At the onset of asparagus season, the union agitators step up the pressure on both the farm owners and the Mexican workers. Acts of sabotage plague Esperanza and her friends. When she and her group are being harassed by a picket line of strikers, “[s]he wanted to tell them that her mother was sick. That she had to pay the bills. She wanted to explain to them about Abuelita and how she had to find a way to get some money to her so she could travel” (200). However, the strikers aren’t listening.

Eventually, immigration officials raid the camp, and the strikers scatter. Those who are caught are deported even if they are American citizens. Esperanza finds Marta hiding in a packing shed. She doesn’t reveal Marta’s presence and allows the girl to escape. Esperanza thinks about the terrible plight of family members separated from each other. Although Esperanza fears for her own group, the adults reassure her that the farm owners still need them, so they will be protected. Later, Esperanza asks Miguel to drive past the strikers’ camp to check on Marta and her mother. It is deserted because everyone has fled.