I shouldn't be here. I spent three months in an incubator fighting for my life. The nurses had literally thumped my foot just listen to it to my brain to breathe.Doctors gave me a little chance to survive. And yet here I am alive standing in front of all of you. That was my first time defying the odds.You see, we all have hardships. Some of us inherit it. Some of us have the privilege to avoid it.But me, I was born in it. Fighting for every single breath. only to grow up to hear the last breaths of the one ...

[music] [music] [applause] I have nine siblings, most of which are criminals. Six of their kids are dead. And now I'm dying, too.My father was abused by his father and left for Vietnam at 17. He came home broken. My earliest memory is of him kicking me in the stomach with his cowboy boots.My mom left him and her new boyfriend tried to touch me, but I fought back. I fought back so hard that he beat me back. When I was seven years old, some neighborhood boys took me into an orchard and sexually abused me.I cr ...

I was 15 when I was told I was dirty. Let me explain. When I was 15, I worked at a fruit stall in Germany in my hometown.And a lady came to the stall and asked for a box of strawberries. I handed it to her. with a smile.Her response, "I can't have these. They're dirty." So, I looked at the strawberries and I saw a few dirt spots. So, I thought, "Fair enough. Pick out a nicer one. Here you go. I can't have these. They're dirty." And this went on until the stall owner pushed me aside and stern face served the ...

We have new developments in the ca of five year old Liam Ramo the boy with the bunny ears detained by ICE last month. At an asylum hearing Friday, a judge denied the Trump administration's bid to expedite the deportation of Liam and his family, at least for now. The family was granted what's called a continuance, which postpones the case to a later date.That's according to a statement from Liam's school superintendent, and it's unclear when they're due in court next. But DHS denies that their removal was be ...

At Roots Wellness Center, there is a growing problem. With increased immigration enforcement, they say the need for mental health support has never been higher. But addressing that need has never been more challenging.>> The isolation, right, a lot of the people that I've been speaking with haven't left their homes in a month. >> Eric Silva is one of three bilingual therapists at the center. He says many families are scared to leave their home.That's why the center created a rapid response therapy line and ...

Hello everyone, my name is Yana Romanesco and before starting I have a question for all of you. Does anyone here have a superpower? Well, I thought I had one. Growing up, I thought perfectionism was my superpower. Overanalyzing the slightest events, creating multiple scenarios with different courses of action, overthinking each decision, and feeling like the world has ending for every tiny mistake. No, I wasn't born with it. My perfectionism, which is in fact a fancier and more acceptable way for saying anx ...

When I retired from municipal policing in 2018 after decades in uniform, one of which I actually was, Sergeant Slaughter, I left I left my team with some words of wisdom. Four exactly. They were the four Ps of policing.Purpose, power, partnerships, and play. At the time, I thought those lessons were just for law enforcement. I didn't realize that they would guide me through one of the most difficult chapters of my life.Because when I left the job, what stayed with me wasn't the badge or the uniform. It was ...

[music] [music] Have you ever had to come up with a secret signal or like a code word or phrase with a friend when you're in a really awkward conversation and you need rescuing? Well, I do because when I go to a party and people ask me, "What do you do. " I tell them, "I'm a therapist. " And I secretly hope they think I mean physical because [clears throat] one of two things happens. I either get the complete shutdown cuz they think I want to know their deep dark secrets or they tell me everything and we ha ...

I was once a young vibrant 18year-old with a heart full of dreams like lot of you out here and I would think that I was invincible and that I could do anything that I put my heart to until one fine day when God decides to flip the script. It was a cold winter morning of December and I was I was crossing the road and a speeding truck comes and knocks me down. And there I lay unconscious in a pool of blood with a lot of people around me.Yet majority of them refusing to take me to hospital saying we do not tak ...

IMMIGRANTS RIGHTS CLINIC AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, ELAWRA MUKERGEE. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US. YOU JUST WROTE THIS GUEST ESSAY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES OPINION SECTION RIGHT HERE ABOUT LIAM RAMOS BEING JUST one of the children in that detention center.Who else is there. Katie, thanks for having me on. Sadly, tragically, there are hundreds of children detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing center.These children hail from around the world. Overwhelmingly, they are seeking asylum. They and their parents have ...