Stories
In America Since Age 2, Texan Fears Deportation to El Salvador if TPS Ends
In 1997, the Iraheta family fled their native El Salvador, a country racked by political unrest following a 12-year civil war, for safety and opportunity in the United States. Claudia Iraheta was 2 years old. Her family settled in Farmers Branch, Texas, and has been able… Read More
Without DACA, Gifted Linguist Faces Deportation Instead of Law School
When Santiago Tobar Potes was brought to the United States at age 3, he spoke only Spanish. Now 20 and a student at Columbia University, he has become a gifted linguist, teaching himself English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Haitian Creole, and Chinese, and now working on Arabic and Russian. He wants… Read More
WZZM 13: Study: Immigrants pay millions in taxes in Grand Rapids
The New American Economy partnered with dozens of national organizations to host the iMarch for Immigration Campaign – a nationwide campaign happening Wednesday, Dec. 6. As part of the campaign NAE released new data regarding the role of immigrants throughout the U.S. Their study revealed the following: In the Grand Rapids Metro Area,… Read More
Undocumented for Years, Republican Immigrant Runs for State House
Not many brides choose GOP figureheads as their wedding inspiration, but for Brazilian-American newspaper editor, local Republican candidate, and formerly undocumented immigrant Emanuela Palmares, it was a no-brainer. This fall, when Palmares married Connecticut Rep. J.P. Sredzinski, the couple put portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson on their wedding… Read More
First Generation Farmer May Be Only-Generation Farmer if Foreign Labor Stays Home
Brandon Fawaz grew up tending backyard crops on 15 acres in Fort Jones, a small town in California’s far north Scotts Valley. The son of a Lebanese-American highway patrolman and a school principal, Fawaz ultimately stuck with farming. Today, Fawaz Farming, located 12 miles south of his hometown, produces hay… Read More
Without Migrant Workers, Texas Shrimp Trawlers Forced to Tie Up Boats
In 2007, Andrea Hance and her husband decided to buy a shrimp boat. The couple had stable careers in South Texas — he as a crop insurance agent and she as the owner of a mortgage company. But they were looking for a new challenge and were taken with the… Read More
DACA Recipient Wants to Give Her All to Only Country She Knows
In 2012, when Liz Cortez finally got her work permit under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows undocumented immigrants brought to the country as young children to legally live and work in the United States, she treated the paper like a massive engagement ring. “I was obsessed… Read More
Company Founder, a Chinese Immigrant, Brings Factory Jobs from Asia to Maryland
In 2011, Chesapeake Bay Candle hit a unique milestone. That was the year the company, which manufactures high-end decorative candles, moved a significant portion of its production operations out of Vietnam and began manufacturing its products in a factory near Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Photo: Sherri Cunningham / CC… Read More
Pastor: U.S. Economy Needs Low-Skilled Immigrants, Too
The Missouri Bootheel, in the far southeastern corner of Missouri, is not known for its immigrants, who account for just 1.3 percent of the population. But Sunday mass at St. Cecilia’s Parish in Kennett is full of foreign-born worshippers. Of the 250 families who attend the church, roughly two-thirds are… Read More
Immigrants are ‘Our Colleagues, Our Employees’ Says Advocate
Maria Teresa Borden, a journalist-turned-communications professional, was born in the United States, but she has an intimate understanding of the reasons people leave their native countries to start new lives. Her parents were refugees who fled Cuba after the revolution. And in Texas, where she lived from the age of… Read More
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