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
'I'm going to move to Gda?sk': More self-deportation satire (Video)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's comment about "self-deportation" during Monday's debate in Florida, referring to what others have long called "attrition through enforcement," has by now drawn an equal share of criticism and cracks.
Obama's immigration reform talk: More yawns than cheers?
Last night during his State of the Union speech, President Obama spoke, as he has before, about the need for comprehensive immigration reform. He also brought up, if not by name, the Dream Act, long-proposed legislation that would grant conditional legal status to undocumented young people who arrived in the U.
In the news this morning: Obama talks immigration reform, Gingrich mocks Romney over 'self-deportation,' more
Obama draws contrast with GOP on immigration, urging pathway to citizenship - MSNBC In last night's State of the Union speech, Obama talked of more "boots on the ground" in terms of immigration enforcement, but also called for a path to legal status for undocumented immigrant youths.
Is 'Mexican Mitt' a pocho? A peek behind the Twitter parody
Screen shot from Pocho.com
A scene from 'A Better Life' with Oscar nominee Demián Bichir (Video)
Among the Oscar nominations just announced is one for Demián Bichir, the veteran Mexican actor who portrayed an undocumented father in director Chris Weitz's "A Better Life." The film revolves around his character, Carlos, an undocumented gardener in Los Angeles who hopes to build a landscaping business and earn a better living for himself and his son.
In the news this morning: Romney's immigration tone changes in Fla., resistance to new detention center, Demián Bichir gets Oscar nod, more
Romney Sidesteps Tough Immigration Talk in Florida - New York Times In spite of talk of "self-deportation," Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney generally portrayed less of a tough immigration stance than he has so far in other states, keeping in mind Florida's large Latino population.
Romney's 'self-deportation' is not a new concept - does it work?
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's line during last night's debate in Florida about "self-deportation" has drawn its share of attention (and cracks) by now, but the concept he's talking about isn't a novel one.
As Florida's 'Latino primary' looms, a few things to note
Much is being made of the GOP presidential candidates' positions on immigration and their appeal (or lack thereof) to Latino voters in the run-up to next week's Florida primary election.
Drop that knife! A few superstitions for Lunar New Year
As the Lunar New Year marking the Year of the Dragon kicks off, KPCC’s Kim Bui is giving housework a rest and pondering who to invite to – and who to keep out of – her home today. Why? I'll let her explain:
Andrew Ahn comes out to his immigrant parents - in a film
Dol Trailer from Andrew Ahn on Vimeo.
Two stories, two deportation cases as new Obama policy kicks in
As the federal government makes plans to review some 300,000 deportation cases nationwide, reaction to the plan announced by the Obama administration last August has been mixed.
In the news this morning: Posthumous asylum bid for murdered deportee, reaction to Obama deportation review plan, more
Posthumous US asylum bid highlights gang debate - Wall Street Journal The family of a disabled young man who was denied asylum - and was murdered upon returning to his native Honduras, as he'd feared - has filed for his asylum again posthumously as an unusual "effort to get the U.
Question for the weekend: What part of 'Mexico' was the South Carolina debate crowd booing?
It's been a few days now, so those of you who saw Monday's Fox News GOP presidential debate in South Carolina have had time to mull this one over. What do you think the crowd was booing when moderator Juan Williams addressed candidate Mitt Romney's Mexican roots?
Mixed feelings about deportation reviews, even from 'low priority' immigrants
Almost six months ago, the Obama administration announced a shift in its deportation policy, with Homeland Security officials promising to review some 300,000 deportation cases. The plan was to weed out immigrants deemed a low priority for deportation, allowing officials to focus on removing those with criminal records.
American snapshot: East Los Angeles
Photographer Steve Saldivar came across Humberto Renteria (right, holding Mexican flag) from Torrance and a friend last August on Whittier Boulevard in East L.A.
