico as adults.
Although they were born there, they were taken to the U.S. by their parents
at a very young age.
I was in the United States for the majority of my life since I was 8 months old.
I was six or seven, I don't remember good, I was with my mom, that's the only family
I ever had, and I went over there, a new country, never been there.
I was amazed by it and I liked the city, the lights and everything.
I went to school over there from Head Start to kindergarten all the way to a high school
graduate and one semester of college.
Some employees who work at Voxcentrix have troubled pasts and criminal convictions -
but that doesn't stop the employers from hiring them. They believe everyone who's served their
time deserves a second chance.
Hugo was deported from the U.S. after serving time for one such criminal conviction.
He became involved in gangs in LA at a younger age and served about 14 years in U.S. prison
after being convicted of voluntary manslaughter. He acknowledges his past and says he's trying
to start a new, better life.
Antonio was convicted of possessing and selling narcotics.
I got deported back in 2013, and here I am.
But it was a rough ride, it wasn't easy.
The hardest is being disconnected from everybody,
I think human beings, the biggest fear in life is being alone,
being completely alone.
Last time I got in trouble with the police, well, I came over here,
the process is a little experience.
They take you to the, you know, the [border crossing] that's right there,
and they give you a paper, saying you're Mexican
and that's your identification that you got deported from the other side.
With the influx of U.S. deportees in the last several years, Mexico is now one of the leading
countries in the billion-dollar call center industry.
Catching up to the Philippines and India.
At this call center, they train recent deportees to do everything from customer service to
technical support.
They know they're hard workers because it's tough out there, it's tough working in the
United States as an illegal alien so they have that strength within them to find a job,
to struggle to get one. And
So when they come in front of me and they tell me I worked in the field
or in construction work for 10 years,
I know they have the commitment, and I know they know what a job is like-
to keep a job for a long time is what I'm trying to say.
Deportees in Mexico arrive with almost nothing. Many are coping with separation from their
family in the U.S. and feeling clueless on how to start from scratch.
Documents like work permits and valid ID are needed in order to earn any kind of income or work.
That's another area where the call center comes in.
I wasn't able to get my birth certificate until eight or nine months later after I got here.
So I was walking around with that little piece of paper like that. It expires within a month.
So that's another problem right there.
Don't get me wrong, these people are unmotivated. These people have their feelings afloat.
I mean, they're going through a tough time, you know, they left their families behind.
They're depressed, they don't know their way around.
It's like they are foreign in their own country.
You know, I want to make them believe that
Both Hugo and Antonio say they've found professional career stability that they never
really had in the United States. They say they're optimistic about their future.
So for being a man that didn't have nothing just forty dollars in my pocket.
To being able to have a little bit of hope, to being able to do something with my life.
This is my first job here in Mexico and I've been loyal and true. And it's gone very good.
And that's why I'm still here. I'm given an opportunity to do something.
And everything, collecting, you know, working with people over the phone,
having good public relations skills over the phone,
I learned mathematics, computer programs, multitasking.
You name it, we do it here.
When it comes to customer service, American corporations like AT&T outsource these jobs to Mexico
since it's cheaper and because many of these workers can better communicate
with their customers.
Think about it; deportees like Antonio and Hugo understand the American culture
because they were raised in the states.
With the right tools & training, this understanding helps them excel at customer service in the call center.
Mexico has a lot to offer for them, and be beyond the violence, beyond all the things
you see on the news. There's a lot of good people still out here in Mexico.
It's a different type of job compared to the U.S. Most people that you know come here,
think it's they're going to find themselves doing labor intensive work and it's not true,
you know, there are more opportunities for people that speak English that are well-educated,
that are well-skilled.
Come back, you'll be welcome here. And there are some opportunities here for you and there's
people that will have your back. Guaranteed.
In its own way, they like to help immigrants too,
I think that's one of the reasons that I like it here. Look,
I wanna see if a little troubled kid can make something out of nothing.
I'm happy, you know. I'm not happy that I can't be over at the United States,
but I'm happy that I am given another opportunity, a life.
Antonio started as an agent and has since advanced to a senior position .
Hugo says he's moving on from his actions in the past.
And is growing personally and professionally.
I want to buy land, a house, and have everything the little kid dreams about, you know?
I love my Mexican culture. The people are, you know, are very like hard workers.
You know, I thought, damn Mexicans in the United States, over here you got to be twice as hard work.
It makes me stronger, it only makes me stronger here.