Adoubou Traore: working on behalf of African immigrants

Adoubou Traore was born in the Ivory Coast and is currently a language teacher at Cañada College as well as project director of the African Advocacy Network, located in San Fransisco.  He originally came to the US with a Fulbright scholarship and after concluding his studies was granted permanent residency.  He began to volunteer as a teacher for different organizations that worked on behalf of immigrants and eventually developed an interest in working for non-profits.

The African Advocacy Network provides counseling and support for a wide range of clients, is very involved in community building amongst the broad African community, and also connects leaders from the African community with leaders of other immigrant and non-immigrant communities.

Saad Nabeel tells his story of being deported

Saad Nabeel was deported to Bangladesh in 2009 at the age of 18 after living in the US since he was 3 years old.  Read his story here or listen below.

Getachew Mengesha – an Ethopian taxi driver

“When I came to the United States, I thought I came to a free country… but when I get into this industry, I was like a volunteer slave.”

Getachew Mengesha came to the United States in the 1990s and received political asylum in 2002.  He was working in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2006.  He eventually lost his job and struggled to find work in the ensuing recession.  He moved to Maryland and found a job as a taxi driver but quickly realized that the industry was extremely exploitative.  He joined the Prince George’s County Taxi Workers Alliance and led an effort to update the county’s taxi code which proved successful through a unanimous vote of the county council last month.  Learn more about the struggle here and listen to Getachew’s story below.

Myrna’s story

Myrna is a young student at Rockhurst University in Kansas City.  Her mother fled Juarez, Mexico after two of her sisters were killed as part of the spate of femicides that began in the 1990s.  Myrna remains undocumented despite living in the U.S. for most of her life.  Listen to her interview:

Damaris: child of an undocumented family in Arizona

Because of constant raids by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Damaris fears that her family will be captured and deported.  They have been forced to take refuge in their church numerous times in recent months.

Mark Cardenas: a veteran with immigrant parents

Mark Cardenas was born in the United States after his parents emigrated from Mexico.  He joined the military after high school and served in Iraq; while he was on duty his father – still not an American citizen despite living in the country since the 1970s – was picked up and nearly deported.  Listen to more of his story below.

Chicago Pastor on hunger strike to end deportations

José Sigfredo Landaverde is a priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Anglican Catholic Church in South Side Chicago.  He started a hunger strike on June 17; days after doing this interview he collapsed while giving mass.  While he recovers at home others continue the hunger strike in Chicago.

“As a priest, it’s a moral value to be walking with the people who are suffering… because Jesus will be there with them.”

listen to the interview from day 12 of Landaverde’s hunger strike

Testimonio de Felipa

Felipa vive en Arizona y su familia ahora se encuentra en una situación difícil a causa de la nueva ley SB 1070.  En esta entrevista habla del miedo de ser indocumentado en la clima de persecución contra inmigrantes actualmente en Arizona.

Ana Sol Gutierrez, extended interview

Ana Sol Gutierrez was featured as one of our first “We Are America” video stories.  In this audio interview she goes into more details about her own personal story coming to to the U.S. from El Salvador and talks about what needs to happen to fix the immigration system in this country.

Kathy’s story: a 10-year old from Arizona

Kathy Figueroa is a 10-year-old who was separated from her parents  after a raid by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in 2009.  In June she traveled from Arizona to Washington DC to testify before an ad-hoc committee in Congress.  “It was very hard for me. Every time when I went to school I kept thinking that maybe I wouldn’t see my parents when I came home.”   Listen to the rest of her testimony from June 10.

Marsha’s Story

“Marsha” is an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago who has lived in the United States for 15 years.  Despite going through all the proper steps to become a U.S. citizen she was still denied.  She asked not to have her image or real name shared for this story.