Cristina Jiménez

Cristina Jiménez, a 2017 MacArthur Genius Fellow and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most influential People, grew up undocumented as the child of U.S. immigrants from Ecuador. In this video, she reflects on her immigrant experience and the constant fear of losing loved ones to deportation. It was her fear, she says, that ultimately led her to become an activist on behalf of undocumented immigrants, and particularly young Dreamers. “Immigrants and people of color don’t feel safe,” she says, describing the arrests and deportations that are happening every day in communities across the country. Cristina says it is important for immigrants and their allies to come together through organizations like hers to advance a vision of a welcoming and inclusive society for all people.