Hi, all --

A couple weeks ago, I was in a meeting with a group of community leaders and President Obama here at the White House. Before the discussion kicked off, one of the women in attendance handed me a letter. It was written by her dad, a 90 year old college professor from Cleveland.

He was born in China in 1923, and he came to the United States with $24 in his pocket. Two years later, he'd earned a masters in electrical engineering. Five years after that, he had completed his PhD. In 55 years of teaching, he's trained 180 graduate students.

"I fulfilled my dream," he wrote in that letter. "I light up a spot on the great nation of opportunity."

His letter reminded me of my dad, who came here from Bolivia to study engineering, and lived his American dream in Michigan, where I was born. So many Americans have stories like these, and they're all powerful. Each personal history is an important asset in the fight to reform the immigration system. To win the debate, we need more than statistics in a fact sheet or the rhetoric in a press release. Every time we put a face on the push for reform, we take an abstract concept and makes it real.

Which means your stories are crucial in this effort. Join the conversation now:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/stories

Thanks so much!

Cecilia

Cecilia Muñoz
Director, Domestic Policy Council
The White House

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