Stories
Duke University Student and DACA Recipient Hopes for More Permanent Solution for America’s Undocumented Students
Axel grew up in North Carolina and considers Durham his hometown—but when he won a full-ride scholarship to Duke University, he was classified as an international student. The reason? Ramos is an undocumented immigrant. And so he attended orientation alongside students—including some from Honduras, his country of birth—who had never… Read More
Brought to U.S. as a Child, a Jockey’s Daughter Wants to Work Even as Immigration Policy Impedes Her Efforts
In many ways, Maria Rojas, a senior education major at Northern Kentucky University, is like many ambitious young Americans. She’s president of her co-ed fraternity, Alpha Psi Lambda, and plans on becoming an elementary school teacher. “I’ve always loved teaching ever since I was a little girl, when I would… Read More
Recent Graduate Knows the Value of Investing in Immigrant Students
As an immigrant, military spouse, aspiring law student, and intern at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, Claudia Delgadillo speaks from experience when she talks about bridging different worlds. Sometimes it can seem as if Americans are divided, she says. But her unique position as the foreign-born wife of a U.S. soldier… Read More
Sales Executive Sees How U.S. Policy Prevent Hard-Working Immigrants from Making Strongest Economic Impact
Carmen Parada, a cybersecurity expert and sales executive at Burwood Group Inc., was born and raised in Acapulco, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States to be with her American husband in 1996. Though her computer science expertise helped her land a job almost immediately, immigration policy still posed a… Read More
Immigrants are the ‘Motor That Keeps This Community Going,’ Says Dodge City Finance Official
Ernestor is an undocumented immigrant — but also the Interim Human Resource Director and Assistant to the City Manager of Dodge City, where he helps oversee a $51.7 million budget, support local businesses, and coordinate with state and federal officials to advocate for city residents. “It’s very sad that someone… Read More
Conservative Texan Opens His Ranch to Kids Who Crossed the Border Alone
Walker family on the ranch. Ed Walker is a longtime political conservative and the owner-operator of Sabine Creek Ranch, a youth retreat center in Royse City, Texas. The ranch has hosted hundreds of children for church and school camps since 2003. But in 2015, it welcomed a new group: It… Read More
Immigrants Revitalize an Historically Dangerous Neighborhood in Pennsylvania’s Capital
For two decades, Maria Alejandra Hernandez and her family have attended St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, because it provides the only weekly mass in Spanish. The towering brick cathedral is situated in the historically dangerous Allison Hill, but as immigrants have steadily flocked to… Read More
Immigrants and Labor Unions are ‘Natural Allies,’ According to Cornell Union Leadership Institute Co-Director
Patricia Campos-Medina spoke barely a word of English when she arrived from El Salvador at the age of 14—but within four years, she had won a full scholarship to Cornell, where, after stints as the assistant national political director for the Service Employees International Union, director for the New Jersey State… Read More
Nashville Councilman Recounts His Immigrant Past and Shows Just How Much Determination Can Make a Difference
It was a fire in his house that finally convinced Fabian Bedne, now a Nashville councilman and part-owner of an architectural firm that generates up to a quarter of a million dollars in annual business, to become a U.S. citizen. Afterward, he says, “everyone in the community was so… Read More
People Underestimate How Much Immigrants Contribute, Says Advocate
For Sarai Portillo, executive director of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ), immigration reform is not only pertinent to our nation’s economic prosperity, it’s also a matter of public safety. When the state’s undocumented population feels high anxiety and stress, and lives in a constant state of fear of… Read More
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