In this episode of Not an Alien, Tania recounts her immigration from Bolivia to New York City. Having arrived in New York at the age of four, Tania found herself immersed, with her family, in the diverse immigrant community of Jackson Heights, Queens. Although not initially aware that she and her family had overstayed their visas, she grew accustomed, even as a child, to regular visits to lawyers’ offices and those of government agencies. In spite of procedural and financial obstacles, Tania completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees, all the while looking for ways to legally work in the United States as an undocumented person; in time, she discovered a passion for activism and organizing, which carried her to Louisiana, and it was during her stint in the South that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was passed into law. Upon securing DACA status, Tania at last was in a position to legally work, and having returned to New York City, she has carried her passion for advocating on behalf of her fellow immigrants into her work at UnLocal. A fitting voice to celebrate on the 4th of July – one that is truly inclusive of the diversity of American experiences, from indigenous to immigrant – Tania’s is one you won’t want to miss.
Not an Alien 