Azadeh Khalili came to New York as a politically active student fleeing the Iranian revolution. She thrived as an undergraduate at the New School, but could only find work under the table. Her life changed with IRCA when she received a green card, permanent residency and then citizenship, which allowed her to contribute through a career of advocacy and service in nonprofits and government positions, working on issues from HIV/AIDS programs to immigrant rights.

For Julian Pimiento, gaining status was complicated. The anxiety and fear he mentioned prior to 1986 [INCLUDE LINK TO PRIOR PAGE] meant that his family no longer had the weight of deportation on their shoulders. Julian remembers his parents celebrating. But as a teen, Julian fell into a period of rebellion as he had to start again to figure out who he was. Ultimately he found purpose and meaning as a union member, writer, facilitator and cultural worker, devoted to promoting an expansive, inclusive vision of America.

Clarissa Martinez de Castro was an undocumented student at the time and initially didn’t think she was eligible. With the help of supportive college staff, she applied and received amnesty, and was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. She went on to work as a labor organizer and is now a Vice President at UnidosUS, working on voter empowerment and engagement; her colleagues include people like Charles Kamasaki, a forceful advocate who early in his career was involved in the legislative push for IRCA, and also another Path Home Project participant.

Dina Lopez was seven years old when her family applied for IRCA. The Lopez family was part of a thriving Guatemalan community that had settled in Providence, RI. Her mother had been working in a factory since arriving in Providence, and Dina remembers her mother diligently collecting documentation showing that she had lived and worked in the U.S. until IRCA’s passage. Legal status gave her mother the freedom to survive and thrive as a single mother of two children; Dina went on to become a professor in the CUNY system.

Stedroy Cleghorne came with his mother and older brother to New York City from St. Kitts when he was four years-old. He discovered a talent for art at a young age. His teachers nurtured his creativity, and his involvement in art helped him steer clear of the gangs and drugs in his 1980s’ Brooklyn neighborhood. He did not realize he was undocumented until he decided to apply to college. His mother had tried earlier to adjust the family’s status but the attorney she hired never submitted the family’s paperwork. Thanks to IRCA, Stedroy could finally apply for legal permanent residency and become a citizen. Stedroy has a successful career in the arts.

Fanny Julissa García came to the United States with her mother in 1986 from Mexico at the age of 10. Because they arrived four years after the cut-off date to be eligible to apply for amnesty under IRCA, Fanny and her mother had to live undocumented for several years. They were able to change their status when her mother married a man who did qualify for the IRCA amnesty, but this dependency left Fanny and her mother in an abusive situation. Fanny thrived nonetheless, first developing a career in activism working in a rape crisis center and in AIDS and HIV social work, and then becoming an oral historian documenting Central American immigrant narratives.