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Immigration Update Features WKU Grad Working with Harvard Legal Aid

Chronicle of Higher Education

A conference on the evolution and current state of immigration to be held on the Western Kentucky University campus April 25 will feature a graduate of the college who’s now at Harvard Law School and working with teenage refugees from Central America.

Mario Nguyen sees the refugee crisis first-hand in his work with Harvard Legal Aid. He says some people mistakenly think of the wave of immigrants from Central America as people coming to take American jobs.

“In reality these are 14-year-old children I’ve been face-to-face with, 13-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 16-year-olds, who had to literally cross a few countries on their own on foot. A lot of them have been sexually abused or physically abused.”

Nguyen says he’s been aware of immigration issues from an early age. His father was a refugee from Vietnam and his mother was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.

“You know, there was a constant worry that she was going to be deported at some time. I’d come home from school and you know, I was waiting to see her. I’d text her and check in and make sure everything was OK. Sometimes you’d see news reports or hear people talking about, 'Oh, yeah, did you hear there was an immigration raid?' and I’d always get worried.”

Nguyen says his mother got permanent resident status, known as a ‘green card,’ a few years ago.

He says the uncertainty over national immigration policy means it’s important for undocumented immigrants in Kentucky, and across the country, to work with legal services clinics to seek formal immigration status. Nguyen is encouraging Americans to engage with immigrants and build understanding.

Nguyen’s presentation will be by video conference Tuesday, April 25 at 2:30 p.m. central time at the Mass Media and Technology auditorium. The event is open to the public.

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