Terrifying Times for Immigrants in America and Cristina Jimínez is Incredibly Hopeful

Episode notes

This episode of the show is about America, ultimately. We’re joined by Cristina Jimínez, author of the memoir Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change and MacArthur genius grant recipient for a discussion of mental health in the immigrant and undocumented immigrant communities in light of events like the ICE surge, 9/11, and January 6th. Cristina fled Ecuador with her family when she was 13, landed in Queens, and, despite a lot of complicating factors having to do with legal status, went to college and graduate school. She was one of the founders of the advocacy group United We Dream, was a key player in the passage of DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and was awarded a MacArthur genius grant. Cristina talks about the anxiety and depression that hangs heavily in vulnerable populations and also why she’s actually incredibly optimistic and hopeful, even in these seemingly bleak times, because of how citizens responded to ICE in Minnesota.

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