The month of June marks the start of National Immigrant Heritage Month which not only celebrates America’s diversity as well as the contributions of millions of immigrants that live in the U.S. Actress Dania Ramirez joined Tuesday’s Rundown to share her personal look at the immigrant experience, which mirrors the experience of approximately 13% of the U.S. population.
“The beautiful thing about it is really celebrating the sacrifice of my parents and a lot of other immigrant parents, and sharing our stories so they can see that their sacrifice is worth it,” Ramirez said. “I know that the future that I have today and that the progress I’ve been able to make in America is because of that incredible sacrifice that my mom and my dad made.”
Ramirez was six months old when her parents left their home in the Dominican Republic to begin a new life in the U.S. It wasn’t until Ramirez was 10that she was able to join them.
As a mother now, Ramirez said can better understand the meaning behind her mother’s sacrifice. “I can’t even fathom the thought of being away from my kids for more than few days,” she said.
Ramirez added, “For new generations of Americans, it’s super important to embrace the fact that America is built on immigrants.’”
Nicole Acevedo
I am a bilingual national reporter specializing in issues affecting Latino communities in the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America. Experience I have produced hundreds of stories across digital, radio and broadcast platforms throughout my career — reporting on everything from elections, natural disasters and immigration to pop culture trends, social justice issues and breaking news. I'm best known for my coverage of the crises affecting Puerto Rico, including its reconstruction process after Hurricane Maria, the island’s financial crisis and more. After graduating from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in broadcast and digital journalism in 2016, I joined the inaugural cohort of students who helped launch the Spanish-language bilingual journalism master’s program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Awards I was a 2024 finalist for the NAHJ/University of Florida award in investigative journalism for my reporting uncovering the challenges Puerto Rican families face in caring for their elders, given that the island’s population is aging faster than most places on Earth and fragmented by migration. I served as the lead reporter and writer of NBC News' 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month project “Who’s Latino? Amid growing numbers the definition is expanding,” which was awarded an NAHJ Ñ Award for best Latino issues story for print/digital.