Oral history interview with Liliana Luna

Collection

Identifier: SR12312

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Liliana Luna was conducted by Dora Totoian and Sankar Raman on July 12, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.

In this interview, Luna discusses her early life in Mexico City, Michoacán, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, including her family life, her education, and the houses her family lived in. She describes the dangers of life in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, and shares the reasons her family came to Portland, Oregon, in 2005. She speaks about her experience as an undocumented immigrant. She talks about adjusting to life in the United States, about her experience in high school, and about racism she experienced. She discusses studying at Portland Community College; talks about her involvement with Oregon Dream Activists, an organization that advocates for rights for undocumented immigrants; and speaks about her participation in the 2012 May Day protest in Portland, in which she was arrested. She talks about her experiences studying at Portland State University as a person of color and an undocumented immigrant, shares her plans for the future, and speaks at length about her activism. She talks about her accomplishments, and shares her opinion about American culture. She closes the interview by discussing the experience of immigrants during the presidency of Donald Trump, and by discussing the abolition of borders.

Dates

2019 July 12

Creator

Luna, Liliana, 1990- (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Biographical note

Liliana Luna was born in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1990. She grew up in Michoacán and Nuevo Laredo, and in 2005 her family came to Portland, Oregon. In 2008, her status as an undocumented immigrant prevented her from pursuing a bachelor's degree. She took classes at Portland Community College and was elected student body president. She was active with Oregon Dream Activists, which advocates for undocumented immigrants. After President Barack Obama enacted the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, she enrolled at Portland State University. In 2014, she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and in 2019, she earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy/counseling. She served as Retention and Multicultural Center Coordinator at Portland Community College beginning in 2014, and in 2021 she became development and executive director at Esperanza Wellness Center in Cornelius, Oregon.

Extent

610 Megabytes (1 audio file (WAV, 2 hr., 1 min., 2 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Liliana Luna conducted by Dora Totoian and Sankar Raman on July 12, 2019, for The Immigrant Story. Luna migrated to the United States with her family as a child and attended Portland State University under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Access to audio recording is provided online in OHS Digital Collections.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of The Immigrant Story, June 2021 (RL2021-057).

Publication note

An article about Liliana Luna, "Dreaming Beyond Borders" by Dora Totoian, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/dreaming-beyond-borders/.