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USA Today
17 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Activist Cristina Jiménez talks new book and why 'the migration story is about love'
Activist Cristina Jiménez talks new book and why 'the migration story is about love' PASADENA, CA − Cristina Jiménez, an author and co-founder of United We Dream, the largest immigration youth-led organization in the U.S., did not expect her memoir to be published under the Trump administration. "I didn't plan for the book to be released under these conditions," the award-winning community organizer said during a sold-out book signing event June 2 at Pasadena's historic Vroman's Bookstore. "Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change" (St. Martin's Press, pp. 320, out now) is more than a memoir, "it's about the story of many undocumented and courageous people," Jiménez said, and an invitation for readers to organize and dream of a more just place for all. "I had dreamed of a better world and for this book to be in a different context, but here we are," Jiménez said, sounding determined. "I think about this book as an organizing tool, as a story and as a way for us to come together to remember that we do have power." INTERVIEW: Cristina Jiménez Moreta helped get DACA, now she helps young immigrants find their voice Jiménez's parents brought her to New York from Ecuador when she was 13, she said. When she was in the 11th grade in New York City's Queens borough and ready to apply for college, she found out that due to her undocumented status, the road to higher education would look different than that of her peers. Although Jiménez recalls feeling defeated then, she said her mother, who was proudly in attendance at her daughter's book event, was the one who told her not to back down and fight for the necessary resources to pursue her educational goals. Those small but significant seeds of courage and community have led her to this moment. "Community is what's going to give us the energy, ideas and strategies for what we need to do to move us forward," she added. That, and love. MUST READS: 13 books to break down the immigration debate amid Trump's return to power Why love is at the center of 'Dreaming of Home' During the Q&A, led by actress Francia Raisa, Jiménez opened up about the effects of migration, how climate change plays a role in people seeking a new place to call home, and why love is at the heart of her new memoir. "So much of the migration story is the story about love, and we barely think about immigrants and our conversations about immigrants as stories of love," she said. USA TODAY's The Essentials: 'How I Met Your Father' star Francia Raísa talks Selena Gomez friendship, comfort food essentials Jiménez said she wanted to shed light "on the fact that love is at the center of the courageous act of leaving everything behind for your loved ones. "Love is at the center when immigrant communities are doing the best and struggling to accomplish dreams, to lift each other up, to do better for their families. And when I think about my parents and many of the parents that had to leave everything behind to come here and take on great risk, I think it was love at the center of their courage and their ability to make that scary decision." 'Why do we even have such a thing as migration?' Jiménez asked attendees to examine their thoughts and preconceptions around immigration. "What I also wanted to do with this book is to really pull the curtain and let the reader have an opportunity to understand why do we even have such a thing as migration and people being forced out?" she said in response to a question from Francia about the impact of climate change on migration patterns. "So much of what we, as migrants and as immigrants, get from the media and from everything we hear is that somehow we are bad − that we are criminals because we migrated to seek a better life, to seek safety," she said. "I wanted to really talk about what's underneath migration: unjust laws, violence, corruption and increasingly more and more now, climate change." More: The U.S. already has millions of climate refugees. Helene and Milton could make it worse. She added: "If you care about our democracy, if you care about climate change, if you care about having a world that we all can share, you have to deal with immigration." Cristina Jiménez immigration advocacy work knows no bounds In 2020, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, USA TODAY named Jiménez one of its Women of the Century for her work in helping establish Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and inspiring young immigrants to find their voice. Jiménez cofounded United We Dream, which became the country's largest immigrant-youth-led network with 400,000 members across 100 local groups and 28 states. More: Paola Ramos explores the effects of Trumpism on the Latino vote in her book 'Defectors' The group pressured then-President Barack Obama to protect young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. In 2012, his administration created DACA, which allowed these young immigrants to obtain work permits, get driver's licenses, and go to college. The organization helped change public perception of undocumented youth. Contributing: Nicole Carroll, USA TODAY
Time Magazine
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
The Best New Books to Read in May
The best new books to read in May include historian and best-selling author Ron Chernow 's biography of Mark Twain, United We Dream co-founder Cristina Jiménez 's debut memoir, and poet and novelist Ocean Vuong 's follow-up to his 2019 novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. There's something for everyone this month. Young adult author Christina Li makes her adult literary debut with a gothic ghost story for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Nature writer Robert Macfarlane 's latest is a personal and political look at the legal rights of nature. And New York Times critic at large Amanda Hess dissects what it's like to raise a child in the digital age. Below, the 13 books you should read in May. The Manor of Dreams, Christina Li (May 6) The Manor of Dreams begins with the death of a fictional starlet named Vivian Yin, who has left her crumbling mansion to an unlikely heir: the daughter of her long-deceased former housekeeper. Vivian's children now find themselves in a battle over their mother's broken-down estate against someone they suspect may have had a hand in her demise. In hopes of piecing together Vivian's final days, the warring families move into the dilapidated home together only to discover that it is being haunted by the ghosts of the late actor's complicated past. Jemimah Wei's debut, The Original Daughter, tells the story of an unlikely sisterhood. Genevieve Yang's life is completely upended when, at eight years old, she suddenly gains a de facto younger sister who is actually the daughter of an estranged in Singapore at the turn of the millennium, the unexpected siblings quickly bond over the societal pressure to be the perfect daughter only to have a bitter betrayal tear them apart later in life. When Genevieve's mother gets sick, the two must try and put their differences aside in this decades-spanning saga about ambition, resentment, and forgiveness. With her debut memoir, journalist Amanda Hess uses her own experience as a first-time mom to look at what it's like to have and raise a child in the social media age. But Second Life isn't the new What to Expect When You're Expecting. Hess isn't offering parenting tips to tech-savvy caretakers. Instead, she takes readers on an eye-opening adventure down the parenting internet rabbit hole where she explores, among many things, the personification of pregnancy tracking apps, the surreal network of prenatal genetic tests, and the origins of the growing ' freebirther ' movement. In this follow-up to writer and editor Michele Filgate's acclaimed 2019 anthology, What My Mother and I Don't Talk About, authors, poets, and essayists including Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and Kelly McMasters unspool their complicated relationships with their dads. Across 16 essays, What My Father and I Don't Talk About tackles difficult topics such as parental estrangement, toxic masculinity, and emotional availability in hopes of encouraging us to consider how we are shaped by our family. Ocean Vuong's second novel begins when an elderly Lithuanian woman with early-stage dementia saves Hai, a troubled 19-year-old, from taking his own life. Hai soon reciprocates this act of kindness by becoming her caregiver. The pair, both living on the fringes of society in their Connecticut town, form an unexpected friendship that leads the teen on a journey of self-discovery. Mark Twain, Ron Chernow (May 13) After tackling the lives of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Ulysses S. Grant with his previous biographies, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow returns with a definitive portrait of another American icon: Mark Twain. Across a whopping 1,200 pages, Chernow takes a comprehensive look at the life of the author born Samuel Langhorne Clemens. The book delves into Twain's early years working odd jobs—steamboat pilot, miner, journalist, just to name a few—before the release of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. From there, Chernow traces Twin's life and career up until his grief-stricken final days marked by undiagnosed madness. The latest novel from Kevin Wilson, the best-selling author of Nothing to See Here, starts with an unusual family reunion that leads to an even crazier family road trip. Twenty years after her father walks out on her and her mom, organic farmer Madeline 'Mad' Hill meets Reuben, a 40-something mystery writer who claims to be her older half-brother. With the help of a private detective, Reuben has tracked down their dad, who, it turns out, has fathered multiple children. Now, Reuben is hitting the road to gather up their siblings and confront their absentee dad, and he wants Mad to come with him. Looking for answers for her dad's disappearance, she agrees, embarking on an adventure to finally understand where she came from. Madeleine Thien's century-spanning fourth novel, The Book of Records, is set in a mysterious shape-shifting enclave for displaced people where the past, present, and future collide. After fleeing their home in southern China, Lina and her ailing father have taken up residence at 'the Sea.' There, they live alongside a diverse group of neighbors including a Jewish scholar from 17th century Amsterdam, a poet of Tang Dynasty China, and a philosopher fleeing Nazi persecution in 1930s Germany. After her dad reveals his role in their family's tragic past, Lina looks to her time traveling community for advice on how to reckon with her devastation. With his twelfth book, best-selling British nature writer Robert Macfarlane argues thatrivers are not just flowing bodies of water, but living beings with legal rights. Inspired by the Rights of Nature movement, the global effort to legally protect nature, Macfarlane visits a cloud-forest in northern Ecuador, the wounded creeks, lagoons, and estuaries of southern India, and a wild river in Quebec at risk of being dammed to show how activists, artists, and lawmakers are putting the concept of environmental personhood to the test. Shamanism, anthropologist Manvir Singh's debut, traces the evolution of the titular spiritual practice. To investigate the origins of the ancient religion, Singh travels to the Mentawai archipelago in Indonesia, a cave in southwest France, and the northwest Amazon. He studies with shamans, healers who are believed to have the power to commune with spirits, in hopes of understanding why their practices have become as popular with Burning Man festival goers as they are with Wall Street traders. Blending memoir, investigative journalism, and anthropological fieldwork, Shamanism is a deep dive into a religious tradition that is as mysterious as it is timeless. With her second memoir, novelist Yiyun Li examines the unbearable pain of losing both her sons to suicide. Things in Nature Merely Grow paints a loving portrait of each of her teenage children, who died nearly seven years apart, and details her own battles with depression and suicidal ideation. (The latter was the focus of her 2017 debut memoir, Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life.) Throughout, Li does not shy away from the magnitude of these losses. Instead, she writes of radical acceptance, offering a profound look at how a parent continues to live in a world without her children. When activist Cristina Jiménez was 13, she and her family moved from Ecuador to the United States. Her debut memoir, Dreaming of Home, tells the story of what it was like growing up undocumented in Queens, NY, and how her experience inspired her to become a prominent voice in the fight for immigration justice. Lush, Rochelle Dowden-Lord (May 27) In Rochelle Dowden-Lord's debut, Lush, four wine experts—a wunderkind sommelier, a food writer, a social media influencer, and the owner of a popular, but mediocre wine brand—are invited to a French vineyard for the weekend. While there, they'll get the chance to taste the rarest wine in the world. But in order to achieve this professional milestone, they'll have to confront their personal demons in this intoxicating look at the world of wine and those who love it.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump signs executive order declaring English as official U.S. language
Ariana Figueroa Alaska Beacon WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Saturday, March 1, signed an executive order that establishes English as the official U.S. language, while also revoking a decades-old requirement for federal agencies to provide language assistance to non-English speakers, according to the White House. Trump's executive order rescinded an executive order signed by former President Bill Clinton in 2000 that directed federal agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to improve access to services for those who are limited with their English proficiency, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. It's the latest in the Trump administration's efforts to curb resources for immigrants, from suspending funding for legal aid services to terminating contracts with organizations that handle refugee resettlement services in the United States. The U.S. has never had an official language, mostly because of its multiracial demographic that stems from nearly 250 years of immigrants arriving from across the world. However, 32 states have passed their own laws making English, along with some Indigenous languages in some cases, the official state language. While on the campaign trail, Trump was critical that the U.S. does not mandate English as the official language. Congressional Republicans have also introduced legislation throughout the years to designate English as the official language. Republican Ohio freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno introduced legislation earlier this month to make English the official U.S. language. Ohio does not have an official state language. Anabel Mendoza, communications director of the immigration advocacy youth group United We Dream, said in a statement that the executive order targets 'Black and brown immigrants and communities who speak different languages.' 'We mean this with all disrespect, no gracias,' she said. 'Trump will try to use this executive order as a crutch to attack schools providing curriculum to immigrant students in other languages, gut programs and roles that help to promote inclusive language access, and embolden immigration agents to single out and harass individuals who speak a certain way.' There are more than 350 languages spoken across the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Some of the most widely spoken languages in the U.S., other than English, include Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Arabic. There is also a large population of people who speak Indigenous languages such as Navajo, Yupik, Dakota, Apache, Keres and Cherokee. Some states have multiple official languages, such as Alaska, South Dakota and Hawaii, which all are home to many Indigenous people. In Alaska, English and 20 Alaskan native languages are the official state language. They are Inupiaq, Siberian Yupik, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Alutiiq, Unangax, Dena'ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwich'in, Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Hän, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. In South Dakota, English and Sioux are the official state languages. And in Hawaii, English and the Hawaiian language are the official languages of the state. Puerto Rico also has two official languages, Spanish and English. The more than 30 states where English is the official language include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. This article was first published in the Alaska Beacon
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Designates English as America's Official Language
The White House revealed on Saturday that President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, a largely symbolic move designed to appeal to his nativist base. The order does not require any changes to federal programs, although it does rescind a Bill Clinton-era requirement that agencies and recipients of federal funding provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Agencies will be able to keep their current policies and provide services in other languages if they choose to. The executive order states, 'Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society,' although it's unclear how, exactly, that would be the case. Several other primarily English-speaking countries have declined to give any one language official status, including the United Kingdom and Australia, and there are no signs of social cohesion or efficiency being affected by the lack of an official national language. Rather than having any particular practical utility, the move is seemingly a nod to the English-only language movement, The New York Times explains. Key figures in the anti-immigration movement, including John H. Tanton, described by watchdogs as a 'thinly-veiled white nationalist,' advocate for the restriction of bilingual education programs in areas with large Spanish-speaking populations alongside the restriction of immigration in an attempt to 'preserve American culture.' Americans who speak a language other than English at home—a group that includes Trump's wife Melania, who taught their son Barron her native language of Slovenian—are already a minority, with 78.3 percent of Americans speaking English at home. Of the remainder, 61.1 percent speak Spanish at home, with 61 percent of those who speak Spanish at home also speaking English 'very well.' The United States government's own website still currently states that the U.S. does not have an official language, although 'some states designate it as their official language'—30, to be precise. The website also states that Americans speak some 350 languages, which is consistent with America's history of immigration from all corners of the globe; a history that is the precise reason this move has been condemned by pro-immigration groups, as well as Democratic leaders. House minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Friday that 'we're going to have to examine if what he's doing is actually in compliance with the law and the U.S. Constitution,' adding, 'And to the extent that it's not, I'm confident that he will be sued.' Anabel Mendoza, communications director for United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led network in the country, said, 'We mean this with all disrespect: No gracias.' She continued, 'We see exactly what Trump is trying to do by continuing to put a target on the backs of Black and brown immigrants and communities who speak different languages, and we won't tolerate it.' Pablo José Hernández Rivera, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, an American territory where 94 percent of residents speak Spanish, also condemned the move. He argues that the order 'reflects a vision of American identity that conflicts with our Puerto Rican identity,' emphasizing that, 'There will be no statehood without assimilation, and Puerto Ricans will never surrender our identity.'
Express Tribune
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Trump signs executive order making English official language of the US
Listen to article President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, a move that could have significant implications for federal agencies and organisations receiving government funding. The directive, signed on Saturday, allows these bodies to choose whether to continue offering services and documents in languages other than English. This marks a shift from the previous mandate under former President Bill Clinton, which required government agencies to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. The executive order, according to the White House, aims to streamline communication and reinforce national unity. It argues that establishing English as the official language will foster a more cohesive society, aligning with shared values and traditions. "Speaking English not only opens doors economically but helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society," the order states. Although the order does not require immediate changes to federal programs, it has been celebrated by English-only advocates, particularly those aligned with Trump's 'America First' agenda. More than 30 states have already passed similar laws designating English as the official language. Supporters of the executive order argue that it simplifies government communication and promotes a sense of national cohesion, especially in a nation with a diverse population. The executive order rescinds a mandate from the Clinton era that required federal agencies and organisations receiving federal funding to offer language assistance for non-English speakers. However, the order allows these agencies to keep their existing policies and continue to provide services in languages other than English, giving them the flexibility to decide what best serves their communities. Despite the lack of immediate changes to federal programs, the order has drawn mixed reactions from both political sides. Advocates of the English-only movement have hailed the move as a step towards unifying the nation under a single language. 'This is HUGE,' conservative political activist Charlie Kirk wrote on social media, calling it a message of national unity in an era of mass immigration. However, the order has prompted backlash from pro-immigration groups, civil rights organisations, and Democratic leaders. Critics argue that the order could disproportionately affect non-English-speaking immigrants and communities. 'We see exactly what Trump is trying to do by continuing to put a target on the backs of Black and brown immigrants and communities who speak different languages,' said Anabel Mendoza, communications director of United We Dream, a youth-led immigrant advocacy group. The United States has never had an official language, and this executive order represents a symbolic shift that has reignited a long-standing debate about the role of language in American identity. The move has drawn particular concern from Puerto Rican officials, where Spanish is predominantly spoken. "There will be no statehood without assimilation, and Puerto Ricans will never surrender our identity," said Pablo José Hernández Rivera, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico. While over 75% of Americans speak only English at home, the country is home to approximately 42 million Spanish speakers, alongside millions of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Arabic speakers. Advocates for bilingual services warn that the order could make it harder for immigrants to access essential government services and information in their native languages, a concern particularly important for vulnerable communities in the US. In addition to the controversy surrounding the order, the decision has also drawn attention to previous actions taken by the Trump administration, such as the removal of the Spanish-language version of the White House website after Trump's inauguration in 2017. The Spanish version was restored in 2021 after President Joe Biden took office, but questions remain about whether it will be reinstated under this new directive. The Trump administration has long supported efforts to promote English-only practices in the United States. During his first presidential campaign in 2015, Trump famously mocked his rival Jeb Bush, who occasionally spoke in Spanish, saying, 'This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish.' The new executive order marks the latest move in a series of actions aimed at reducing bilingual education and curbing immigration.
