Julissa Arce

Julissa Arce is the author of My (Underground) American Dream: My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive and Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream. She is also the co-founder and chair of the Ascend Educational Fund.

A woman holds a placard as activists and relatives of Andres Guardado, who was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy in Gardena, rally to call on the city to rescind its policing contract, in Compton, California, on June 28, 2020.

It's Long Past Time We Recognized All the Latinos Killed at the Hands of Police

In January 1918, as the people of Porvenir, Texas, slept, a group of Texas ...

In January 1918, as the people of Porvenir, Texas, slept, a group of Texas Rangers, U.S. Army cavalry soldiers and Anglo ranchers invaded the town. They abducted 15 Mexican men and boys, took them to...

The Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle), in Washington D.C.

Smithsonian Museums Are Supposed to Tell the American Story. So Where's the One Dedicated to Latinos?

When I was growing up in San Antonio, Mexican culture permeated every aspec...

When I was growing up in San Antonio, Mexican culture permeated every aspect of American culture. I heard Spanish every day: at the grocery store, on the playground and, of course, at home. The staples...

Protesters in Los Angeles show support for DACA beneficiaries on Sept. 5, 2017, the day the Trump administration announced the end of the program.

Two Years After DACA Was Rescinded, Hundreds of Thousands of Dreamers Remain in Limbo. Even the Supreme Court Can't Fix the Problem

On September 5, 2017, Jeff Sessions, then the U.S. Attorney General, announ...

On September 5, 2017, Jeff Sessions, then the U.S. Attorney General, announced that the Trump Administration would be rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and thus ending deportation protections and legal employment...

Julissa Arce's passports before she became a US citizen.

Trump's Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Was Never About Legality — It Was About Our Brown Skin

I was 11 when I immigrated to San Antonio from Mexico. When I turned 14, my...

I was 11 when I immigrated to San Antonio from Mexico. When I turned 14, my tourist visa expired and I became undocumented. After more than a decade without papers, I became a United States...

Activists hold a candlelight vigil at the perimeter fence securing the U.S. Border Patrol station where lawyers reported that detained migrant children were held unbathed and hungry on June 25, 2019 in Clint, Texas.

Americans Aren't Allowed to Donate to and Volunteer at Migrant Detention Centers. There's No Good Reason for That Policy

Last month, Patty Rodriguez saw a picture online that broke her heart: a yo...

Last month, Patty Rodriguez saw a picture online that broke her heart: a young boy wearing aluminum foil as shoes. He had recently been released from a detention center and was at a nonprofit shelter....