Summary

Chapter 1 is titled "Forced Out," and is an introduction to Francisco Jimenez, the author, and his family. The story is told in past tense as Francisco Jimenez, the author, remembered his experiences from his childhood and adolescence.

Francisco begins his story in the late 1940s when he, his parents, and his older brother Roberto left their home in Mexico so they could cross the border into the United States, hoping to leave a life of poverty behind. They crossed the barbed-wire fence border illegally as Francisco's father, named Papa in the story, warned his family to not be seen or caught by la migra, the immigration officers. The family worked together to dig a hole under the fence so they could wiggle under the fence to the other side.

After Francisco's family was safely in the U.S., they were initially taken to...