Today I finally told my personal story in the NY Times. It's the story of how my family, for nearly 100 years, has run from danger, and why we must now give that chance to other families, too. It's the story of how my personal experiences living through a military dictatorship convinced me, at the age of 14, to become a journalist.

My hope in telling this story in these terrible times for people fleeing harm is that it gets you fired up to support the needed changes I describe. Or that it helps you convince someone who doesn't agree with you that we can have a sane, compassionate, immigration policy. Lots of love to my siblings for helping me tell this story. This will be the cover of Sunday's Review in the New York Times. Please share!
An Update on Corruption in Honduras
In my New York Times article published last July, Pay or Die , I wrote about the main driver forcing Central Americans to flee north: corruption. It’s what allows all the other bad things to happen. Since that story was published, we’ve seen two glaring examples of the rot I described.

The brother of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, Tony Hernandez, was convicted in drug trafficking charges , of importing tons of cocaine to the U.S. I was at his trial in New York City. Shortly after, a witness who had evidence potentially implicating President Juan Orlando Hernandez in his brother’s crimes was killed in prison . It’s impossible to believe that the president was not aware of his brother trafficking tons of drugs out of Honduras.

Second, Semma Julissa Villanueva, a badass who has risked her life to tell the truth and battle corruption as director of Forensic Medicine in Honduras, is being silenced. She went against the Honduras’ FBI (ATIC) when they ruled one their agents killed herself. The evidence clearly showed she was murdered and the homicide was covered up. Villanueva said ATIC was protecting the killer. I wrote about this in my story published last April, ‘Someone Is Always Trying to Kill You. ’ She has gotten death threats, has been fired from her government job, and been charged by the government with "revealing secrets" and faces prison for going against their ruling and publicizing her factual findings.

In January, Honduras ousted the international anti-corruption body MACCIH. They were investigating Honduras' most powerful politicians. These stories of corruption are fueling migration to the US, and our president did virtually nothing to pressure to keep the MACCIH in Honduras.
Engaging Young Minds

 Immigration is part of many family stories. When children get the tools they need to understand the issue more broadly, they engage with passion.

This young boy’s stepfather is a Peruvian immigrant and his mother’s parents are from Mexico. When he read Enrique’s story, it triggered interest in his own story. His mother told me he started asking his stepfather and mother a lot about their stories.

His mother had never seen a school book inspire such passion in her son. I’m grateful she brought him to meet me and listen to my talk, encouraging him to think about how we can fix immigration in a humane way. 
A Handmade Book
Librarians rock.

An incredible amount of work, creativity, and thoughtful response to Enrique’s Journey went into this handmade book gifted to me by Southern Connecticut State University.

Their librarian, Tina Re (right) put together this awesome book of creative student reactions to Enrique’s Journey. Thank you, Tina!

Photos by Isabel Chenoweth
Upcoming Events
Each year I travel across the country—from conferences to colleges to high schools and middle schools—to share my thoughts about immigration and how Enrique's story—and those of so many immigrant children—continues to change. 

If your school or group would like to book Sonia, email her at:

G rand Rapids, MI
World Affairs Council of Western Michigan

Holland, MI
March 31, 2020
Lighthouse Immigrants Advocates

Lakeland, FL
April 2, 2020
Florida Southern College

Chicago, IL
April 4, 2020
National School Board Association


Long Beach, CA
April 27, 2020
California State University Long Beach

AND OTHERS  near you... I hope to see you at one of my upcoming events. 
Sonia Nazario |   Email    |   Website