Sankar Raman

A Focus on the Possible

For Emiliano Ruelas Sosa, the doors to the American dream began to close when he was 15. Due to his legal status he was not allowed to get his driver’s […]

Sankar Raman

A Rebellion Against Silence

Sindy Avila-Gutierrez looks back undaunted on her life as an undocumented immigrant.  “I’ve always been a rebel in that way,” she says. “You tell me

Karen Weliky

Using Identity to Live Out Loud

In elementary school Osvaldo Gonzalez felt sure that he was destined to be an outsider. “I felt like it was not OK to be me,” he remembers. “I would sit […]

Karen Weliky

A Musician’s Education

As he was relaxing on the beach at sunset, beer in hand, Gerardo Calderon Garcia was startled when a stranger approached. After a short conversation, the stranger

Sankar Raman

Where Are You From?

It took Dr. Elizabeth Flores through high school, college, and medical school to really understand herself. Born in America, raised in Mexico,  

John Rudoff

Weaving a New Life into a New City

When Francisco Bautista married, his father gave him the family’s 250-pound wooden foot-pedal loom. When he left Teotitlán del Valle, Mexico for the U.S.

John Rudoff

Conquering a Life of Uncertainty

Daniel Franco Núñez’s earliest memory is being smuggled across the border into the US in his grandfather’s arms. Núñez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico In 1985.

John Rudoff

Keep Knocking on Doors

Even while battling kidney disease and working at McDonalds to pay her way through college, Marissa de los Angeles Roxinny Salgado Garcia

Sankar Raman

From Conflict to Confidence

At just six years old, Heriberto Bolanos raised his hand to cross the border from Mexico into the United States under the powerful jets

Lisa Cohn

Pleading for a Pathway

Azucena Javier-Marquez is relieved about the June 18 U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting attempts by the Trump administration to end protections

Sankar Raman

Believe in Yourself and Go the Distance

Elizabeth Flores always knew that it was up to her to solve her own problems.  “I realized pretty early in high school that I wasn’t going to get out of […]

Jim Lommasson

Faded Shirt, Mexico City, Mexico

Ivan Hernandez: My mom bought me this T shirt at la Villa de Guadalupe in Mexico City, on our way to the border. She prayed that we made it safe […]

Paul Fardig

Upsetting the Status Quo

Contrary to the unobtrusive lifestyles of most immigrants, blending in has never been a priority for Victor Maldonado. Behind his signature blue mask,

Sankar Raman

The Strength within Yourself

Instead of a novel, Brianda Alcazar would sneak her geometry book into her room at night and wait till her parents were in bed so she could turn on the […]