Leslie Berestein Rojas Immigration and Emerging Communities Reporter
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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
American snapshot: Echo Park
Because it's about that time again, a display of Valentine gifts along Sunset Boulevard from last year, with newspaper dispensers providing convenient shelves. As they do every year, Angelenos will be buying gifts well into the late hours of February 14 from curbside vendors, many of them immigrants who moonlight as enterprising cupids this time of year in their off-work hours.
Sheriff's Dept. to Miramonte Elementary parents: 'We will not ask their legal status'
A post yesterday tied to the Miramonte Elementary School scandal addressed the rights of immigrant crime victims, regardless of their immigration status. But in the days since two teachers were charged with committing lewd acts against children, many families still have reservations about speaking to authorities due to their immigration status and don't know their rights, immigrant advocates and attorneys are saying.
‘What every immigrant parent tells his kid’: What's your story?
There's a conversation that began on the site recently after I posted a scene from the Oscar-nominated film "A Better Life," one in which the immigrant protagonist explains to his teenage son in so many words why it is that he makes the sacrifices that he makes.
Sheriff’s Dept. to Miramonte parents: ‘We will not ask their legal status’
Should parents who think their children may have been harmed feel safe about coming forward, even if they are undocumented? Sheriff’s Department officials are saying yes.
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.
