The nonprofit group Define American seeks to change how the public perceives immigrants by encouraging undocumented people to “come out” and share their stories.
This section was guest edited by Jose Antonio Vargas. All of the articles and photos from our special Immigration Issue are available in the October 2016 issue, on newsstands now.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Hernandez and Bautista came from Oaxaca in 2006 and had two daughters here. Last year 6-year-old Sophie hand-delivered a letter to Pope Francis in Washington, D.C., urging immigration reform.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Ghica emigrated from Bucharest, Romania, with her children in 2001 to avoid the social stigma single mothers face back home.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Leyva, who emigrated as a 2-year-old from Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1989, is studying to be a teacher.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Medina moved from Mexico City in 2000 at 16. “I’m part of this community,” he says. “I care as much about it as any U.S. citizen.”
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Photograph by Damon Casarez
Hong relocated to the United States from Seoul, South Korea, in 2001 at 11. He works to educate people about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which delays deportation for at least two years.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Moreno came from Tlaxcala, Mexico, in 2003 after experiencing harassment as a transgender woman.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Reyes left Guerrero, Mexico, at 3 and walked across the desert with his grandmother to reunite with his mother in L.A.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Mora moved here in 2000, when he was 11, to escape “extreme poverty” in his small town near Mexico City; Ceja was 9 months old when his family came from Michoacán in 1992.
Photograph by Damon Casarez
Joseph, a double major in African American studies and public affairs, emigrated from Roaring Creek, Belize, in 2000 when she was 7.
This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of Los Angeles magazine.
