Migrant woman searches for husband who has vanished, a common occurrence as men struggle to find jobs

CHICAGO — During Jessica Juma’s first week of work, her husband disappeared.

For nearly six months, the husband and wife from a rural Ecuadorian town had struggled to find jobs in Chicago. They had gone to clinics and panhandled in front of grocery stores.

But then, the 36-year-old mother found a therapist, who helped soothe her trauma and obtain the right paperwork to work legally. When she was offered a job packing fruits and vegetables at Mariano’s in Lakeview, her husband told her he was happy she was working. But the 37-year-old still hadn’t found a job himself. The stress was taking a toll.

Later that day he left and never came back.

“It was like normal. Everything was normal, but we never heard from him again,” Juma said.

Since his disappearance, Juma has spent weeks in a daze, holding back tears. She’s walked along the lakefront, calling his name — Angel Mashiant. She’s filed a missing person’s report and approached police cars to ask for help.

She’s gotten no answers from police and doesn’t know what to do.Though it’s uncertain what happened to Juma’s husband, the migrant mother represents a