Episodes, Facts & Acts
Episode FOUR - Feb. 18, 2026
Children Crossing
ACT:
If you, your employees, family or friends are DACA recipients, remind everyone that paperwork is VERY delayed. It's important to file at least 150 days early.
If you are moved to help others with this process, the National Immigration Law Center accepts donations at the website listed among our recources at the end of this page.
FACT ONE:
According to the US government, since 2021 apprehensions at American ports of entry at the southwest borders, “…have exceeded 130,000 each year. In the first 10 months of 2024, apprehensions of UAC numbered 87,475.” -- Congress.gov
FACT TWO:
In Latin America, three countries are home to 59% of people living in poverty in Latin America. These are Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico. This is according to the World Bank, which defines poverty as having an income of less than $3.65 per day (as of 2023). The graphic below is a link to Our World In Data.
Episode THREE - Jan. 18, 2026
The Power of Language: Growing Up Bilingual
ACT:
If you notice someone making an effort to communicate in English, help them out.
Bonus points for learning at least a few phrases in their language! Sometimes a different language offers a different perspective that can be helpful in our own lives.
FACT ONE:
Nearly 75% of Americans speak English as the only language at home, according to the US Census.
FACT TWO:
The homes with more languages, though, have a LOT more diversity, with roughly 350 different languages spoken in the US.
Among those that spoke a language other than English in 2018-2022, Spanish (61.1%), Chinese (which includes all dialects) (5.1%), and Tagalog (including Filipino) (2.5%) were the three most spoken languages at home
Source: US Census press release, 2023
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/language-at-home-acs-5-year.html
Episode TWO - Dec. 18, 2025
First Generation Generates Prosperity
Frank & Rosa and their family give our community more than food -- or even taxes. What brought Anabel, the first-generation daughter, home to the family business after a career in banking?
And what does Anabel have in common with landscaper Manny, just starting out with dreams of his own?
ACT:
Get to know our immigrant neighbors and their families through their business ventures.
To connect to businesses in Yavapai County, visit the Hispanic Business Association (affiliated with the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce). [Non-Hispanic members and visitors welcome.]
Expand your horizons, if you like, by checking out Visualizing Immigrant Phoenix, which has an Immigrant Business page featuring entrepreneurs from around the world.
Other resources include:
The Arizona Persian Yellow Pages and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Arizona.
Enjoy your conversations!
FACT ONE:
Immigrants contribute more to Social Security than they take out, according to studies from places like the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
As the US population ages, and has fewer children, immigrants have become crucial to keeping the whole system afloat. In 2022 alone, undocumented immigrants paid $25.7 billion into Social Security—and here's the kicker: they're paying into a program they're cannot access themselves. Legal immigrants, of course, also contribute -- and many of them never collect because they won't meet the minimum number of years of contribution to be eligible.
Social Security's own actuaries have calculated that when immigration goes up, the trust fund deficit goes down (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities).
Other sources:
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/22/a-look-at-small-businesses-in-the-us/ (Pew Research Center)
https://crr.bc.edu/increasing-immigration-can-improve-the-finances-of-social-security/ (Center for Retirement Research, 2025)
FACT TWO:
In 2023, immigrants, who make up about 13 percent of the population, comprised over 16 percent of the state’s workforce, 20 percent of entrepreneurs and earned more than 2 billion in business income. (America’s Voice 2024)
https://americasvoice.org/uncategorized/reality-check-immigrants-are-essential-to-arizona/
Episode ONE - November 18, 2025
Dora Rodriguez
Across the Border & Beyond
Dora braved the desert three times in her drive to escape civil war in El Salvador. She reached the US in 1980, one of 13 survivors found near death in the Sonoran Desert. The other half of her group did not make it.
Dora's interview moved us with her personal journey. She also inspired us with the more than 40 years she has spent saving lives along the border and working to help her new country live up to its promise.
Dora's full story is detailed in Dora: A Daughter Of An Unforgiving Terrain. Learn more at DoraRodriguez.org. The non-profit organization she founded, which provides humanitarian aid to asylum seekers, is Salvavision.
FACT ONE:
More than 13% of Arizona residents are foreign-born, making up about 16% of Arizona's labor force. Immigrants support the state's economy in many ways.
[They account for 22.6% of entrepreneurs, 19.6% of STEM workers, and 29.3% of the agriculture workers in the state.]
Source: American Immigration Council
FACT TWO:
On July 30th, 1975, university students protesting repression and occupation of the university by armed forces were attacked by Salvadorian government troops. Estimates are that at least 100 people, including students, teachers and staff, were killed and many more injured.
Sources:
ACT:
When you meet someone you think may have immigrated to the US from another country, start by learning their name.