Immigrant Voices

In the late 1980s, Jamie fled El Salvador during the country’s devastating civil war, seeking safety in the United States. Around the same time, Yolanda came to the U.S. from Mexico. They first met in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class here in the Bay Area, nearly 30 years ago. They fell in love, got married, and had a baby girl.

Imagine the United States is the only country you have ever known, but daily you fear you might be forced to leave. Imagine living with that insecurity, yet still moving forward in full pursuit of your dreams, determined to make a difference.

Fleeing violence and poverty in her rural town in Guatemala, Santos came to the United States in search of a better life for her family.In Oakland, California, Santos sought the help of the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA). IIBA’s Legal Staff helped her apply for humanitarian relief, and she was granted a U Visa due to the abuse she had endured at the hands of her ex-partner.

Octavio came to the United States from Mexico in his early twenties, in search of opportunity. For nearly thirty years, he has built a life for himself and his family in Napa, where he works for Duckhorn Vineyards.

One of Catherine’s first jobs in immigration was at the International Institute in 1991. Now with nearly thirty years of experience in immigration law, she’s returned to IIBA as Legal Director, mentoring IIBA staff as they take on deportation defense cases.

Graciela and her two young daughters, Julianna, 12 and Bethenny, 6, waited anxiously at San Jose Airport in August 2017. Efrain, Graciela’s husband and the daughters’ father, had left the country a week earlier to complete his interview at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to become a U.S. permanent resident.

Vanessa and Diego have always seen themselves as Americans. They were both brought to the U.S. from Mexico when they were very young. They grew up here. They went to school here. They met each other and fell in love here. They got married here, and they had their children here, Diego Jr., 6, and Carlos, 3.

Every person counts. That is why Stanford University Spanish Language Professor Vivian Brates and a group of her students partnered with IIBA to conduct outreach to nearly 1,300 people to ensure they have the help they need to overcome any barriers to completing the census.

IIBA's Napa office helped Gabriela obtain permanent residency through a petition from her daughter, who serves in the U.S. Navy. Now with more security and freedom to travel, Gabriela visited family she hadn't seen in almost three decades.