Since 2008, the Immigrant Archive Project has documented moving immigrant stories from people “who have sacrificed to become American by choice,” as well as the children of immigrants, the national initiative’s website says. Soon, thousands of these interviews and accounts will be a part of the Library of Congress. NBC News reports that it has asked to include these stories in the Handbook of Latin American Studies Web Archive.
Tony Hernández, who co-founded the project with Gustavo Pombo, grew emotional recalling the request, NBC News said. Both men head the Latino Broadcasting Company, which specializes in Latino-targeted content.
As the report notes, many of the stories that make up the Immigrant Archive Project are well-known names and faces, like Oscar-nominated actor Edward James Olmos, immigration activist Gaby Pacheco, and late banda superstar Jenni Rivera, who was born in Long Beach, California, to Mexican parents. Rivera had received four Latin Grammy nominations and successfully branched out into television before her tragic death in a plane crash nearly ten years ago.
“But some of the people he interviews are ordinary Americans, including farmworkers and a young immigrant who was wrongfully convicted of murder when he was 18 and served 25 years in prison before he was freed,” the report continues.
Another participant in the project, Sal Ortiz, in his video recalled the annual ritual of traveling with his migrant farmworker parents, finishing school on a Friday, and leaving the next morning for as long as four months at a time. Ortiz said he was 16 years old when he had his first birthday at the family’s home, due to their constant traveling.
“Every birthday I had, every picture that you’ll see me with a birthday as a kid, it’s somewhere outside the state of Texas because we would migrate every summer,” he said in the video.
Another deeply moving video is from Manuel Oliver. His son, Joaquin “Guac” Oliver, was among 14 teenagers murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. He recalled the final conversation with his son, who was just 17 when he was killed. Oliver has continued to be active in the continued fight for gun violence legislation, including a demonstration at the National Mall during the four-year anniversary of the shooting this week.
Manuel Oliver “joined the demonstrators and called for the same support the march saw four years ago,” CBS Miami reported. “I call for them to come back. I call for them to start demanding louder than ever before,” Oliver said.
The Immigrant Archive Project also accepts requests for unique story submissions. NBC News reports that the Library of Congress said that “as the internet has become an increasingly important and influential part of our lives, we believe the historical record would be incomplete if websites like [these] are not preserved and made a part of it.”