We Are America immigration stories – weekly digest for August 25
This week at We Are America we feature some immigrant success stories. Amidst all the debate over border security and deportations it’s often forgotten how much new immigrants contribute to our economy and social structure. 
One such immigrant is Alberto Ferrufino, a restaurant owner in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington DC who came to the US from El Salvador. Forced to leave in the midst of that country’s brutal civil war, Alberto settled in Washington DC and after working hard at low-wage jobs for a number of years succeeded in fulfilling the requirements for permanent residency. In 1993 he took over the ownership of the Don Juan restaurant and quickly transformed the enterprise into a popular community place. He and his wife run the business together and have tripled it’s numbers of employees in the last ten years. Watch his story, one of our We Are America featured videos, here: http://www.weareamericastories.org/videos/albertos-story-hard-work-builds-a-successful-business/
Another remarkable community leader is Adoubou Traore. He was born in the Ivory Coast and originally came to the US with a Fulbright scholarship. After concluding his studies was granted permanent residency and began to volunteer as a teacher for different organizations that worked on behalf of immigrants. He developed an interest in working for non-profits and eventually helped found the African Advocacy Network, located in San Fransisco, where he is currently the program director. Listen to his story here: http://www.weareamericastories.org/audio/adoubou-traore-working-on-behalf-of-african-immigrants/
This week we also share the story of Liuan Chen and her mother, Chinese immigrants who have lived in the US since Liuan was three years old. Her mother started her own restaurant and worked hard to support the family in Illinois. In 2008 her husband – Liuan’s stepfather – was detained by the Department of Homeland Security and eventually deported after 9 months in detention. Now her mother fights to stay in the country and raise their children alone, despite many pressures to leave.
As Liuan writes, “Many would ask my mother, Why are you still here? Why stay in this limbo stage of irresolution and shadow when you’re not even sure you’ll be allowed to stay? Why not go back to your own country and your husband and forget the American dream?” Read the rest of her story at http://www.weareamericastories.org/written/liuans-story-her-mothers-sacrifice-for-the-next-generation/
Next week we’ll begin to post a series of deportation stories in the lead-up to a national action for Relief, Reform and Respect for our Families on September 15. Look for those stories and more at http://weareamericastories.org