Latino Influx
1:00 pm
Thu March 29, 2007

Latino Influx

First of all, many, many thanks to Que Pasa reporter Sandra Naranjo for narrating Rosa's words in English.

We felt it was important to personalize the story of the region's fastest growing segment of immigrants - Latinos. We thought this would give some understanding of what life is like for one person from the immigrant group that has the largest presence in the region. I was specifically looking for someone Hispanic, whether they were here legally or not was secondary.

The subject of immigration in general is controversial and when you throw unauthorized immigration into the mix, it's downright heated. No doubt there will be some who might feel this story has been too sympathetic to someone who's broken the law in order to live here, but the point was to offer a realistic picture of who is in our community. They're people attracted to an area with plentiful work and a reasonable cost of living, which is basically what makes people in general move from one location to another.

Senora Rosa is not only highly educated, she's also very deeply spiritual. And in following her over a three day period, I could see clear evidence of her answer when I asked what kept her going: her strong faith.