Stories
A Lone Face of Diversity Brings Art to a Small New York Town
In Perry, New York, where she serves as the executive director of the Arts Council for Wyoming County, Jackie Hoyt is one of the few non-white, immigrant faces. There, she makes an important contribution to the community of 41,000 by creating a diverse program that… Read More
A Sociologist Does the Math on Immigration Reform
Filiz Garip is fascinated by the unintended consequences of public policy. Take border security. “When you propose something like a wall, it feels like a great solution,” says Garip, a sociology professor at Cornell University. But her research suggests otherwise. Consider that in 1965 there were… Read More
Unintended Consequences: When U.S. Blocks Access, Fewer Unauthorized Immigrants Leave America
David Molina, a professor at the University of North Texas, is the product of two cultures. Born in Detroit, Molina was raised by an American mother and a Mexican father, who was in Michigan to complete a medical residency. The family moved to Mexico City when Molina was… Read More
Entrepreneur from New Zealand Creates Jobs while Helping Americans Give Back
When Dale Nirvani Pfeifer stumbled upon a Facebook post about an Afghan teacher trying to build a school for girls, she immediately felt compelled to give. Yet it took a good half hour to hunt down the website and navigate the donation form. “How many… Read More
Wisconsin Dairy Farms Rely on Immigrant Labor
John Holevoet is the director of government affairs for the Dairy Business Milk Marketing Cooperative, a Midwest trade group. The Green Bay, Wisconsin, organization advocates for the industry and the farmers and workers that drive it — and that includes the region’s immigrant residents. “In Wisconsin, we rely pretty… Read More
Concentrate on Working Together, Says Chilean-American Minister
When Fredy Pavez was ministering to his congregation in Vina Del Mar, Chile, a Southern Baptist pastor from Amarillo, Texas, asked for his help. The cleric explained that his city had a growing Hispanic population but his church’s attendance was low, and he wanted to know if Pavez would consider… Read More
Long-Time HR Manager Could Lose Own Job Without DACA Fix
As the human resources manager for a Greensboro, North Carolina, company, Laura Garduño García has had to tell many job applicants that she cannot hired them if they are unauthorized to work in the United States. But there’s a twist: While she has lived in North Carolina for the past… Read More
Iranian Refugee Fills In-Demand Role in U.S. Workforce
When Iranian refugee Muhsin Kazemipour stepped into his first accounting class at Amarillo College, he knew it was a good fit. “I saw my classmates struggling through the class, and I really enjoyed it. It was like a fun puzzle to fix. After the first semester of those classes, I… Read More
Doctor Restores Vision Globally but Needs Skilled Workers in U.S.
Since 1986, Dr. Jash Sharma has run CIMA Life Science, an international company that fulfills a personal mission: Inspired by his father, who went blind at age 62, Dr. Sharma is helping tens of thousands of vision-impaired people to see. The company manufactures intraocular lenses, which replace a patient’s natural… Read More
Dreamer Brings Innovation to North Carolina Farmers
In 2013, Estefania Castro Vazquez was valedictorian at Smithfield-Selma high school, where she gave an upbeat speech urging her fellow graduates to set out fearlessly, and build a life on their own terms. But when she went to embrace her mother afterward, Estefania saw that she was crying. These weren’t… Read More
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