Leslie Berestein Rojas Immigration and Emerging Communities Reporter
- Phone: (626) 583-5213
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
In the news this morning: Doubts about DHS 'public advocate,' Romney's endorsement from Pete Wilson, Brazil's immigration debate, more
Immigrant Advocates Skeptical On New DHS Public Advocate Position - Huffington Post A newly appointed agency liaison is to "talk to stakeholders in immigration and report their concerns back to ICE leadership," but advocacy groups say they are skeptical as to how well the plan will work.
A 'complicated, convoluted' case of mistaken identity and deportation
As far as wrongful deportations go, there have been some complicated cases lately. Last month there was that of Jakadrien Turner, the non-Colombian, non-Latina U.S. citizen teenager from Texas who was sent to Colombia after she provided authorities with a fake name.
When immigrants are crime victims, how much does legal status matter?
As the scandal surrounding Miramonte Elementary School unfolds, with the school staff being replaced after two teachers were accused of committing lewd acts against children, parents have been drawing together.
Why are Latino workers benefiting faster from the economic recovery than others?
Federal labor statistics have shown that as the economy begins to turn around slowly, those benefiting from the biggest job gains have been Latinos. Why is this so?
In the news this morning: Challenges faced by mentally disabled detainees, ICE appoints 'public advocate,' more
Detained immigrants with mental illnesses face barriers in court - Los Angeles Times One schizophrenic man's case illustrates the challenges such detainees face: He could not afford a lawyer, and authorities would not provide one, leaving him and his mother to fend for themselves.
When immigrants are victims, how much does legal status matter?
Some Miramonte parents have raised questions as to whether everyone who fears their child may have been victimized will speak up, due to their immigration status.
Tweet of the moment: 'That is what every immigrant parent tells his kid'
Cesar Zambrano (@cesarzambrano) tweeted this recently in response to a clip I posted from the film "A Better Life," for which Mexican actor Demián Bichir has received an Oscar nomination.
Does having an accent affect how people perceive you?
The case of an Arizona city council candidate who is challenging a court decision to strike her name from the ballot due to her English proficiency has revived the English-as-official-language debate, and it's raised other discussions as well.
What is an upscale Latino? Read a new report - or take a look around
Just what is an upscale Latino? Take a drive through some of the manicured suburban neighborhoods of Downey, Whittier, West Covina or parts of Glendale to get an idea. Or you can read a new report put together by Packaged Facts titled "Upscale Latino Consumers in the U.
In the news this morning: Economic recovery is favoring Latinos, racial insensitivity charged in Super Bowl ad, a migrant boat sinks, more
Opinion: Can GOP ever win Latino vote? - Politico From the piece: "Many Latinos are culturally conservative, patriotic and remarkably entrepreneurial. On paper, this sounds like fertile territory for the GOP.
Posts of the week: The long-term effects of NSEERS, 20-plus year waits for immigrant visas, how parents in deportation lose their kids, more
As usual on Multi-American this week, there's been plenty to read. We've followed a deportation case stemming from a now defunct post-9/11 national security program, attempted to make larger sense of Florida's so-called "Latino Primary" and taken a look at how long it takes for some immigrants to come to the U.
Five new Asian languages, three spoken in India, added for L.A. County voters
How many languages do L.A. County voters have access to information in? Wild guess?
'TRUST Act 2.0' would limit local cops' cooperation with Secure Communities
In August, after the federal government rescinded state contracts related to the Secure Communities immigration enforcement program, those states that at the time were trying to opt out of the controversial fingerprint-sharing program seemed to have little choice but to comply.
What about the kids? What can happen when parents are deported
Several years ago in San Diego, I met a family of three children whose parents had been deported after losing their bid to become legal residents. The kids had, technically, been left in the care of a relative who lived nearby.
In the news this morning: Human smugglers who targeted black drivers, Democrats and the Dream Act, the mistakenly deported Texas teen, more
Smugglers allegedly used black drivers to avert suspicion at border - Los Angeles Times Five people have been arrested after trying to "cash in on racial profiling by operating a human smuggling ring that hired mostly African American drivers who didn't speak a word of Spanish.
