Leslie Berestein Rojas Immigration and Emerging Communities Reporter
Leslie Berestein Rojas is KPCC's Immigration and Emerging Communities Reporter.
An award-winning journalist with several years’ experience reporting on immigration issues, Berestein Rojas most recently covered immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border for the San Diego Union-Tribune. She has retraced the steps of migrants along desert smuggling trails, investigated immigrant detention contractors, and told the stories of families left behind in Mexico’s migrant-sending towns.
A native of Cuba raised in Los Angeles, Leslie has also written for Time, People, the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times. She has reported from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Stories by Leslie Berestein Rojas
Bird dogs, feral hogs, dangerous waters, toxic waste: The metaphors we use for immigrants
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
Rep. Steve King of Iowa has been in hot water this week for comparing the "cream of the crop" of immigrants to good bird dogs, but it's not a first. Animal and other metaphors are often used for immigrants and immigration, including in media and the courts.
Bell corruption scandal inspires a new media experiment: A newspaper, in Spanish
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
A Spanish-language news website plans to launch a print newspaper for the city of Bell, where ousted city officials face criminal charges in a corruption scandal. The idea is “to contribute to the strengthening of the political, social and economic” development of the community, say its publishers.
Is it time for another term to replace ‘minorities?’
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
The nation's demographics have shifted, with non-Latino white babies no longer a majority. Is it time to re-evaluate what we call members of other racial and ethnic groups?
California bill would only let cops hold convicted criminals for ICE
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
'TRUST Act 2.0' proposes that local law enforcement only detain people convicted of violent or serious felonies for immigration officials as part of the controversial Secure Communities program.
Today is Immigrant Day in California – what is it?
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
It's not a holiday or a proclamation. But people from throughout the state have spent the day rallying and lobbying in Sacramento on behalf of immigrants.
Illegal immigration from Mexico is down, but legal immigration isn’t
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | KPCC
As unauthorized migration has dropped, the share of immigrants coming from Mexico with visas, including business-related visas, has gone up.
A letter from mother to daughter about language, love, and identity
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Mult-American
As part of a contest for the Lea LA Spanish-language book festival taking place this weekend, a mother writes to her infant daughter about why it's important for her to pass along her language and her culture.
The promise of the English-speaking Latino audience
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
The plans announced by ABC and Univision to launch a cable TV news channel for English-speaking Latinos next year is the most recent in a series of media ventures aimed at this audience.
Do lower crowd counts suggest an ebbing immigration rights movement?’
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
Are crowd counts a good gauge of the movement's growth?
Which way Arizona? The prognosis on SB 1070
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
What to make of this week's U.S. Supreme Court hearing on SB 1070, Arizona's controversial anti-illegal immigration law? In a Q&A debate, two constitutional law experts provide their take on what transpired and where the justices might land.
California's future: Older, less crowded and more 2nd generation
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
A new population projection provides a glimpse into what California will look like in the future, a state that will be less crowded than once predicted, whose population will be older, and whose younger faces will increasingly be those of the U.S.-born children of immigrants.
3 ways Arizona's SB 1070 changed the immigration landscape
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
Two years ago today, Arizona’s Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law a bill known as SB 1070 .In the relatively short time it has existed, the law has had a profound effect on the immigration landscape, politically and in human terms.
Asian ethnic stereotypes and the Oikos shooting
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | Multi-American
In the week since a former student opened fire at Oikos University, the seven people who died have been mourned in at least half a dozen countries.
As election approaches, multiple ‘Dream Acts’ emerge
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | KPCC
As politicos compete for Latino votes, expect the Democratic-backed immigration reform proposal to re-emerge, along with a growing list of stripped-down GOP alternatives.
Murder victim's daughter: 'We are not the terrorists. You are.'
By Leslie Berestein Rojas | KPCC
Murder victim Shaima Alawadi's 17-year-old daughter addressed the note found next to her saying to go home and calling her a terrorist.
