Immigration

December 10, 2012

I have lived in the United States for 30 years, but I have never forgotten my humble beginnings as an undocumented immigrant. My family and I lived our first years in the US with the fear of being sent back to El Salvador. “La Migra” was a consistent threat in our lives. My personal experience as...

MomsRising Together

Rhina Ramos

Immigration

December 10, 2012

What would you do if you found out your daughter had a life-threatening illness -- and you had no way to pay for the treatment?   Would you pack up everything, cross a border, and move to a new country, if it meant the chance to work and earn enough to save her life?   I’m a mother and I would. In...

MomsRising Together

Shamasunder Reshma

Immigration

December 10, 2012

I wrote this piece for the Harvard Kennedy School newspaper , where I am a mid-career MPA student. Last year I took a break from community organizing after a heartbreaking loss of the DREAM Act in 2010. As I take this year to read and reflect, I can feel myself pulled back into the fight,...

MomsRising Together

Marissa Graciosa

Immigration

December 10, 2012

As a lifelong human rights activist, I’ve never been afraid of controversy. But saying that immigrant women are good for our economy—good for our country —isn’t controversial. It’s common sense. Immigrant women are job creators. They are innovators and entrepreneurs who strengthen our national...

MomsRising Together

Mallika Dutt

Immigration Health Care

December 10, 2012

The landmark health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a tremendous starting point for improving the health of communities of color in California and across the country. But to truly achieve lasting progress in the fight against health disparities, we need...

MomsRising Together

Ellen Wu

Immigration

December 10, 2012

“Many people cross to seek riches, a truck, a new house, but mothers need to be with their children out of necessity. I am only crossing to see my daughter again, nothing more.” – Maria President Obama recently announced that immigration reform will be a top priority in his second term. As...

MomsRising Together

Kate Kelly

Immigration

December 10, 2012

When I was 12, my cousins arrived to this country for the first time from Vietnam. They were all my age, 12 and 13, and they were sent by their parents to pave the way for the rest of their family to come. What that means is that they were given the responsibility of obtaining an education, getting...

MomsRising Together

Jora Trang

Immigration

December 10, 2012

( Photo Credit : Amnesty International USA) As the challenges facing human rights progress are vast, it is crucially important to acknowledge victories that bring us closer to a world where human rights are a reality for all. The passage of the Maryland Dream Act manifested our belief that...

MomsRising Together

Jiva Manske

Immigration

December 10, 2012

Child advocates have fought for years against the deportation of promising undocumented students. A bill in Congress to recognize them has failed before, but new action on the Hill gives us hope. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act is a bill to protect from...

MomsRising Together

Jacquelyn Lendsey

Immigration

December 10, 2012

Like so many others in the United States, I am a product of the American immigration system. I was twelve when my mother and brother took a long plane ride from Kerala (India) to Kentucky to join my father. We had been separated for a year from him as he navigated the Immigration and Naturalization...

MomsRising Together