Leonardo Hernandez dozes off in his apartment after a long day at work finishing drywall in an apartment building. He works nearly 7 days a week, and figures that he will need to stay in America another two more years to save up enough money to build his family a new home in San Luis Potosi, a large city in central Mexico where his wife and teenage daughter live. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 12
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As Congress wrestles with what to do about the estimated 12 milllion illegal Hispanic immigrants in the U.S., small and medium-sized communities like the Roanoke Valley are becoming places where the Hispanic population is growing expotentially. Work is available, housing is reasonable, and the social network is more established every day. For different reasons, and from different countries, thosands of Hispanic immigrants are calling this region home. After an afternoon of rallying for immigrants' rights on the Washington D.C. mall, several dozen Hispanics from Roanoke carry an American flag near the Washington Monument towards the Metro station to head home. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 1
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Rocio Ortiz came to the U.S. from Mexico six years ago with the goal of bettering her children's educational opportunities. On the day of her eldest son Robert's graduation, Ortiz decorates her home for his high school graduation party. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 2
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With her 15-year-old daughter Vanessa still asleep, Nohemi Cedillo, who came illegally from Honduras, has to awaken 3-year-old Jessica at 6 a.m. so she can drop her off at the babysitter's house on her way to work. Cedillo crossed through Mexico to escape a life of extreme poverty in her Honduran village. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 3
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Mexican migrant workers Edgardo Cardenas (left) and Geraldo Rubalcaba work long hours packing cured tobacco on a farm where they have been coming seasonally for over a decade. They return to their homes and families each winter in Mexico. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 4
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Ramon Benitez, Enrique Sandoval, and Cristhian Mesa wait for their weekly wages while working as migrant farmers on a tobacco farm. The men wire home thosands of dollars each year to their homes in rural villages in the Mexican state of Nayarit. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 5
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After serving a busy lunch crowd together at their restaurant El Charly and Family, Rocio and her husband Carlos Ortiz steal a kiss while sitting down for a quick lunch of tacos sprinkled with fresh lime juice. The couple moved to Roanoke six years ago from Mexico seeking a better education and life for their two sons. mlwjm Land of Opportunity
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A group of Latino students wait nervously for the class assignments outside their English Language Learner Summer School. This is the first year that the Roanoke School District has brought all the ELL elementary students together in one school for summer education, and in large part to a growing Hispanic population in the city. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 7
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Vanessa Molina-Cedillo celebrated her 15th birthday in May with a quinceanera at the Honduran Iglesia de Dios. After the ceremony, Estefan Reyes-Claros (right) admires Vanessa from a car window. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 8
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Waiting for hours to see the Honduran Consulate who visited Roanoke for the first time, Honduran illegal immigrants wait their turn to obtain Honduran ID cards or Honduran passports that will help them get bank accounts and other helpful services. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 9
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Alvanzo Bello (left) and Victor Gonzalez (right) march outside the Roanoke City Goverment building on May 1st while taking part in the Day Without Immigrants March held in cities across America. Amidst a national debate and like thousands of other Hispanic workers across the county, the two took the day off from work to push for immigrants' rights. mlwjm Land of Opportunity 10
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Since her only son Melvin went missing a year ago May while on his way through Mexico to America with a human smuggler
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