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The Times is exploring immigrant stories in America. Here’s what we’ve learned so far

Apartment complex constructed from cardboard and paper.
(Ana Serrano / For The Times)
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Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Sept. 19. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

  • Inside a new Times project on immigrants in America
  • A suspect was arrested in the killing of a L.A. County sheriff’s deputy
  • Indulge in Carpinteria’s retro, family-friendly vibe
  • And here’s today’s e-newspaper

The Times is exploring immigrant stories. Here’s what we’ve learned so far

What if we could give you a window into the lives of one-sixth of the U.S. population? What would we find out?

I’m David Lauter, a senior editor at The Times. That window is what we set out to create with Immigrant Dreams, our project on the lives of America’s huge and growing immigrant population, who make up 1 in 6 adults in the U.S. — close to a record for the past century.

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For years, immigration has been one of the hottest of political hot buttons. The U.S. has been stuck in a seemingly unending debate over a broken immigration system, featuring stalemates in Congress, disorder at the southern border and a lot of heated rhetoric.

Much of that debate, however, has ignored the voices of actual immigrants. So we set out to ask immigrants to tell us about their lives and put their voices and stories at the forefront.

That’s not only an important American story, it’s a crucial story for California, which is home to the nation’s largest immigrant population.

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We partnered with the nonprofit KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, to do a large-scale poll of U.S. immigrants to find out how their lives are going, what they’ve experienced since coming to America and what their expectations are for their futures.

Planning and conducting that poll took almost two years. We tested extensively in advance to make sure we had polling methods that would work to get a representative sample of immigrants. Then we drafted a questionnaire and translated it into nine languages. Pollsters spent more than 13,000 hours interviewing people and mailed more than 75,000 surveys.

You can take some of the poll questions yourself and see how your views compare with the people we surveyed.

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Once the data came back this spring, Times reporters and photographers went to work looking for individuals and families with whom we could spend time to illuminate the findings of the survey.

So what did we find out?

Optimism. That’s one of the clearest findings and the theme of our initial story, told beautifully by reporters Brittny Mejia, Jeong Park, Jack Herrera and Tyrone Beason and photographers Irfan Khan, Dania Maxwell and Brittainy Newman. Columnist Gustavo Arellano weighed in, as well, with his own story of immigrant optimism.

And because our poll told us that many immigrants feel they don’t have enough information about how the U.S. system works, our project also includes pieces about important issues like the public charge rule and how to protect yourself against scams.

For the rest of the fall, we’ll be rolling out additional stories about aspects of immigrants’ lives. We hope you’ll come along with us on the journey.

Today’s top stories

Sheriff's deputies hold up their lighted phones at a vigil.
Sheriff’s deputies attend a vigil Sunday for L.A. County Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, who was fatally shot in his car outside the Palmdale sheriff’s station Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The killing of a L.A. County sheriff’s deputy

California climate stories

Housing problems and possible solutions

More big stories

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Commentary and opinions

Today’s great reads

Maria Del Pilar Barradas-Medel gives a kiss to Alejandro Medel as 4-year-old son, Anxelo, stands between them
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

In an increasingly pessimistic era, immigrants espouse a hallmark American trait — optimism. Maria Del Pilar Barradas-Medel’s salary is humble, and her family of five has to squeeze into a one-bedroom mobile home in Azusa, Calif. But it’s a better life than she could have imagined back home. And it has allowed her to help her extended family in Valle de Chalco, Mexico. “I would do it again,” she said of her trek north half a lifetime ago. “Definitely.”


How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.


For your downtime

Linden Avenue, Carpinteria.
(Christopher Reynolds)
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Going out

Staying in

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
(Gerald Francisco)

Today’s great photo is from Gerald Francisco of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii: Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, Calif. Gerald writes:

When I lived in California I would visit as many Missions as I could but this one is my favorite. It is beautifully preserved and while walking around you almost feel transported in time to historic California.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Elvia Limon, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

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