{"id":5655,"date":"2021-09-25T13:47:44","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T13:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=5655"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:59:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:59:14","slug":"a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/","title":{"rendered":"A Courthouse Moment: ‘El Sue\u00f1o Americano’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifteen years ago, Edelmar Arnoldo Borrayes Cifuentes immigrated from Guatemala to Cary, North Carolina. He got a job in construction, found a house, and made friends in his local Latino community. What he did not do was learn much, if any, English.<\/span><\/p>\n

On this day, Cifuentes sits in a courtroom on the sixth floor of the Durham County Courthouse. He wears a black button down shirt with tiny white polka dots, jeans held up by a leather belt and a navy cloth mask.\u00a0He appears to be in his 40s and has spiky black hair, hardened with gel. He\u2019s short, shorter than his attorney, Aneta Yordanova Paval, who sits before him in the gallery in a maxi skirt and gray sweater.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s here to fight for sole custody of his son, in a language he doesn\u2019t understand, and the translator\u2019s late.<\/span><\/p>\n

A decade ago, attorneys had to formally request an interpreter weeks in advance. But a surge in demand in recent years prompted the courthouse to develop a better system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, it\u2019s like calling an Uber,\u201d said trial court administrator Deneen Barrier. At least in theory.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cifuentes is texting on his phone when Judge Amanda L. Maris calls his case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When he hears his name, he stands, shoves his phone in his jean pocket, and makes his way to the table at the front of the room. His son\u2019s mother, who is supposed to be representing herself, is not present. In fact, she\u2019s in Guatemala.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Cifuentes takes his seat, the translator bursts through the double doors and scurries over to his side. She wears a light blue dress and clutches a clipboard to her chest. Paval, relieved, calls Cifuentes to the witness stand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He walks cautiously to the front of the courtroom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlease place your left hand on the Bible and raise your right,\u201d the court clerk says, as though she\u2019s said it thousands of times. (She has.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Cifuentes, though, doesn\u2019t know this string of words. But he sees a Bible in front of him and notices the bailiff motioning toward it, so he takes a guess as to what he should do: He picks it up with both hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bailiff dashes over and grabs the book while the translator frantically whispers to Cifuentes, who runs a nervous hand through his shiny hair. He guessed wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the bailiff replaces the Bible, and Cifuentes\u2019 attorney helps to properly swear him in, Paval begins asking questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The translator jots furiously on her clipboard as Paval speaks, relaying sentences to Cifuentes before Paval has finished them. Amid the resulting overlap in voices, Cifuentes doesn\u2019t know where to look. He settles for a spot on the gray carpet between the two women.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Via a complicated game of telephone, the court learns that Cifuentes grew up in Guatemala. There he met his wife, Emilia Gomez Alvarado, and had his son, Bryan, whom he took care of until the boy was three. Then Cifuentes decided to fly to the United States solo to chase \u201cEl Sue\u00f1o Americano.\u201d The American Dream.<\/span><\/p>\n

His family was supposed to join him after he built a life for the three of them. But, things didn\u2019t go according to plan. In Guatemala, Alvarado neglected Bryan and left him at the age of 10.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cifuentes describes the dangers his son had to face alone \u2014 the crime, the extortion, the gangs \u2014 in a raw, shaky tone. The translator repeats his message word for word, but her scripted monotone doesn\u2019t quite capture the sorrow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This past June, when Bryan, who turns 18 in October, was finally able to leave Guatemala, Cifuentes saw his son for the first time in 15 years. He moved Bryan into his home, registered him for a local school, and now he wants custody over him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paval is satisfied with her client\u2019s testimony.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo further questions, Your Honor,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, Mr. Cifuentes, you may step down,\u201d Judge Maris replies.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a moment of stillness while the translator relays the message. When Cifuentes walks back to the table, she follows behind him like a dutiful shadow.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the telephone game resumes as Judge Maris states her ruling. Cifuentes stares at her, arms crossed over his chest. He watches her lips move as she says \u201cI hereby grant sole legal and physical custody of the minor child, Bryan Gomez, to Mr. Cifuentes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eyes in the sparsely filled gallery jump over to Cifuentes, expecting celebration. But he remains still. The translator has fallen behind, and she\u2019s not yet repeated the ruling. Cifuentes is the last in the room to learn that he\u2019s won the case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When he does, the moment for a dramatic reaction has passed. He stands, gives a gracious nod to the judge and heads out of the courtroom, leaving his shadow behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fifteen years ago, Edelmar Arnoldo Borrayes Cifuentes immigrated from Guatemala to Cary, North Carolina. He got a job in construction, found a house, and made…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[20,165],"yoast_head":"\nA Courthouse Moment: 'El Sue\u00f1o Americano' - 9th Street Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Courthouse Moment: 'El Sue\u00f1o Americano' - 9th Street Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fifteen years ago, Edelmar Arnoldo Borrayes Cifuentes immigrated from Guatemala to Cary, North Carolina. He got a job in construction, found a house, and made…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"9th Street Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-25T13:47:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-27T15:59:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"stepht@duke.edu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"stepht@duke.edu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"stepht@duke.edu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6\"},\"headline\":\"A Courthouse Moment: ‘El Sue\u00f1o Americano’\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-25T13:47:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-27T15:59:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/\"},\"wordCount\":817,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"A courthouse moment\",\"Immigration\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Courthouse Project\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/\",\"name\":\"A Courthouse Moment: 'El Sue\u00f1o Americano' - 9th Street Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-25T13:47:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-27T15:59:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Courthouse Moment: ‘El Sue\u00f1o Americano’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\",\"name\":\"9th Street Journal\",\"description\":\"We cover Durham (and North Carolina politics)\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"9th Street Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg\",\"width\":869,\"height\":104,\"caption\":\"9th Street Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6\",\"name\":\"stepht@duke.edu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd32b8b967cb1d5c75d96fa74981ba40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd32b8b967cb1d5c75d96fa74981ba40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"stepht@duke.edu\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/centers-dewitt.sanford.duke.edu\"],\"url\":\"#molongui-disabled-link\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Courthouse Moment: 'El Sue\u00f1o Americano' - 9th Street Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Courthouse Moment: 'El Sue\u00f1o Americano' - 9th Street Journal","og_description":"Fifteen years ago, Edelmar Arnoldo Borrayes Cifuentes immigrated from Guatemala to Cary, North Carolina. He got a job in construction, found a house, and made…","og_url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/","og_site_name":"9th Street Journal","article_published_time":"2021-09-25T13:47:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-27T15:59:14+00:00","author":"stepht@duke.edu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"stepht@duke.edu","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/"},"author":{"name":"stepht@duke.edu","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6"},"headline":"A Courthouse Moment: ‘El Sue\u00f1o Americano’","datePublished":"2021-09-25T13:47:44+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-27T15:59:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/"},"wordCount":817,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["A courthouse moment","Immigration"],"articleSection":["Courthouse Project"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/","name":"A Courthouse Moment: 'El Sue\u00f1o Americano' - 9th Street Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-09-25T13:47:44+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-27T15:59:14+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/25\/a-courthouse-moment-el-sueno-americano\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Courthouse Moment: ‘El Sue\u00f1o Americano’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","name":"9th Street Journal","description":"We cover Durham (and North Carolina politics)","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization","name":"9th Street Journal","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","width":869,"height":104,"caption":"9th Street Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6","name":"stepht@duke.edu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd32b8b967cb1d5c75d96fa74981ba40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd32b8b967cb1d5c75d96fa74981ba40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"stepht@duke.edu"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/centers-dewitt.sanford.duke.edu"],"url":"#molongui-disabled-link"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5655\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}