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MSPIFF Panel Features Veena Iyer
Posted on May 10 2022
May 10, 2022—As the first American-born member of her undocumented family, Doris Muñoz balanced her own life and career with her responsibility to her undocumented family. Her documentary film, Mija, follows the close-knit family’s struggle for secure permanent residency status and financial stability.
Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and herself a second-generation immigrant, will speak after the screening of Mija on Saturday, May 14th at Landmark Center as part of the 41st annual Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF). Daniel Orozco, the Vice Chairperson of MORE Community Services, will join Iyer on the panel. The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) is a nonprofit agency that provides immigration legal assistance to low-income immigrants and refugees in Minnesota. MORE Community Services is a St. Paul-based nonprofit organization that provides refugees and immigrants with education and support to become fully engaged members of the community.
“As second-generation immigrants, we often find ourselves in the middle,” Iyer says. “Doris’s story is both deeply personal and universal. Through one family’s story, Mija shows us how our broken immigration system affects real people and communities. ”