Social Issues

Manuel Marcatoma, 42, arrived in Minnesota in 1998. He's from a rural area outside the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. He worked there in house construction as a carpenter.
Vannak Tep grew up in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. She came to the U.S. in 1998, when she was 20. Her family encouraged her to come to make a better life.
Mi Sook Kim, 41, is originally from Seoul, Korea. She and her family moved to the United States in 1991, because her husband wanted to immigrate here.
Tam Bui, 42, moved to Minnesota from Vietnam nine years ago.
Haide and Jay Florentino moved their family to Mounds View from Manila in October 2003. Haide, a registered nurse, was recruited to work in the U.S.
Romana Vasylevych grew up in Lvov, Ukraine. She moved to the United States seven years ago.
Elena Klimenko, 40, is an ethnic Russian who grew up in Uzbekistan. She moved to Minnesota in 1999 seeking a better life for herself and her two sons.
Lindsey and Andy Lee moved to Minnesota from Stratham, Scotland three years ago -- mainly to experience a new culture while they were young enough to move freely.
For Gerardo Cajamarca, it was his fight against globalization that brought him to Minnesota.