Tag: interview
-
The Freedom to Go to Work
//Witness“Because here, people can go to work.” For most Americans, those words would hardly seem worth mentioning. But for Bernardo, a Cuban immigrant who has built his life in Austin, Minnesota, they reveal a troubling reality: a town that depends on immigrant workers, even as those workers live with the fear of immigration enforcement.
-
So That Is Also Who We Are
//WitnessFor more than three decades, immigration attorney Elizabeth Streefland has sought out the stories of strangers—only to discover they were never strangers at all. Through her experiences with immigrants, families, and an increasingly unforgiving legal system, she reveals the human lives behind immigration policy and reminds us of another America: one that still opens its…
-
The Fear Doesn’t Leave When the Agents Do
//WitnessThe immigration raids may have eased in Austin, Minnesota, but the fear they created has not. Children still wonder whether their parents will be home after school, whether they need to carry passports—and whether they can make it safely from the car to the front door.
-
That Doesn’t Matter Anymore
//WitnessMiriam had spent much of her life helping others—translating, giving rides, navigating appointments, doing whatever needed to be done. Then one ordinary act of kindness placed her in an encounter that left her terrified, shaken, and questioning something she had always taken for granted: what it meant to be a U.S. citizen.
-
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…
-
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…
