MINNEAPOLIS – A public service announcement campaign designed to encourage Minnesota residents to support common-sense immigration policies will begin appearing this month in the St. Paul/Minneapolis market on KSTP-TV, KSTC-TV, and KSTP-FM, KSTP-AM, and KTMY-FM and various other affiliates throughout the state.

Commissioned by Minneapolis-based Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., and Oregon-based Bustos Media, LLC, and created by the national bipartisan children’s advocacy group First Focus, the My American Story PSA campaign shines a light on the nation’s flawed immigration system and the impact that it has on children, including U.S.-born citizens, in Minnesota and throughout the country.

“America’s diversity is one its greatest strengths, and we believe every child in Minnesota should have a fair shot at achieving their potential,” said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus. “The President should stop deporting parents and Congress should enact meaningful comprehensive immigration reform that gives children and their families the opportunity to fully contribute to the economy and society.”

Children such as six-year-old Miranda, of Minneapolis, represent more than 4 million U.S.-citizen children who every day live with the fear of losing their parents. Miranda and her newborn brother are U.S. citizens, but her parents, Emilia and Daniel, are both undocumented and have been in the United States for more than a decade. Miranda’s story is featured on the campaign website, ThisIsMyAmericanStory.org.

Many of these children are impacted by the detention or deportation of one or both parents each year, putting their mental health, safety, and future success at risk and increasing their chances of entering foster care. It’s estimated that 32,000 U.S. citizen children in Minnesota live with at least one undocumented parent.

“Minnesota needs strong families, strong students, strong entrepreneurs and businesses and strong communities,” said John Keller, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. “Immigrants and a 21st century immigration system are absolutely vital to our current and future prosperity.”

In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court Decision on the president’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program (DAPA) and expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA+), My American Story aims to change the hearts and minds of voters in Minnesota through the stories of children impacted by the nation’s outdated immigration laws.

“We want what’s best for our children and their wellbeing depends on being raised in an environment where they feel safe,” said Lisa Kremer, founder of the Minnesota-based Familias Juntas. “Too many of our children live in fear that their family might be separated because of deportation. These children deserve better. Listening to their stories is an important step in understanding and caring about them in the future, which is really our future.”

Watch the My American Story PSAs here:

Visit ThisIsMyAmericanStory.org for more information.

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First Focus is a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. First Focus houses the Center for the Children of Immigrants. For more information, visit www.firstfocus.org.

Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota was founded in 1976 as Oficina Legal, a program of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS). Over the last decade ILCM has established itself as Minnesota’s premier provider of comprehensive immigration legal services to low-income clients of all nationalities.

Familias Juntas, or Families Together, is an organization that helps children meet their families in Guatemala for the first time – their family’s country of origin – while shedding light on the issues of our broken immigration system through the experiences and lives of those affected – the children here in the U.S. and their families in Guatemala. Inspired by Guatemalan families in Worthington, Minn., and the parent’s deep desire for their children to know their family members in Guatemala, a group of volunteers brought 14 of United States born children to Guatemala to make their dream come true in July of 2013.