Oral history interview with Miguel Rodriguez, 2019 July 16

This oral history interview with Miguel Rodriguez was conducted by David Lipoff on July 16, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.

In this interview, Rodriguez discusses his sister's injury, which led the family to leave Mexico and seek medical treatment in the United States; shares their reasons for staying; and talks about the legal barriers that prevented them from receiving U.S. citizenship. He discusses his early life in Los Angeles, California; his relationship with his father and step-father; and moving to Roseburg to live near his step-father's family. He talks about the financial hardship that led his mother and step-father to return to Los Angeles, about attending Umpqua Community College, and about the deaths of some of his family members in L.A. He speaks at length about the limitations on his life and the feelings of vulnerability caused by his status as an undocumented immigrant. He talks about the positive effect that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy had on his life, including the ability to find a job and attend Portland State University. He then talks about getting a green card along with his mother under the Violence Against Women Act. He speaks about his cultural and ethnic identity. He talks about his work as a college access coach at Madison High School, about his reasons for volunteering with AmeriCorps, and about difficult conversations with his conservative grandfather. He shares his hopes and plans for the future and talks about his career goals. He closes the interview by talking about his involvement in non-profit organizations focused on the Latino community, particularly the organization Portland Through a Latinx Lens.