Author: Valeria Fernández

Bio: Valeria Fernández is an independent journalist from Uruguay with more than a 14 years experience as a bilingual documentary producer and reporter on Arizona’s immigrant community and the US-Mexico borderlands. She co-directed and produced "Two Americans,” a documentary that parallels the stories of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and a 9-year-old U.S. citizen whose parents were arrested by the sheriff’s deputies that aired in Al Jazeera America. Her work as reporter for the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting on the economic and social impacts of a mine spill in Northern Mexico broadcast in PBS, San Diego and won an Arizona Press Club recognition for environmental reporting in 2016. She freelances for a number of print, digital and broadcast media outlets, including Feet in 2 Worlds, CNN Español, Radio Bilingue, PRI's Global Nation, Al Jazeera, and Discovery Spanish.

Contributions:

Undocumented Immigrants and Health Care: A Hard Choice for a Wife and Mother

Posted on: 01 Feb 2010

An undocumented migrant faces the choice of staying in Arizona, where her four children were born, or going back to Mexico to find care for her ailing husband.

Conservative Lawmakers Push Anti-Immigrant Legislation in Arizona

Posted on: 25 Jan 2010

Republican lawmakers are pushing for laws that would allow police to arrest undocumented migrants for “trespassing” in the state or for standing on a sidewalk to look for work.

Arizona March for Immigrant Rights Draws National Support

Posted on: 12 Jan 2010

Pro-immigrant and civil rights groups from across the country will march in Phoenix this Saturday to denounce what they call the criminalization of undocumented immigrants in the area.

Federal Grand Jury Investigating Arizona Sheriff at the Forefront of Immigration Enforcement

Posted on: 08 Jan 2010

A federal grand jury is investigating the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over allegations of abuse of power. He has been accused of racial profiling and has allegedly launched investigations against political rivals.

The Year in Review: Arizona Immigrants Face New Year With Old Fears

Posted on: 31 Dec 2009

For Arizona immigrants 2009 was the year of raids in workplaces, traffic stops that led to deportations and reports of violations of human and civil rights.

Their Parents Deported, Arizona Children Get Christmas Gifts from Churches

Posted on: 24 Dec 2009

On the face of an increase in the number of parents deported from Maricopa County, a local church decided to organize a Christmas gift-giving event for the first time this year.

Immigration Reform Bill Sparks Cautious Optimism and Lots of Questions Among Immigrants in Arizona

Posted on: 17 Dec 2009

In Arizona, which has been at the forefront of hard-line immigration initiatives, news of a bill that would allow the legalization of millions of undocumented workers brought some relief but also questions about the likely fate of those who’ve been swept up in the state’s law enforcement dragnet.

Released from Immigration Jail, a Mother Dances to Fulfill her Promise to the Virgin of Guadalupe

Posted on: 11 Dec 2009

Sandra Figueroa, an undocumented immigrant, first heard about the dance of the Matachines while she was in jail. She promised that she would learn it to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe and thank her for helping her to be free and to reunite with her family.

New Law Forcing State Employees to Report Undocumented Immigrants Causes Fear in Arizona

Posted on: 04 Dec 2009

Arizona starts enforcing a new law aimed at denying public benefits to undocumented migrants.

With No Official Help, Program Offers Another Chance to Latino Addicts, Many of them Immigrants

Posted on: 20 Nov 2009

Phoenix’s Centro de Rehabilitación “Volviendo a Vivir” (“Returning to Life” Rehabilitation Center) rests in the heart of a neighborhood surrounded by drug dealers’ stash houses and provides services to men who live in the area without any government help.