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b'Immigration MIC California Edition! \\n\\nI sat with Valeria (a months long fan of the podcast) at the Plaza de La Cultura Y Artes in Los Angeles to talk about: \\n\\n\\U0001f535 Valeria is a US citizen, who is passionate about one day becoming an immigration activist because of her family\\u2019s experience with the immigration system. \\n\\U0001f534 Her parents are from Mexico - at 8 years old, her parents decided to go back to Mexico, knowing that her mother wouldn\\u2019t be able to return, dividing their family. \\n\\u26ab\\ufe0f \\u201cEmotional damage\\u201d is the term that Valeria describes to talk about the effects that the immigration system that caused her family to \\u201cbreak apart\\u201d. \\n\\U0001f535 In 2011, Valeria went to fashion school to study the creative and development parts of the fashion industry - eventually working as a retail buyer. \\n\\U0001f534Later on, working at American Apparel, inspired by the founder\\u2019s commitment to immigrant rights, and by working directly with sewing workers, Valeria became inspired to begin researching immigrant and workers rights. \\n\\u26ab\\ufe0f \\u201cYou come to LA, and a building away, there\\u2019s a damn detention center right over there\\u201d \\n\\U0001f535 She talks about the emotions she experienced during the election, but also seeing the reaction from her community. \\u201c[Trump] makes it OK to say it\\u2019s you, versus us.\\u201d\\n\\U0001f534 We talk about her future goals, to get her BA in sociology, looking to fuse her education with her inspiration to be an activist.\\n\\u26ab\\ufe0f Valeria reads a passage from Valeria Luiselli\\u2019s \\u2018Tell Me How It Ends\\u201d, and talks to me about the coincidences she found in setting up our interview - an incredible personal moment. \\n\\nAnd much more! Tune in for the next six episodes from California each coming week!'