Ideas worth spreading

What's missing from the American immigrant narrative

2,061,759 views |

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez |

TED@WellsFargo

• February 2020

Recounting her story of finding opportunity and stability in the US, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez examines the flaws in narratives that simplify and idealize the immigrant experience -- and shares hard-earned wisdom on the best way to help those around us. "Our world is one that flourishes when different voices come together," she says.

Recounting her story of finding opportunity and stability in the US, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez examines the flaws in narratives that simplify and idealize the immigrant experience -- and shares hard-earned wisdom on the best way to help those around us. "Our world is one that flourishes when different voices come together," she says.

Learn more about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), which provides scholarships and support services to students completing higher education.

Donate to Youth on Their Own, a dropout prevention agency that provides financial assistance for Arizona's homeless youth to stay in school.

Learn more about STEP Student Expedition Project, which equips low-income students with the skills needed to transition to college.

About the speaker

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

See speaker profile

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez is a corporate and investment banking analyst at Wells Fargo.

NPR | Listen

Latino USA

NPR's Latino USA with Maria Hinojosa is the longest running Latino-focused program on US public media that explores and gives a critical voice to the diversity of the American experience.

George J. Borjas | W. W. Norton and Company, 2016 | Book

We Wanted Workers: Unraveling the Immigration Narrative

George Borjas is a labor economist specializing on immigration issues at the Harvard Kennedy School. His book, We Wanted Workers, explains the trade-offs in the often complex and convoluted arguments surrounding the immigration debate. Whatever side of the debate you are on, this book will certainly give you something to think about.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

Learn more about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), which provides scholarships and support services to students completing higher education.

Donate to Youth on Their Own, a dropout prevention agency that provides financial assistance for Arizona's homeless youth to stay in school.

Learn more about STEP Student Expedition Project, which equips low-income students with the skills needed to transition to college.