Dishing on Immigration

Meet Dung Duong! On today’s episode of Dishing on Immigration, Dung shares his story of escaping a third-world country, living in refugee camps, immigrating to the United States, and ultimately growing up in poverty.

Now Dung works as an optic engineer who wants to make an impact on the world. Additionally, he is the author of the book, Shifting Optics, in which he speaks about his view on life. In his writing he, “doesn’t dwell on what he lacked in his youth. Instead, he focuses on what he did have: intrinsic motivation, a strong will, and the desire to positively impact the world”. Learn more about Dung, his immigration experience by listening here and on Spotify.

On today’s episode of Dishing on Immigration we hear from Adina Appelbaum. Adina is an immigration attorney from the DC area working for a non-profit organization. In an effort to empower people, Adina and her husband also founded the Immigrant Finance School. By teaching people about personal finances, Adina hopes to aid immigrants and build generational wealth. Listen here to learn more about Adina’s inspiration, social activism, and thoughts on the US immigration system.

Meet Isabeau! Isabeau is a first-generation American who is currently a student at the University of Chicago. She talks about growing up with a multi-ethnic background and how this has impacted her life. She shares about her experience of exploring her Afro-Caribbean identity and hopes that others too can find pride in who they are. Listen here to learn more about Isabeau, her passions such as poetry, and how to explore your heritage.

Meet Pedro Salazar, an immigrant from Peru. Pedro came to the US at the age of 17 as an exchange student. In his time in the US he has worked hard, finished law school, and overcome challenges to build the life he lives today. Now he lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter and he works as a corporate counsel. Additionally, he has written one book thus far, Through the Eyes of Santiago: The Story of a Peruvian Boy Living in an American Maze, and he is writing another on his experience as a student in the Midwest. He hopes to change negative perceptions of the word “immigrant” and teach people about the power of eduction. Listen to learn more about Pedro and his experience.

On episode 18 of Dishing on Immigration we hear from Dulce Vasquez. Dulce immigrated to the US from Mexico at the age of seven. Dulce speaks about her life before moving to the US and learning how to adapt to life in America. She also gives a very interesting perspective on immigration as she lived undocumented for several years. Dulce went on to getting her BA and Masters degree and she is currently working in education. She also speaks about her political campaign as she is running for City Council. Listen to this episode to find out more about Dulce, her campaign, and issues such as predatory lending and the injustices of the immigration system.

Today we learn about Milana Dostanitch, an immigrant from Cyprus. Milana came to America in search of educational opportunities. She now works as an employment lawyer and is passionate about education and combatting discrimination in the workplace. Through her job she also educates the public on these issues. Despite life’s challenges, with hard work and dedication, Milana has established a career fighting for peoples rights. Listen to this episode of Dishing on Immigration to learn more about Milana and her story.

On today’s episode, we interview activist and first generation American, Ramon Valdez. Ramon speaks about how he got involved in immigration reform and his role with the nonprofit organization, Innovation Law Lab. Ramon’s background on immigration policy allows us to dive into many critical and specific issues in regards to American immigration policy. We also cover many cases that him and his organization are working on. At the same time he stresses how immigration and similar systems need to be decriminalized and humanized. Listen to this episode of Dishing on Immigration to learn more about Ramon and how to get involved.

On today’s episode, we interview Jordan Sher. Jordan is a writer and activist who focuses on sharing immigrant stories, especially stories of survivors from the Bosnian genocide. Jordan talks about his inspirations, his work in social justice, and his upcoming historical fiction book. He also focuses on how tragedies in the past such as genocides or authoritarian regimes can tell us a lot about today and can be acknowledged as cautionary tales. Listen to this episode of Dishing on Immigration to learn more about Jordan and his work

By Jordan Steven Sher At 49, Selima Vejzovic, has crystal clear and haunting memories of her life at the time of the genocide in Srebrenica that led to the five-day slaughter of 8, 372 men and boys beginning July 11 in 1995. 2020 marks the 25 th anniversary of this heinous war crime.

Today I am interviewing instagram’s Americles. Americles has a very interesting upbringing and perspective on immigration. He is half European and half Chinese, and his mother immigrated to the US from Asia. His mother has an incredible story and found asylum in the US. Furthermore, Americles attended an international school growing up that supported leftists views, the exact views that caused his mother to flee from her home. As a result, he took a nativist view on immigration. He has moved on from this and talks about inefficiencies of US immigration policy and debunks myths about immigrants. Americles also shares his patriotic views of the US and the America Dream. Learn more about Americles and his story by listening to this episode of Dishing on Immigration.

Today I am interviewing Javier. Javier was brought to the US when he was 3 months old and he has lived here for most of his life. His mother, siblings, wife, and children are all US Citizens, but Javier was not as fortunate. He was deported to Mexico and is now living in Tijuana. Javier is an active immigration activist and advocates for social justice. He uses his platform on instagram to post meaningful artwork. He is also involved with volunteer work at an orphanage in Tijuana, border angels, and is looking to expand his passion into a nonprofit organization. Javier talks about how he found out he was undocumented, what his artwork means to him, and the injustices of American immigration. Learn more about Javier and his story by listening to this episode of Dishing on Immigration.