Becoming a Permanent Resident

Miguel Rodriguez tells the story of how he got his Permanent Resident Card (green card), which allowed him to continue his college education. Miguel arrived 

Desert to Oregon, a Paintbrush in Hand

Hussein Al-Baiaty was born in Iraq during the first Gulf War. To escape the dangerous living conditions, he and his family fled to a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia.

In the Land of the Free

One of Mariamou’s Abdoulye’s earliest memories of growing up in the Central African Republic: being chased by someone with a machete.

Determination Born in a Refugee Camp

During the 1990s, Bhutan’s policy of “One Nation, One People,” forced Nabin Dhimal, who was just a young child at the time, to leave his home with his family and […]

Sankar Raman

Leaving Cuba for a Brighter Future

In 2011 at 16, when Ruben left the bright, sunny and festive Santiago de Cuba for an unfamiliar life in Portland, Oregon it was bittersweet.

Sankar Raman

In Limbo O’Er the Land of the Free

Depressed and undocumented, Jhoana knew she needed to change her life around. Born in Pachuca, Mexico in 1991, Jhoana grew up in a small house that her  

Sankar Raman

It is the Only Way to Succeed

Alejandro was barely 10 years old when his father died. He was devastated, his world suddenly turned upside down. Alejandro was born in 1980 in Bryan, Texas.  

Sankar Raman

Crossing the Line in the Sand

Ivan was eleven years old when his family left Mexico. He had been doing well in his school in Mexico and he was very popular because of his loud voice […]

Sankar Raman

A Mother’s Pain is not in Vain

Migration is nothing new in Professor Malini Johar Schueller’s family. Her father had migrated before she was born and she herself was an immigrant.

Sankar Raman

Shall we Dance Bollywood?

DJ Prashant may look like a typical Indian immigrant, but if his dance moves are any evidence, his story has a quintessential Bollywood plot written all over it.

Ricardo Nagaoka

Everybody has Potential Inside

Rosi might have been a rebel without a cause when she was young, but she believes that she was also an unwitting product of growing up a Latina in a […]

Sankar Raman

The Dawn of a New Life

Nawid  considers his arrival in the U.S. six months ago as the dawn of his life. He was born and brought up in the war-torn and dangerous Halmand Province in […]

Sankar Raman

In the Land of the Free

Mariamou thought she was leaving behind hatred, violence, and fear when she arrived in America. But now in Portland, Oregon, she once again fears for her life.

Yuriana Aguilar

A Cardiac Scientist with Heart

In a country that has historically celebrated its scientific community, a scientist with an uncertain future is not that common. But Dr. Yuriana Aguilar is an undocumented

Sankar Raman

Coursing the Meandering Paths

By the time Abdikarim settled in Kakuma Refugee Camp at age 11, he had already lived in three countries. He was born in 1990 in Somalia, when it was on the […]