Meet Three Courageous Resettled Refugees and Allies this National Hispanic Heritage Month

Every year in the United States, millions of people celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, a month-long observance that runs from September 15 to October 15. During this month, Americans celebrate the cultures, traditions and invaluable contributions made by the more than 60 million Hispanic and Latin Americans who call the U.S. home.

Although they make up the largest racial and ethnic minority in the country, Hispanic and Latin Americans come from many different parts of the world. National Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate their unique voices, achievements and oftentimes difficult journeys to the U.S. Meet three courageous Hispanic and Latin American resettled refugees and allies and learn more about their hopes and dreams for the future. 

Laura Londono

As a young girl, Laura Londono was forced to flee with her family from their home in Colombia. When crime and gang violence began to escalate in their neighborhood, they fled to Ecuador where they hoped they would be safe and could start over. “We got there, it was a big house with just one little mattress [in] the corner and our trash bag of clothes. We slowly started a new beginning.”

This new beginning would ultimately take Laura and her family from Ecuador to the United States through the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Moving to her new home in Providence, Rhode Island marked a new and exciting chapter in Laura’s life, but also posed new challenges she had not anticipated. Many refugees like Laura who arrive from Latin America or other countries to the U.S. struggle with learning English and adapting to a new culture. As a student, Laura was particularly worried about keeping up with her high school classes and feared having to start all over again. 

Despite these concerns, Laura was determined to pursue her dreams on her own timeline. Laura threw herself into learning English and became fluent within a year with the help of her ESL teacher. In college, she balanced a full-time job and classes while continuing to work towards her passions and goals. As a college graduate now, Laura is committed to her dream of becoming a NASA astronaut and encourages other refugees in her position to believe in themselves. 

“I think of other people that are going through stuff and, it might seem like there's no way out, that you're trapped and that nothing will ever get better. With a little bit of help, we can all overcome and be happy at one point.”

Alberto Marino

“At 33, I left behind my family, my whole career,” recalls Alberto. “I came to the U.S. escaping for my life.” In Venezuela, Alberto Marino was building the life he wanted — he had a thriving career and a network of friends and family. This all changed when violence broke out in Venezuela and he realized he would need to flee if he wanted to survive. 

With just $700 in his pocket and his entire life packed into one luggage, Alberto boarded a plane to the U.S. After arriving, Alberto worked through the difficult asylum process. “To apply for political asylum is not easy. You have to prove a credible fear for your life.” 

Finally after a year, his asylum application was processed and he got a work permit. Alberto applied for several jobs in the beginning before landing a job at an auto parts company. While this job allowed him to survive, he was ambitious and wanted to find more meaningful work. He worked tirelessly to improve his English so he could find better opportunities.

Alberto’s hard work paid off. He got a new job with Catholic Charities as a refugee case manager and found his calling supporting refugees to find jobs in the careers they had to leave behind in their home countries. He continues this important work now as a Senior Sourcing Officer at the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) where he’s promoting diversity within the workforce at WMATA and continuing to help people find meaningful employment.  

“A refugee is a person who came to this country looking for a second opportunity in life. We need to provide all the support that we have because that individual is looking to build a new life in the U.S. and make that great contribution to the economy in this country. 

Jen Sanchez

Jen Sanchez grew up surrounded by a community of refugees and immigrants. From a young age, she was tasked with translating documents and interpreting for community members from Latin America who would arrive at her family’s bakery, La Sultana, in search of help. La Sultana is a bakery in East Boston that, for the last 30 years, has served as a community space of support, care and inclusion for newly arrived Latinos to the Boston area.

Jen and her parents are no strangers to the struggles that refugees and immigrants endure while building a life in the U.S. Her parents left Colombia for the U.S. in the 1980s, struggling and persevering for years before they were able to save enough money to open La Sultana. Those early memories have always motivated Jen’s mother, Amelia, to support others in her position, “We always wanted to help people at the bakery who would come looking for work or for help finding a place to live.”

Now, as the lead animator and Art Director at Planet Nutshell, a creative studio, Jen is taking her allyship and community care a step further. Her latest project, Azúcar, was inspired by interviews with refugees, migrants and others with lived experiences of forced displacement. The animated short film is about a mother and son who are forced to flee gang violence in their hometown in Honduras and are faced with the difficult decision to cross the southern border of the U.S. with no guarantee of the future. 

“My personal goal for Azúcar was to give a voice to those who would otherwise not have any,” explains Jen.

How to Help…

Refugees from Latin America come to the United States with many hopes and dreams for their future. They embark on dangerous journeys, oftentimes leaving behind loved ones, in the hopes of building a better future for their families in the U.S. Although they face many difficulties along the way, once they arrive here they find numerous ways to give back and contribute. This National Hispanic Heritage Month, join USA for UNHCR and ensure that all refugees and asylum seekers are empowered with the resources and protection they need to rebuild their lives in their new countries.