Industries
For DACA Youth, Top Grades and Hard Work Not Enough
Emmanuel Diaz graduated third in his class at Appling County high school, in Baxley, Georgia, in 2013 – his grades and accomplishments so impressive that he won more than $20,000 in scholarships. This would have made Diaz a prime candidate for admission to the state’s top three schools: The University… Read More
Cherry Farmer to Washington: Give Our (Mexican) Workers Flexibility to Travel
Fifth-generation cherry farmer Dean Devine harvests around 110 acres of cherries on his properties in Modesto and Lodi, in California. He has been in the cherry business for 40 years and knows how important it is to treat the fruit with care. Cherries are one of the most labor-intensive crops. Read More
Massachusetts Tech Giant Once Couldn’t Get Hired. Why? The Visa System
When Amar Sawhney came from India in 1987 to study chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), he had little but the few hundred dollars his mother had given him after selling her jewelry. Three decades later, he is a successful researcher, inventor, and serial entrepreneur who… Read More
Immigration Policy Hurting California Orchards
Santa Barbara County resident Rick Shade has been in the orchard business for generations, so he knows how time-sensitive the harvest is for crops like peaches, flowers, and lettuce. “When that stuff is ready, man, you’ve got to get it harvested today,” he says. “Not yesterday, not tomorrow — today.”… Read More
California Student Uses DACA Status To Start a Business
As soon as Ovier Alvarez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was granted the right to legally work in the United States, he started a photography business. Alvarez is a Dreamer, one of roughly 800,000 who has so far received protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a 2012 policy… Read More
DACA Recipient Dreams of Buying His Mother a House
Shortly after Jesus Perez began working as a social science research assistant at Johns Hopkins University, his 10-year-old brother asked for an ice-cream cone. Perez felt deep gratitude that he could say yes. As the undocumented son of Mexican immigrants, he didn’t have such luxuries when he was young. “Having… Read More
U.S. News & World Report: The Privilege of U.S. Citizenship
In 1991, the summer I turned 16, my family and I came to the United States seeking political asylum from the Soviet Union. We had about $600 among the five of us. Less than a month later, as we began to settle in Chicago, the USSR disintegrated and we found… Read More
Dreamer Counsels Long Island Students to Dream — and Work Hard
In 2012, Carolina Perez was on the verge of getting a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology at Hunter College, in New York City, but she was depressed about her prospects. Born in Chile, Perez came to the United States with her family when she was 11 years old. Once… Read More
Venezuelan Fulbright Scholar Brings Soulful Food to Baltimore
In 2015, when Irena Stein opened Alma Cocina Latina in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood, the food world took notice. “The best restaurant to open for years in the Southeast Baltimore neighborhood,” said The Baltimore Sun. The Washington Post told readers they should “prepare to be dazzled” by both the Venezuelan cuisine… Read More
DACA Entrepreneur Gives Back, Offers Free Web Training
Ramiro Rodriguez is an ivy league-educated entrepreneur whose startup, the live-streaming company Riivet, recently graduated from a tech accelerator program to a company with a dozen steady clients. He is also an undocumented immigrant who owes his success to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a 2012 policy that allows… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
