Category: Projects
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When the Law Becomes the Fear
//WitnessPaschal Nwokocha speaks plainly about immigration, dignity, and the cruelty of turning people into political targets. His words are blunt, but the truth usually is. This conversation is part of 345-Witness, a project about seeing immigrants not as abstractions, but as people building lives, families, and communities here in Minnesota.
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Seeing the People Behind the Policy: Why I am creating Witness: The Human Impact of Immigration Enforcement
//WitnessI am creating *Witness* to document the human impact of immigration enforcement through portraits, interviews, and reporting. By sharing these stories, I hope readers better understand lives often hidden behind politics and headlines, and that understanding leads to a more humane conversation. If you have a story that should be part of this project, I…
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They Come Because They Have To. They Contribute Because That’s Who They Are.
//WitnessIn this interview, Laura Cooper cuts through the noise around immigration. We talk about why people leave home, what they face when they arrive, how families rebuild, what immigrants contribute, why citizenship means safety, and why Minnesota was ready to stand up when the pressure came. At the center is a simple truth: immigrants are…
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The Farm They Cannot Leave
//CubaOn a tobacco farm outside Viñales, five generations of one family have worked land they do not own, building a life around horses, tobacco, and spring water. One child left to become a doctor, but for Miguel, Michelle, and Michael, the valley is more than home—it is the place they cannot imagine leaving.
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Inside Cuba’s Broken Safety Net
//CubaIn a crumbling Havana apartment, two mothers raise three children with no doctors, no daycare, and no reliable water. Love and grit keep them afloat, but a broken system shapes every part of their lives, from bread to schooling to survival.