BOND OF FRIENDSHIP : Arias, Live-In Family Build Ties of Affection

S low down . . . Right here, this is where I used to live.”

The apartment complex where Rene Arias once lived could use a fresh coat of paint. Maybe two.

Still, it is not the worst building on the street. This Fullerton neighborhood, while not yet in need of a bulldozer, is in decline.

Apartments with disheveled lawns line both sides of the street. On the corner, a man sells produce from the back of a truck. Down the street, a building has been roped off by the police.

Arias remembers the three-bedroom apartment, where his parents and their five children lived. He remembers playing catch with his father and going to the community center to play basketball.

He also remembers gun shots at night.

“You go left right here . . . now turn right . . . hey, there’s my neighbor Shannon . . . Stop. This is where I live.”

The difference is striking. It’s a peaceful setting in north Fullerton, so quiet birds can be heard chirping.

Custom-made homes with manicured yards line both sides of the street. On the corner, there’s a park. Down the street, a teen-ager washes his car.

It’s not five miles from where Arias used to live, but the differences have nothing to do with distance.

Arias has strong ties to both neighborhoods. One is where his father and stepmother reside, the other is where he lives with his all-but-adopted family.

At 17, Arias already has led a complex life. It’s not as simple as black and white or as easy as contrasting neighborhoods.

Arias came--illegally--from Mexico seven years ago. Since then, he has learned to deal with drugs, gangs, separation from his family and, finally, naturalization.

A senior at Fullerton High School, Arias has lived with George and Pam Montgomery for the past 2 1/2 years.

Most of his friends at Fullerton know little about Arias’ situation. To them, he’s the outgoing, sometimes brash, star athlete of the football, basketball and baseball teams.

Arias sidesteps questions about his living arrangement mainly because, at times, not even he understands it.

“It’s just so hard to explain,” he said. “Originally I was just going to spend a couple nights, but I’ve been here ever since. It just happened that way.”

Arias turned to George Montgomery in February 1987 after a minor argument with his parents.

Arias has been close to the Montgomerys ever since he played Pony League with Jon, the second of three sons in the family. So, he felt comfortable turning to them.

“He asked for help and just responded,” Montgomery said. “I brought him home and said, ‘Honey, we got another son.’ For how long, I didn’t know.”

George Montgomery talked with Arias’ parents and they decided that he would stay for a few days.

“It sounds a lot worse than it really was,” Arias said. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. I mean, my parents are really nice people. I still see them a lot.”

That Arias remained longer than a few days also was a decision reached by both families, but mainly it had to do with the death of Arias’ grandfather.

Robert Arias and Maria Arias had to return to Mexico to take care of the family ranch. Because they would be shuttling between the two countries, they felt it would be better to have Rene stay with the Montgomerys, who take care of almost all his expenses.

“Our intention was to get the family situation worked out,” said George Montgomery, an insurance agent. “But they had to go to Mexico so often that we all decided it would be much better just to let Rene stay with us.”

Arias sees his parents about once a month when they’re in the United States. His older brother, Joe, who lives in Whittier, makes a point to check up on his brother.

Robert Arias also has kept a close eye on his son. Rene’s grades still are sent to his parents’ home for his father to see.

“He lets me know when I’m messing up,” Rene Arias said. “He’s very strict about school work.”

Arias initially got to know Jon Montgomery when they both were in Little League, and they later played for a Pony League team coached by George Montgomery. But the first family member he met was Pam Montgomery.

“I was working in the snack bar and Rene came walking up to buy something,” she said. “I said, ‘Do you know you have the cutest smile I ever saw?’ ”

Although Pam Montgomery didn’t know it, Rene didn’t really understand much of what she said. He had only arrived in the United States six months before and still was learning English.

Robert and Arcelia Arias were divorced when Rene was 3. Robert Arias got custody of his four sons and Arcelia got the three daughters.

Five years later, Robert Arias came to the United States to look for work and left his sons, Joe, Robert, Gilbert and Rene at their grandparents’ ranch in Guadalajara.

When Arias was 10, his aunt and uncle came to visit. The day before Thanksgiving, he was told to get into the car with his brothers. Although he didn’t know it, they were headed for the United States.

The journey was without incident. Rene slept through most of the trip and, when he awoke, he thought they still were in Mexico.

“About 11 p.m., my father walked in and smiled at us,” Arias said. “I was really happy because I hadn’t seen him in so long.”

Robert Arias soon remarried and the family moved into the three-bedroom apartment in Fullerton. During the next year the family would increase in size.

First, Robert and Maria had a son, Javier. Then Fina Arias, Rene’s sister, came to live with them.

Even with three bedrooms, things were a little cramped.

“Javier slept with my parents and Fina slept on the couch,” Rene said. “The rest of us shared the other two rooms, but things weren’t too bad.”

What was bad was the neighborhood. It was Rene’s first experience with drugs and gangs.

His father tried to keep the family away from the bad elements. Whenever possible, he tried to steer them from people who could be harmful.

“My dad used to really yell at me when he saw me talking to some of the wrong people,” Arias said. “He didn’t want us to go near anybody that was causing trouble.”

Robert Arias couldn’t shield his sons entirely. Contact was bound to occur. Rene and his brother did get to know some of the gang members and they couldn’t help but notice the drug abuse.

“People would be doing drugs right in front of our apartment,” Rene said. “And people were getting jumped at night. I even remember a couple guys getting shot on the corner. It was a pretty rough area.”

Arias adjusted. Although some of his friends were into drugs, he stayed clean.

“I used to tell them, ‘Man, why are you doing that?’ ” Arias said. “It was such a waste.”

The Montgomerys never asked Rene about his citizenship. It was understood that he didn’t have any papers.

“We didn’t want to inquire with any agency, because we didn’t want to cause any trouble,” Pam Montgomery said. “For Rene or his family. We were worried, though, especially about college. Rene would need a social security number to get into school.”

In 1987, the United States government offered a general amnesty for illegal aliens who had established residency. It was a chance for Arias to get his citizenship.

Robert Arias was the first to apply to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization. Once he was accepted, he contacted the rest of the family to get them to apply.

For Rene, it was an ordeal that lasted more than three months, the last three weeks of which he went almost every day to the department’s Garden Grove office.

Fullerton football coach Steve Nishimoto helped Arias with some of the questions on the forms, as did the Montgomerys. Nishimoto also allowed Arias and teammate John Bailey to leave practice early--at times.

It left the Indians without their starting quarterback and top receiver, but Bailey had a car and Arias needed someone to drive him to the INS office.

“I was never very worried, because I knew I would qualify,” Arias said. “The first time I went there, they told me I would have no problems. I was active and I spoke English well. All I needed to do was prove I had lived here for seven years.”

Documentation was the hardest part. Arias, his father and the Montgomerys collected school records, athletic awards, even photographs. The result was a file that proved Arias had been in the United States since he was 10.

“It was a complete nightmare,” Pam Montgomery said. “We were running everywhere looking for documents. We finally had enough proof.”

George Montgomery never was concerned, however. He knew that if anybody got amnesty, it would be Rene.

“Rene strives at everything he does,” Montgomery said. “This was a kid who taught himself English by using a computer. Nothing is going to stop him.”