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Local Immigrants Share Personal Stories

Recent political rhetoric aside, the majority of immigrants living in the US. come here legally, and each has a compelling story to tell. Those are among the messages members of Bloomington-Normal's immigrant communities hope to convey at a conversation Thursday evening at Bloomington Public Library.

East Indian, Mexican, Caribbean and Latin American immigrants will share their personal stories.

Speaking on GLT's Sound Ideas, Marianne Taylor, who emigrated to Bloomington six years ago from the Dominican Republic, said native-born Americans need to hear directly from immigrant families.

"To actually hear from their own mouths what was their experience, why they came to the U.S., what are their passions, their dreams and how can you hear their stories and relate to them," Taylor said.

Taylor obtained legal residency after marrying an American citizen.

"My experience may be very different from that of  others ... My reason for coming here was love," she said.

She met her husband when he was on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. 

"We got married in the court in the U.S. Then I went back home and arranged to have a wedding there, and then I came back here and we completed the paper work. I became a (legal) resident shortly afterward," Taylor explained.

She received help with her residency application from the legal aid group, the Immigration Project. 

As the wife of a citizen, "The doors were open to me," Taylor said.

That is not the case for many immigrants. Working as a translator at Western Avenue Community Center in Bloomington, Taylor says she meets many for whom the path to legal residency is far more difficult.

"People who in their countries are going through situations that are very hard. They don't have food to eat, a place to stay. The they are dealing with a lot of violence. They are dealing with a lot of situations that make it hard to raise their families in a good environment," she said.

"What is not being addressed in this current political environment is the lack of love.  Where is the compassion? Where is the, 'what if that would be me?'" Taylor added.

The forum on "Immigration: The Local Story" begins at 6:30 p.m. in the community room of the Bloomington Public Library. It is being co-sponsored by the Immigration Project, Indivisible Illinois 13 and Indivisible Illinois 18, and is free and open to the public.

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