Stories
1986 Immigration Reform Allowed This Mexican Immigrant to Capture his American Dream
Oscar Gutierrez is Controller of one of Indiana’s wealthiest cities and has an impressive record of service in the U.S. military. And yet, as a child, he never wanted to come to America. His childhood in Toluca, a bustling town near Mexico City, was comfortably middle class, thanks to the… Read More
Though Able to Work, This DACA Recipient Hopes to Eventually Return to School
It wasn’t until she was in high school, that Mari Pachuca learned she didn’t have a Social Security number. Pachuca knew she was undocumented. She was brought to Washington state by her parents at age six and raised by her mother. But the real implications of her legal status only… Read More
Working with Immigrants Convinced One Law Student About the Need for Immigration Reform
Annie Zangari didn’t have particularly strong views on immigration growing up in the predominately white town of Northampton, Pa. But after completing her first year at Villanova University law school, the 23-year-old joined the school’s immigration clinic in May 2013. And she has come to believe that the public perceptions… Read More
Pastor Says Bible is Clear on Immigration: Treat Newcomers with Love, Kindness and Mercy
Pastor Jason Aguilar believes the Bible is clear on immigration policy. To him, even the example of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden can be interpreted through an immigration lens. After the couple tasted the forbidden fruit, God punished them, but also showed compassion. “They had… Read More
Ohio House Candidate Talked Candidly About Need for Immigration Reform
Tom Dunlap spent 18 years in the Huron County Sheriff’s office, including four years as Sheriff. During his career in public service, he’s gotten to know a number of the county’s foreign-born residents. “Over the years many of the migrant farm workers in the muck farm area have stayed and… Read More
After Witnessing an ICE Raid, Restaurant Consultant Considers the Value — and Virtue — of Immigration Reform
Derrick De Lise’s job as a restaurant and hotel consultant is relatively drama-free — except for that one time Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) showed up. De Lise, a Culinary Institute of America graduate in Poughkeepsie, New York, typically spends six to eight weeks at a client’s business, helping to… Read More
DC Business Owner’s Immigrant Father Worked to Give Family a Better Life in America
Though Teri Galvez grew up in a working-class family in a rural farming community in Modesto, California, her immigrant father worked hard to create a stable family life. “I never grew up feeling less than or being embarrassed of our socioeconomic status,” says Galvez. “I never felt inferior like so… Read More
How a Former Undocumented Immigrant Started a $3 Million Business That Created 80 Jobs
Jorge Fierro was making himself a burrito after his dishwashing shift when he got the idea for the business that would eventually become Rico Brands, a $3 million food business and employer of 80. “I opened a can of refried beans,” Fierro says, “and I just couldn’t believe how bad… Read More
To Harvest His Crops, Georgia Farmer Needs U.S. To Improve Immigration Policy
Brent Bloser is a lifelong farmer who must hire 15 to 20 people every season to help him harvest his cotton, peanuts, cucumbers, and tomatoes. But it’s getting harder for him to employ the foreign workers he needs. Not only is the current U.S. guest worker program a bureaucratic hassle,… Read More
Mexican-American Student Sets Her Sights on Congress and a Humanitarian Immigration Policy
Jasmine Martinez is a second-generation Mexican-American who grew up acutely aware of what her family endured to give her a better life. Those sacrifices — and stories about the social injustice and discrimination her grandfather experienced after coming to the United States from Mexico in the 1940s — have inspired… Read More
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