Jessica's Story
Losing a parent is difficult at any age, but it can be even harder when you are not a U.S. citizen. Jessica, her parents, and her two brothers moved to the U.S. when she was five years old.
Pascal's Story
Pascal is a 66-year-old man who originally came to the United States as a refugee from Burundi. Because of a learning disability made worse by living through Burundi’s ethnic warfare, Pascal was unable to learn to read or write in English.
Juanita's Story
Juanita has worked in the fields as a migrant farmworker since she was a child. During an outreach visit to her labor camp from an ABLE advocate, she learned about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
Gloria's Story
After her police-officer husband was killed in the line of duty, Gloria had to find a way to provide for her family. She placed her children in her mother’s care and left El Salvador for work in the United States.
Rosa's Story
Born in Mexico, Rosa entered the United States as a young child, arriving in Toledo where she graduated from high school. She is now 24-years-old and was recently detained by the U.S. Border Patrol at a gas station in Toledo.
Rob's Story
Rob’s mother left him in the care of a relative and came to the United States from Jamaica to make a better life for herself and her son. Two years later, Rob joined his mother, who had become a U.S. citizen. At this time, Rob was 8-years-old, his parents had never married, and he never met his father.
ABLE works to ensure the availability of quality immigration legal services to members of the northwest and west central Ohio communities who are seeking a better life.
Our Statement on the Rights of Immigrants & Refugees
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) stands with other non-profits and legal services organizations, community groups, and concerned residents during this time of great concern for immigrants and refugees living in northwest and central Ohio. Resources for legal services to low-income refugees and immigrants are nearly nonexistent in our 32-county service area. ABLE is the only provider of these services in northwest and west central Ohio. As lawyers and advocates who serve in the public interest, we remain committed to providing legal representation and legal counseling to vulnerable refugees and immigrants, working to protect their rights under our Constitution and laws.
Farmworker Chronicles Podcast
Thousands of agricultural workers live in or migrate to Ohio to work in its number one industry, Agriculture. These workers are often an afterthought, stuck in the background, and the Farmworker Chronicles podcast aims to bring their stories to the forefront. Not of the people calling the shots but those who toil in the fields and harvest the food we eat, those who care for livestock and work in dairies. Co-hosts Wendy Aviña and Gwen Short want to know why they do this backbreaking work, how they got into the industry, and their hopes and dreams. They also seek to explore the dangers of these occupations and the history of worker protections in agriculture, especially those of farmworkers and foreign agricultural workers. Listen to the podcast on WGTE Public Media.
