I arrived in Aotearoa in 2006—at a time when the war on drugs in Mexico was deteriorating and the xenophobic discourse in the US was escalating. My parents made the sacrifice of putting whatever savings and loans they had into offering me the opportunity to migrate—and while it was a heavy responsibility to carry, I also acknowledge the privilege it was to even be given that opportunity. After arriving in Aotearoa as an international student, I soon found out that the international student fees were far too expensive to cover. We were expected to be able to afford at least $20,000 a year in fees, while only being able to work 20 hours a week to sustain ourselves. We international students, after all, have been used by the Government to patch up the lack of funding they gave to tertiary institutions.