I found her singing Mexican ballads and standing up for immigrants, on Instagram, so welcome Josie to The @HendelMedia #immigrationreform Project!

From the state of Illinois, Josie grew up in the United States since she was a year old, and wishes she were able to experience Mexico firsthand, however, she stays close to her culture through the music!

There were few resources for her growing up navigating the system for a person in her position - one of the funniest moments was when she tells us how when even telling her friends repeatedly that she can’t partake in the same things, they are still misinformed about the immigration process.

She’s a huge Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, Destiny’s Child fan, which is totally awesome!

She talks to me about the stresses her parents faced growing up regularly - “being in that fear is not living”, and the rigorous application process for Obama’s program that asks for everything you can and can’t imagine.

Her advice to people at the moment in the same situation: hold on to the one thing that makes you happy - Josie is here to stay and I’m inspired by her resilience and her infectious personality and her determination to use what people call “a bad dream” to continue fighting for justice for others!