Immigration MIC

On this Immigration MIC episode we have Genesis speaking to us about her personal story/experiences from Arizona!

Genesis’ older brother was an organizer for the initial DREAM Act - her story is unconventional, given that since she was 10, she had always wanted to pursue a career in law, and after her brother was mistreated at the hands of police officers, Genesis decided to become involved fully in the immigration movement.

She opens up about having been discouraged in high school, letting her grades drop, but the passage of DACA being a turning point in helping her return to school, and continue pursuing her education.

Her work in Arizona along other activists is applauded nationally as ‘veterans of the movement’ because of laws like SB1070, - she talks to us about the ousting of Joe Arpaio, what the moment meant, and what it was like as they also were dealing with the news of Trump’s election. She also celebrates seeing her counterparts running for office and getting elected in local AZ communities.

The current political landscape - we discuss arguments between activists, what realistic expectations are for reform/relief, and her personal words for encouragement for people stepping forward in recent times.

Karina from the AZ Dream Act coalition makes a special appearance (pretty awesome!) and calls for undocumented parents to one day receive similar relief to DACA.

Thank you Genesis for being so positive, grounded, and being willing to share with us your experiences - and thankful you find the strength everyday to continue pushing for immigration reform!

This week, welcome Allison to Immigration MIC!

A Long Islander, originally from Guatemala, artist (anime and manga fan), a college student, and an emerging immigration advocate, she has her hands full and she’s full of passion and ambition!

Allison came to the US at 14 and grew up in Hempstead and praises the educational system there - she also gives insight to the violence that is dealt with within the schools at the same time.

“When I came here, I immediately started making my roots here - but it’s harder for a lot of other people” - Allison is grateful to be making her inroads into the US, trying out various career paths, and finding her way.

She is passionate about bringing up to date immigration information to folks that may not have time to attend meetings, acting as an ambassador to community members who have parental responsibilities. “Right now, the most important thing our community should know - its your rights.”

Currently Allison is working to create awareness for the immigration issue, taking the current political atmosphere personally, and working to push back against the current administration’s policies. “All the people are a part of me, and we’re going to stick together and keep fighting.”

“I have people behind me, my friends, and my family, pushing me” - words that Allison is sending out to everyone out there needing words of inspiration!

This week on Immigration MIC, I talk with Mballa: Cameroon born, DC - based recording artist, who recently was able to adjust her undocumented status after a lifetime of being in and out of status.

“I had a legendary father” - Before his passing, Mballa’s father used to be Cameroon's ambassador (also worked in Senegal, Russia, DRC) to the US for 15 years, and when he returned home to Cameroon, he was arrested without charges and was held for two years, due to political rivals’ fear he would be a successor to the presidency. The story goes so much deeper, which you’ll be able to hear within the interview.

Mballa moved to North Carolina for college, but began pursuing a career in the music industry as a manager, but decided to chase her own dream after her dad’s passing: since it was her biggest fear, and having survived cancer at 13, she found she had nothing left to fear.

Growing up she had a visa, and had diplomatic immunity, but her father would tell her and her siblings “this is not your country and their going to remind you of it”.

During her college years, she would be constantly finding new ways to apply for temporary status, which began a time period when she fell into undocumented status, and was denied DACA when she applied.

Bad Boy Records, Big Pun, Wu-Tang were all artists she grew up with; she is inspired big time by Destiny’s Child and Eve.

We go into her song “Illegal”, which was inspired by her undocumented status, being a woman of color, and from watching the Black Lives Matter movement’s responses. Specifically, she references having quit her job at the time, but still facing the pressure of her immigration status and the risks she felt she was taking.

Though she doesn’t consider herself to be an activist, Mballa is all about shifting the culture and through her path in the music industry is looking to create change as much as she can.

“Do your best to try to eliminate fear. Own up to your decisions, and don’t be afraid to do what you have to do.”

Thank you Mballa for joining me for this awesome conversation, and for having provided your song for my documentary, and I’m looking forward to continue watching you grow into the talented transcendent artist you are becoming!

On the Season 3 premiere of Immigration MIC, from Stamford, Connecticut (and yes, she’s met Triple H), welcome Aubrey to our show!

Aubrey, from Ecuador is formerly “DACAmented” - she recently adjusted her status, but continues the fight for her community, which she has been involved in since high school.

Growing up, she focused on studying, believing that through studying she wouldn’t need to worry about being undocumented (she was aware since third grade).

She became heavily involved in advocacy in high school with a negative experience with a lawyer that “made things difficult” for her family, and claimed to have filed paperwork for Audrey that was non-existent.

Audrey is a super talented poet and writer - we talk about two poems that caught my eye. One was about her confronting ICE through her words “the blood is on their hands, I’m not exaggerating”, and the second one “Alien Child” was about having others recognizing the humanity of immigrants.

She recently also wrote an article that was a tribute to her parent’s sacrifices, interwoven with her family’s personal struggles, her regret for rebelling and upsetting them - but is working to make them proud, motivated by their story.

In the near future, Aubrey hopes to learn about/ visit Ecuador for the first time, she continues to write every Wednesday on The Odessey, and the inspiring words she leave us with: “don’t give up. Things won’t be like this forever.”

Thank you so much for joining me Audrey, you are resilient, inspiring, and your poetry and art is something I’m looking forward to daily!

Alien Child: http://bit.ly/2vMBeIf

Poem Confronting ICE: http://bit.ly/2vLHobJ

Audrey’s Tribute to her Parents: http://bit.ly/2vM9JyQ

From One Mistake: THE MIXTAPE by Hendel Leiva

Mixtape Announcement (From One Mistake Documentary) by Hendel Leiva

She’s an entrepreneur, advocating for the empowerment through our communities through financial literacy, welcome Natalie to this week’s Immigration MIC!

Born in El Salvador and raised in Inglewood, Natalie takes me through the story of how her family fled El Salvador during the civil war, and grew up in a neighborhood that surrounded by family in California.

This all changed during the LA Riots, which provided her with a first person, eye opening perspective on police brutality and race relations, and how her neighborhood permanently changed as a result. “That happens all the time, it’s just the first time they caught it on video.”

The riots changed Natalie’s upbringing as well - she was placed in private school, and she describes to me the shift from public school to an environment where she was one of the only Latinas.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the behavior of people and money, that’s why I was a business major.”

From cheerleading, to student council, dance, college, running a non-profit (prom dresses for young women), a successful career in real estate development, Natalie finds it exciting to step out of her comfort zone, and take on ambitious roles.

Here's where we start getting deep - while she was in graduate school, and the pressure of everything she had taken on, Natalie suffered a mental breakdown, and went into a deep depression. She describes the moments in the hospital, dropping out of her course, the way she began to recover, and we share our collective experiences around panic attacks. As a result, Natalie is a very outspoken advocate for mental health wellness.

Natalie founded Financially Savvy Latina - an initiative focused on financial literacy, inspired by wanting to provide helpful tips to other people to manage their money habits, and student loans - even writing a short book that captures all these tips in one place.

In this political moment, Natalie believes in the power of sharing stories and representation of our communities in institutions, and is using her platform to help inspire others to find empowerment through her speaking engagements and presentations.

She’s very passionate about the undocumented community and the need to connect students to scholarships that may be available to help them overcome: “these students will come back and do these amazing things - they’re willing to work twice as hard to be seen as equal”

“This is our future, they are our communities - no matter what background we’re from”

Thank you Natalie for pitching yourself to the podcast - you’re a perfect representation of the people we need in our corners as we fight for social justice with all of your wisdom, ambition, and love for our communities!

Welcome former Maryland DREAM Act organizer, Immigrant Justice Corp Fellow, and immigration paralegal, welcome Mayra to this week’s Immigration MIC!

Extremely accomplished - in this conversation we bring it back to the basics: Mayra tells me about growing up on the eastern shore of Maryland up until college, how as a senior in high school how her family lost status, and how through her best friend she discovered activism and organizing.

***IMPORTANT: Mayra resisted for a long time in her activism, taking about a year to become heavily involved, because of constant affirmation from the people around her.

International Studies and Conflict Analysis, to being almost done with her fellowship to pursuing a degree in law school, Mayra takes me through her path and journey in her career, from initially not knowing where her future was headed.

“The worst was during the election” she tells me about the need to create a space for herself outside of the immigration world, especially after speaking with panicking clients, when she was experiencing similar anxiety herself. Her self-care: hiking, cooking, reading, and dancing.

Her support network included folks from the organizing world, college friends, and professors - she relays a story about how some of her college peers would talk about immigrants right in front of her, and the horrible emotions she would experience as a result, and the disappointment when people who disagreed wouldn’t speak up.

Mayra is very selective about sharing her story and gets deep into the psychology behind what she wishes people would take away: “sometimes I feel our stories are focused too much on the good, all the successes - not all the anxiety, uncertainty, and the loneliness.”

“One thing that keeps me moving forward is my ancestors - there’s a history of resistance, or resilience” - is inspiration she draws from during these tough moments - “no matter what, you’re not alone”.

Thank you so much for having messaged me back Mayra! and wanting to be a part of the conversation we’re having in this space - I appreciate the conversation and looking forward to working together in the future!

On the need for responsible journalism as people are making second to second decisions about their futures.

On the 5th anniversary of DACA, welcome Karla S. to the #ImmigrationMIC!

A CUNY student currently studying PR and marketing, Karla was brought to the US at two months old from Mexico, and it is her dream to one day be able to visit her homeland.

“It was never the plan to come to the US and stay forever” - Karla’s parents decided the family would stay once the family was established. Although being a DACA recipient has been challenging at times, Karla has used her experiences to push herself to accomplish her goals.

Growing up in Flushing, Karla didn’t grow up exposed to the Latin culture, and because her friends weren’t in those conversations, she saw her status as something she didn’t need to worry about on a day to day basis.

We talk about her navigation through the college system, which has taken a few turns, how she’s needed to pay her tuition out of pocket, and how she wishes there was more resources for students within the CUNY system.

This is a **** great moment **** - Karla gets real when talking about DACA, and how she feels although it has helped her with work, school, and driving, she wishes she has taken advantage of advanced parole - having traveled back to Mexico/ abroad before the current administration came to power. “My biggest fear” - Karla talks to me about how she sees people being held at detention centers, and how people being deported for a variety of reasons, and how it can affect those close to her.

Karla is driven in her career path, her goal eventually working with animals, is looking forward to becoming more involved in immigration activism (thanks to this interview!), helping other college students to find resources and opportunities, even helping to bring a special commencement ceremony to CUNY.

“It’s a bad day, but it’s not a bad life” is Karla’s advice for everyone that is in a situation where they need a bit of hope.

Thanks so much Karla! I look forward to working together in the next few months, and seeing you develop into a leader that we definitely need!