Dying marigolds hang limply in a 7-11 coffee cup in the back of the offrenda. Pan de Muerto is left in the center among paper cutouts of faces and skeletons. In the back along the base of the box are human shaped cutouts made of cardboard with the words “man,” “woman” and “child” on each. They are humble offerings for the deceased.

They represent the nameless, faceless deaths of illegal immigrants who attempted to cross the Mexican-American Border.

This is the “offrenda,” or “altar,” created by 19-year-old DeAnza student Jacqueline Escobar. She is the first in her family of Mexican immigrants to be able to go to college. Her parents made the very same journey which her offrenda is dedicated to.

According to Escobar, there are white crosses along the Tijuana Boarder, with the titles “unidentified” running through their center, approximately 331 people died attempting to cross the border in 2007 thus far.

Immigrants often say a prayer to Santo Toribio Ramon before attempting the trip, said Escobar. A popular legend says the saint will come to immigrants who are crossing the desert and give them them food or water. “The Prayer of the Immigrant” lies before Escobar’s offrenda, in both its native Spanish and English, which requests that Santo Toribio intercede to Christ on behalf of the immigrant who is traveling.

“This offrenda is for the immigrants whose bodies weren’t identified. Most of their families can’t do an offrenda for them. They don’t know if they’re dead or if they made it on the other side,” said Escobar.

“Since when did somebody say a dream has to hurt? Since when do you have to die for it? All these people are doing is trying to attain their dreams. They’re not criminals. They’re not terrorists. They just want to work. They want to support the families they have in Mexico,” said Escobar.

Escobar is also a member of the Puente Program at De Anza College, whose mission statement is, “…to increase the number of educationally underserved students who enroll in four-year universities.”

Escobar said that it’s difficult as the first member of her family to go to college. She felt that she didn’t know what she needed to do to enroll, where to go or which classes to take. In the Puente program, she has found mentors and a close knit community that supports and cares for her.