Erika Andiola is an immigration rights activist located in Metropolitan Phoenix. She is the Chief Advocacy Officer for the organization

RAICES The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) is a nonprofit organization based in Texas that aims to provide legal services for immigrants. , it was the largest legal aid group of its kind in Texas. RAICES also runs ...

. Her previous political roles include Political Director for the organization

Our Revolution Our Revolution (sometimes known by its initials OR) is an American progressive political action organization spun out of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign to continue its work. The organization's mission is to educate vote ...

, Press Secretary for Latino Outreach in

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

’ 2016 campaign, and Congressional staffer for then-Representative

Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema (; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician and former social worker serving as the senior United States senator from Arizona since January 2019. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent in ...

. Much of Andiola's work has been driven by her own journey as an undocumented Mexican female immigrant.

Biography

Andiola's father brought her, and her brother and sister, into the United States from Florida, in 1999, when Andiola was 11 years old. They were fleeing domestic violence. Andiola graduated with a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

(ASU) in 2009. During the time the US Senate was deliberating on the Development, Relief, and Education for Minors Act (

Dream Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States ...

), Andiola came forward publicly as a Dreamer. In 2012 she was granted a deportation reprieve. Andiola co-founded the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, which is "an immigrant, youth-led organization focusing on the fight for higher education and immigrant rights." In Arizona, she made a name for herself by confronting politicians who supported anti-immigration policies. She has also served in the National Coordinating Committee and the Board of Directors for the United We Dream Network. In 2013 her mother and brother were detained and nearly deported after a raid at Erika Andiola's Arizona home. She posted a video about her family's detainment on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and it went viral. It was through Andiola's close work with the immigration officers that her family was able to remain in the country. Also in 2013, Andiola played the role of one of the two mothers in the music video, " El Hielo," directed by

Alex Rivera Alex Rivera (born 1973, in New York City) is an American film maker, best known for his films about labor, immigration, and politics. Early life Rivera was born in 1973 in New York City, New York. His father is a Peruvian immigrant and his moth ...

. In 2013, she became an outreach staffer for Representative

(D-Phoenix). Later, she was moved to Sinema's Washington, D.C. office. She started working as a triage caseworker with the

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n consulate in 2015. In 2016, she was hired to work for the Bernie Sanders campaign for president as a Latino outreach strategist for the Southwest United States. In 2018, she was involved in a protest at the

Texas State Capitol The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the American state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 18 ...

against rescinding DACA in Texas. Andiola was involved in the group Our Revolution's decision to part ways with Tezlyn Figaro, whose Fox News appearances and tweets criticized the Democratic Party’s focus on “illegal immigrants.” In 2020, she and RAICES Communication Manager Lucia Allain interrupted Joe Biden's closing statement at the Nevada Democratic primary debate.

References

External links

Interview with Steve Kornacki on MSNBC.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andiola, Erika Living people American civil rights activists Arizona State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Undocumented immigrants to the United States