The Figueroa family came to Canada from El Salvador via Mexico. The civil war in El Salvador had led to a chaotic situation that had Louis, Miriam and their daughters Miriam and Julia afraid for their lives. An armed robbery of the grocery store run by Miriam was the final straw for the family who fled to Mexico. The Figueroas spent eight years in Mexico and lived very happily there. Unfortunately, they were unable to become Mexican citizens and were faced with deportation back to El Salvador. When sponsored by St. Pauls United church the family moved to Thunder Bay.

While the elder Miriam describes Canada as "like paradise", the family all found the language barrier to be exceptionally difficult to overcome. The younger Miriam has said that the first four years she spent in Canada were very hard. She missed her friends and had difficulty communicating with her new peer group due to her tenuous grasp of the language.