SPEAKER_00 1:17

If you're enjoying this channel, I need you to do me a great favor. Yes, I do. I need you to subscribe to the channel. So if you can, just click the subscription button because it helps us to give you more great content. How's that? You hit the subscription button, I give you more great content. Deal, deal.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

At some point, a new administration is gonna come and the damage will be done. We are at a crucial time in the history of this country. You have to decide whether you want to be on the right side or the wrong side. If we don't do something about it, they are gonna take rights from the American people.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Hey actor, welcome to Acting Smarter Now. My name is Lydia Nicole. I am an actor, producer, and your acting career coach dedicated to helping you cut through the noise, own your craft, and take your career from undiscovered to unstoppable. Today we have a very special show for you. Out of the norm of what I do, but I thought this was necessary. We are interviewing an immigration lawyer because a lot of you who watch this channel are actually here from other countries or thinking about coming here from another country because Hollywood is so inviting. Anyway, I want to introduce to you Katya Medina Kidos. She is an immigration lawyer, and actually, she's also a very inspirational woman. I mean, this woman is amazing. She's got a lot of good information to share with you today, as well as her story, which is pretty incredible. So without further ado, let's go to the interview. Most of our viewers and listeners are actors, and they are here on certain visas like the O1, the P, the student visa, the TN visa. What is something that actors who are here from other countries pursuing their dreams need to know right now in this climate to protect them?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Number one, we immigrants, we don't have freedom of speech anymore. And we need to be very careful how do we express ourselves? What do we post? What do we say? Right now, my very first recommendation to any immigrant in the United States, regardless of whether they have papers or not, is to avoid any political comment, anything related to arms, drugs, religious things. Those are topics that are extremely, extremely sensitive, and the government may use them against you. And it doesn't matter if you come in an O1 because you are an actor of extraordinary ability, or you are here on an F1, it doesn't really matter because those are still non-immigrant visas, and the government may revoke them at their leisure.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

So if you're here on an O1, or uh what was the other one that you mentioned?

SPEAKER_01 4:25

It could be the F, the J, the P, the TN, the O1. All those visas that you were mentioning are non-immigrant visas. It's for people who are gonna come, do something for a limited period of time, one, two, three, four, five years, and then they need to go back to their countries.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Now, with those visas, let's say a student has come here to pursue their acting career, and they know that there's work here for them. You know, first of all, immigrants who come here are very valuable because they can speak other languages. We utilize their skill sets a lot. So they may come here as an actor and find, oh my God, I could get work in telenovelas, I could get work as an interpreter on a show. What happens with the first visa that they have, and now they're getting an opportunity to work, or there's a possible opportunity to work. How do they maneuver the crossover of one visa to another visa?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Well, it used to be that someone who would come on an F visa, a student visa, would at the end of their studies receive a 12-month period of practical, we call it OPT, which is practical training. And during that time, they would be able to work for a US company that, if they wanted to, could try to get them an H1B visa. An H1B, it's a visa, it's a work visa for someone with a professional degree. And so they would move to the H 1B visa, and then from the H 1B, they could move into the perm process, which is the process to obtain a green card inside the United States. That has been the route for so many years. Now, lately, that route is getting harder and harder and harder, not only because the government is imposing high tariffs for employers who want to hire immigrants, but also because it used to be that we had some time frames that we could do this and then this and then this. And nowadays those time frames no longer exist. So what it you the government used to take three months to do, now it's taking two years. So many times immigrants have to leave the United States because the process that they wanted to do, it's gonna take too long and they cannot wait undocumented inside the United States because then their whole process dies. So it's really hard right now. When any government in any country tries to take rights away from their citizens, they first try with the immigrants. If they manage to do it with the immigrants, then it's much easier to do it than with older nationals. So this is exactly what we are living here today. We are seeing the government attack the immigrants from every front, and we are fighting against it in the courts. But as you know, every court process in the United States is slow and it takes time, and we still believe in the rule of law. We still believe that judges are impartial and they are gonna follow the law. The government is not following the law, the government is coming up with executive actions, with rules, with policies that are against the law. So, as lawyers, we go to courts and we tell the judges what the government is doing is wrong. The law says this and they're doing this, but it takes time until a judge says, yes, you're right. In the meantime, the government may have abused the rights of many, many people.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

As an American citizen, what can we do to fight back? Not just in protest, but what can we do to help people who are here on visas, people who are here legally trying to have a better life? Because it seems to me, and I can be wrong, and please correct me here, but it's the black and brown immigrants that are being targeted. It's the black and brown immigrants who do all the crap work. They come here, they work the fields, they clean the toilets, they clean people's houses, they do everything that Americans don't want to do. Yet they are the ones that are getting crucified. Where the truth is, is that we as America have enjoyed a good life because of the immigrants coming here to do those jobs. Am I viewing it accurately, or is there something that you can school me on that I don't know?

SPEAKER_01 9:23

I think you're seeing what every regular American is seeing. We may be divided by our political views, and I have to tell you, I am a conservative, and yet I cannot stand by the policies that this government is trying to enforce because I see them as a violation not only of the rights of people, but I don't see them as humane. And I think that more than anything, we are humans who need to care for each other. We are a country that was built by immigrants for immigrants, and that's the key of the success of the United States of America. So the moment we start going against our core values, that's the moment we start losing our identity. And that's the moment this country stopped growing. And we are gonna see it. I mean, we're gonna see it in the very near future. The rates of natality are lowering down, the rate of growth of the country is it's lowering down. This is gonna have major implications in the next 10 years. And all of these nonsense, it's it's not forever. It's gonna, it's going to change. And at some point, a new administration is gonna come and the damage will be done. How are we gonna recover from this? I don't know. But you're completely right. They are attacking the workforce that we need in the United States to continue growing. In the process, I don't think people realize that these 30, 20, 30 million undocumented immigrants that they are fighting are the parents of hundreds, more than 100 million US citizen children. And these US citizen children are gonna grow with a lot of resentment. And that's not good for any country because we've seen other countries where there is a lot of terrorist organizations, uh, guerrillas, and things like that. And that all is built on resentment. And so, do we really want these for our kids? Is that the future that we want to leave to our children? I don't think so, but that's what we're experiencing right now.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

You made a comment about being a conservative, and I think we're in a time right now where we use conservatism and liberalism as weapons and not understanding the philosophy behind what it stands for. I grew up on the streets of New York. My mother was black from St. Thomas, and my father was Puerto Rican. So we had citizenship here. And so I grew up with a sense of pride of being an American, that we had freedoms. Most of the people that I grew up with were immigrants or first generation, I'm first generation. And we all served the purpose. There was not, let me pit you against Maria, let me pit you against Charlotte. It we all serve the purpose. I have seen in the last maybe 30 years, 25 years that the politics have weaponized stuff. We've weaponized immigrants who come here, who work so hard, don't make much money. Their lives are on the line to come to a country for better, and they are exploited, beaten up a lot of times, and don't feel like they have recourse. I mean, I used to work at the California Youth Authority up in Oxnard, which is a couple of towns from here, and I would have to go up past the fields. And I would see these immigrants in the fields in the middle of the heat of day. We're talking 90, 100 degree weather, picking the strawberries, picking the vegetables, picking the stuff. You know, I don't see white people picking anything in those fields. I don't see aristocrats picking anything. It's the poor people who are trying to get $5 a day, $5 a day, $10 a day. I just think it's important for Americans to understand how we are being pitted against each other without knowing the facts. You know, the the politician says, oh, the immigrants are stealing your job. What was it that Trump said when he was running for office the second time? They're eating your cats and dogs. It's like, what the hell are you talking about, sir? Nobody's eating your cats and dogs. You, you, and now you want us to eat cat food and dog food because we can't pay the bills. So what can we do as Americans who see the injustice because it's not enough to protest? I don't think it's enough to protest, unless you're protesting with your dollars. How do we pull the coattails of those representatives who are supposed to serve us? The governor, the senators, the congresspeople, the representatives. How do we reach out to them? What is it that we need to know to say, hey, this is wrong. You need to stop it.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Well, believe it or not, it's as simple as you just said it. We need to become part of the political process. We need to reach out to those Congresspeople and those senators and that governor, and we need to tell them straight in their face what you're doing is wrong, and I'm not voting for you again. And that's the only thing that stops them from continuing their bullying. What is going right now on in America, it's happening because these politicians believe that if they continue on that route, they're gonna get re-elected. That's all they care about, re-election. Now, what happens is we are in such a state of shock. Those who believe that our values are more important than our political ideals, those people are still in shock. And they are not coming out of their houses to express themselves the way they should. Not like you said, I mean, we go and we protest. Me and hundreds of other conservatives are completely against these uh politics. But we can go and protest whatever we want. But if we keep re-electing these officials, these Congress people, who are the ones that need to create laws to reform the immigration system in America, and they're not doing it because they fear that if they do, they're not gonna be re-elected. We're gonna continue in the same line. We need to be a part of the political process.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Hey Hector, are you tired of being tired of being tired of being tired? Your pictures aren't working, you're not getting into auditions, your agents aren't calling you back, or worse off, you can't even get an agent. Well, if that sounds like you, if it sounds like you are at your wit's end, that you just feel like all is lost, you don't know what to do, come and join us at the Acting Smarter Circle, where we are a community of actors who help other actors. And I am your guide and your coach to help you with a plan, strategy, and your branding. So if you are interested and you're tired of being tired and ready for change, come and join us at ActingSmarterCircle.com. We're waiting for you now. Trump was elected the first term. He was not kind to Latinos, he was not kind to immigrants at all. I mean, he's his track record is not being kind to immigrants. He hires them, fires them, and never pays them their money. So that already tells you something about him. The fact that he was voted in the first time because people were uh hating on Hillary Clinton, I believe, because she was the most competent, most capable person. I don't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican, she was, if you're looking at people to vote for, she checked all the boxes. But yet she was penalized because of the infidelities from her husband, and because of the fact that she was a strong woman and was a smart woman, but very, very smart and could go toe-to-toe with anybody. That's that's my that's my belief. And yet we voted for a loser uh and put him in office, and because he was so arrogant and ignorant, we had a pandemic that really uh wreaked havoc on our country, where it could have been thwarted the majority of it had he accepted responsibility when he knew in February before we had the shutdown how how horrible it was. And we lost millions of people because of this man. Now we're in uh 2024, and we vote him in again, and he is in there because a lot of Latinos voted for this man who already told us who he was, how he hated us, just by how he treated Puerto Rico, throwing paper towels at them. It was disgusting. They they took from Puerto Rico, they take from Puerto Rico, they take from Latinos, they take from immigrants who are here from what he calls shit countries, shit third world countries. When are we gonna stop and take inventory of each person who we vote for and not vote for them because we go, well, they're the lesser of the evils. That is not a good way to vote. You have to vote for the people who are for the people, whether they are Republicans or Democrats. So I I know I'm ranting, Kathy, but I am so upset about this. And I'm just gonna put one more thing into this pot. We as women in this country don't have rights. The Equal Rights Amendment has still not been ratified. What the hell are we doing? So, you as a lawyer, as an incredible woman of God, please school us in what kind of movement we we made. We talked about, you know, getting into the political party, but what can we do in our communities? How can we pull community together and say, okay, we have to vote for somebody who's on the rights of immigrants, on the rights of women, on the rights of the gay community. The constitution says all men are creative equal. All it doesn't say white people who are also immigrated here because the the original people of this land are indigenous Native Americans. They are not white. Yet the white people are trying to tell us that they are the people of this land. Anyway, okay, I'm calming down now. I'm sorry, I had to have that moment.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

You do, and it's great that not only you, but tons, thousands and thousands of people have those moments where they look around and they think this is not humane. Regardless of whether you are white, Asian, black, or Latino, we have values, we have American values. Our basic values is that we have to care for each other, that we stand in the land of the free, and that we stand on the blood of those who gave their lives so we could enjoy this freedom. Well, those that blood, the the men, the women that gave their lives are of every color. They are they were in white only. So I think we are at a crucial time in the history of this country. And you have to decide whether you want to be on the right side or the wrong side. And the right and the wrong side, it's not Republican or Democrat. The right side is the side of those who are capable of seeing the other regardless of their status or the color of their skin as their own. And so I think it's a work of love. I think that whether you are a person of faith or not, our basic instinct tells us that the lives of everybody are important. That if someone is here after violating the law for coming without papers, it's because somebody was willing to give them a job that they couldn't get in their countries. And the reason these people were offered a job, it's because country conditions in the United States are not such that small business owners can afford to pay the salaries that Americans want to make. And so when we realize that it's not only the fault of the immigrant, but it's also the fault of our capitalist system, then we can come to a middle ground, a common ground, where we both accept responsibility because we both are at fault. People tend to demonize. The immigrants because they are coming undocumented and they're violating the law. And they don't look at the American employers, they don't look at the government, at the IRS collecting taxes from all these undocumented immigrants who are working and paying taxes to contribute to this economy. Nobody, none of that is looked. They only look at the poor, at the ones who don't have a voice. It's time that we sincere the situation, the reality in America, and that we come to common ground where we say, okay, we're both at fault. Let's make it a system where we can have it all in the open. I think national security is probably to me it's my biggest concern. I am aware of all these wars around the world. I do want to make sure that we account for everybody who is inside the United States to avoid more problems, more wars, and more terrorist attacks. We can't do it until we have a system where everybody is okay with showing up their face, their ID, and telling us who they are and where they are. So I don't think it's an issue of politics. I think it's an issue of common sense and finances that the major players need to realize and say, okay, it's over. We need to put things in in re in the in the in the real order of priorities.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

So you talked about both sides taking responsibility. I'm gonna push back because I think it is Americans who need to take responsibility first. Immigrants come and do what they're asked to do. Most of them are compliant, probably 97% of them are compliant immediately. They don't want trouble. They just want a better life. Yet we've demonized the whole batch of immigrants, well, I should say, I'm gonna go back, the whole batch of brown and black immigrants because we have a prejudice against the color of their skin. And with that, we also have Latinos and we have blacks who are prejudiced against our own people. That I can't tell you how many times I've heard, well, they shouldn't be here illegally. Uh, your mother came here illegally, sir, miss. Your mother was here illegally. That's why you are here now. And Asian people, I mean, we don't talk about the big population of Asians who came here and had anchor babies. We don't talk about that. And I and I I love Asian people. I I have no problem with anybody but to make certain people the demons, the villains, the criminals, you know, the they're they're the ones where the people who are speaking out against them are the real criminals. We we use the Bible as a weapon. You talk about, you know, being a faith. I think whatever spirituality you have, you have a responsibility to care for your brother, your sister, the widow, the children. I mean, when Trump was here the first time, he put babies in cages. Cages. How do you do that to another human being, let alone a child? So we have all these breakdowns that people are not looking at and going, would you want your child in a cage? Would you want your grandmother to be beaten on the street because she couldn't speak the language? We have a lot of Russians here. We have a lot of Ukrainians, we have a lot of Armenians. We have people that speak a lot of different languages, yet we target a certain demographic, we target a certain group of people. And being on the West Coast, we go after Mexicans. Well, hello, but this was Mexico people. This belonged to Mexico, not to you. And so it just makes me mad that first of all, we don't know our history, we don't know what's going on, we don't know politics. So if I could ask you, how do we as Americans show up in our best self, representing America? Not Republicans, not Democrats, but we show up because I was brought up to believe that I had a duty to vote in every election.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Right. You were raised up to believe that it was your duty. The problem we have is that our latest generations have lost faith in the process. So they don't feel their vote counts. They see the popular vote being overridden over and over again. And so we really need to work on those generations. The 20-year-olds, the 30-year-olds, they really need to come and help us because the most important decisions in this country are being taken now by elder people who are not aware of reality. These are retiree communities who are struggling and they're voting based on their struggles. But the real struggles are the struggles of the 20-year-olds, the 30-year-olds that can't find a good job, that can't go to college, can't raise a family, that can, they don't think they can ever buy a house. So I think that is a real target. And if you are of our generation, and if you are raising families, if you have kids and grandkids, you need to instill in them the duty. I think feeling American has changed over the years. And the pride and the sense of duty and honor to this country has changed and not for the good. So we really need to work on these young kids who need to stand up. The moment they do, we'll see change.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

Be compassionate. Know your rights as a young person. It is important for you to know your rights. I heard you on one of your programs say how ignorance does not absolve you from the law. If you're over 18 and you sign something, you are responsible. The court doesn't go, oh, you poor child, you didn't know what you were signing. You're responsible. Can you talk about that? Because that is an awesome responsibility. I just went through something where a friend of mine's son was at a gym and he signed a contract to pay five grand for the year. This kid can't pay rent. How is he gonna pay the five grand? But yet he's over eight. The first thing that they asked the parent was, is he over 18?

SPEAKER_01 30:20

And that's it, right? As long as he's 18 and of mental capacity, that contract it's probably very enforceable. Unless he signed it under duress, which means somebody put a gun to his head and forced him to sign, right? Something similar to that. So our old traditional American values are still valid today. And those mistakes that Americans are making, because they're normal mistakes, we all make them, we all learn from our mistakes and move on. And once we learn from our mistakes, we don't do them again. Sometimes they're gonna cost us $5,000. Sometimes they're gonna cost us more. But as Americans, we understand the meaning of starting again, rebuilding ourselves, because that is the promise of America. That is the American promise that no matter how tired, how poor, how broken you are, you are in the land of the free. You are in the land of opportunity. And as long as you have the desire to sacrifice and work hard, you will make it.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

And that's why we've had so many immigrants come here and sacrifice because they know that if they work hard and they go for their dreams, they're gonna get it. The flip side of that is we've had so many Americans who become so lazy and they feel entitled. They're not working hard. They're not being intentional about their what they want. So then they they want to abuse somebody who worked hard and got a BMW and got a store and they're still living in Section 8. Nothing wrong with Section 8, but they're not, they have no vision. Whereas people who come here from other countries are hungry. They are hungry. We as Americans, we have been taught to go for the handout. You know, uh you have something for me. Uh, I need my my food stamps and I need my uh welfare, and not and not for everybody, but there's a there's a mentality of certain Americans that they are entitled to things and nobody's entitled to it. And I think that's where we've lost balance, is that Americans are not entitled. We just have rights that's different.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Is that is that a proper You're right when you say we're not entitled to anything, everything that the government gives, it's a privilege. Uh, yet we take it as a right. Now things are changing, and most of those people haven't realized that we are losing those benefits. One of these days, it's not gonna be, they're not gonna be available. Like I said, I think we are in for hard times are coming, they're gonna become worse, but at some point, people either are going to go back to their core values and realize they were on the right side of the history, or their pockets are gonna be so empty, they're gonna hurt so much financially that they're gonna have to look for better ways. Those are the only two options.

SPEAKER_00 35:04

What are some core values for people who this may be a whole new conversation? What are core values that we should be holding on to and we should be exemplifying?

SPEAKER_01 35:18

I think we are a nation of good people who care for each other, who protect their own, who are honest, hardworking, responsible, who not only take responsibility for their success, but they're also for their mistakes. I think we are a community of people who are ready to stand not only for their country, but also for their own. And I think that we believe that our belief that we are a nation under God and that we have the freedom to express ourselves in whatever way we desire, as long as we don't hurt anyone. I think those are principles that we stand by. And I believe, I believe in the American culture. And that's the reason I came to this country. I reason I raised my my four children here, and I stand by what I did when I raised them feeling proud to be Americans. So tell me your story, how you got here from Peru. Well, I grew up in Peru. By the age of 15, I had graduated high school. At 20, I was already a dentist, and at 21, I had completed my second degree as a journalist. And my country was being destroyed by the Shining Path, a terrorist organization. And my generation was being sent away by our parents who didn't see a life for us in a country that was being bombarded right and left. And so I ran away the same way hundreds of Peruvians my age did, and ended up in Las Vegas. I married another Peruvian person and started a family in the United States. My first job was as a dental assistant, cleaning the dental office, then became dental assistant, then became a receptionist at the dental office, then became the manager at the dental office, then realized that opening businesses in the United States wasn't that complicated. So I helped the owner of the dental office, building dental offices for other dentists. Then my then uh husband uh was a baker. And so we decided to open an artisanal bread bakery. And while I was doing all of that, I had my mother on the phone telling me every day that I was nobody, that without a degree, I was nobody because that's how we were raised. While I was growing up, my family, my parents never asked me what do I want it to be. They always asked me, What university are you going to? And so in my mother's head, I was nobody until I had a degree in the United States. My degree as a dentist had no value in the United States, and my English was very limited. So my journalism degree had no value either. So one day I, and this is a true story, I opened uh Forbes 500 best companies in the United States, and I saw that after the names of these CEOs, there was JD, MBA, JD, ESQ, and I asked, what is a JD? And they said, Well, they're lawyers. The next year I found out that in Las Vegas there was there were opening a law school. So I applied, I got in, and um I went to law school trying to be a commercial transactions attorney. I wanted to be in the world of business, and I studied tax, bankruptcy, commercial transactions, stock market, uh, the uniform code. And then one day a professor comes and starts walking next to me and says, you know, I am opening an immigration clinic. And I looked at him and I said, Oh, good for you. And I had already had my own immigration story that wasn't fun, right? So the last thing I wanted was to be in an immigration clinic. And he said, You're you are one of two Latinos in a class of 80 something, and I need people who speak Spanish. And I said, Thank you, but I'm not interested. And he said, You know that the clinic is gonna look so good in your resume. And I had been building up my resume, right? That's all we law students we do. We want the perfect resume so we can land the perfect job. And I had done law review, I had done the clergy for the judge. I mean, I was building my perfect resume. And he said, This is gonna look wonderful. And I said, Okay, where do I sign? And one of my first assignments in immigration clinic was to go watch an immigration court hearing, and it was a detained calendar where the immigrants who have been detained for whatever reason are now have to show in immigration court for deportation process. By then, I was six or seven months pregnant. I hadn't drived to the court, somebody drove me, one of my classmates, and I'm inside the court with my yellow notepad, making you know notes about it. And the detainees start coming in shackles, and the last detainee, the last one in the in the line, was this 16-year-old boy, um black with green eyes, and and my eyes lock with his eyes, and I couldn't stop thinking that all he wanted was his mother, and I had a baby inside of me, and the sole idea of thinking that my baby one day could be in some strange country, you know, just broke me down completely at that moment. So I started crying and I couldn't control it, and my hormones were all over the place. So the judge kicked me out. The judge said, Lady, please out of my courtroom, and I left, but I couldn't go anywhere. So I sat outside, sobbing, and then the bailiff told me this kid had been found um in in Chicago at night in the building of a bridge. He had been trafficked from Brazil with the promise of some nice job, and instead he had been, you know, working in construction, building this bridge. It was the whole thing was abhorrent. This was a victim of human trafficking, and he was now in detained in jail, and he was about to be deported, right? So I'm sobbing right there, and then the judge comes in his black robe and sits next to me. And the first words out of his mouth were, Honey, this is not for you. And that day I looked at him and I said, Who are you to tell me this is not for me? Right, and so I went home, and I was furious, and I was telling the father of my children, this is horrendous, and look at this man, you know, and he looked at me and said, Those lawyers don't make any money. And at that very moment, a new immigration lawyer was created. Nobody's gonna tell me you can this is not for me, and you cannot do this because of money, you know. I I firmly believe that God provides. I firmly believe that inside of each one of us there is a mission, there is purpose. And I found my calling on that day. I desperately work for those 16-year-old kids that are looking for their mother in another country in fear. I've never seen that kid again. He doesn't know the power of his eyes locking with mine on that day. Um, but he was an angel sent by God to show me where I could apply my abilities, and I've never looked back and I never will.

SPEAKER_00 44:11

Hey actor, where are you gonna be in 90 days from now? Is it gonna be with that same old headshot that is not getting you anywhere? That same old story that it's everybody else's fault while you're not booking? Or even worse, depression, because nothing is happening for your career. Well, let me help you. Because in 90 days from now, you can have a whole new set of pictures that are built on your brand. You can have a list of agents that actually would fit what it is that you sell, and a plan to have a more prosperous career. Listen, I cannot book you, but I can make you bookable. So if you are ready, willing, and excited to change your circumstances, come and join us at ActingSmarterCircle.com, sign up and get started. We're a weekly community that helps actors get in gear and get the career that they deserve. So you're you're a dentist, then you become a lawyer, you're an entrepreneur, you're an author, you're a public speaker, you're a motivational speaker, you're a social media influencer. You have close to a half a million followers on YouTube. You have almost a billion, I believe it's a billion or it might be two billion views on your channel. You help people giving them information regarding immigration, and you deal mostly with Latinos because your your channel is in Spanish. You deal with mostly Latinos and you tell them what they need to do, how they need to show up, and you also provide tough love and honesty in saying, well, you were in the wrong. Whether you knew it or not, you're you you have no case, you're wrong. Your your um channel is very honest in that you're not trying to be the star, but you you I can feel your heart. One of the sayings that I heard you say is in English that means to hold your peace, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 46:42

Yes, to to remain calm. Okay, because in the face of The immigrant community is being attacked every day from so many different angles, yet the law is still on our side. So let me give you an example. The law says, the law, the code written in the law says if you are in status in the United States, because you came in with a tourist visa, work visa, any visa, and you want to change to another visa, you can do it inside the United States. That's what the law says.

SPEAKER_00 47:20

Well, then this government says, announces this administration, not the government, but this administration.

SPEAKER_01 47:28

This administration comes out and says, we have decided that it's wrong for you to change status inside the United States. So we want you to go back to your country. But by the way, we are not processing anything outside in your country because we've decided that we don't want to do it right now. But we don't want you to do what the law says and change the status inside the United States. So go back to your country. And those kinds of things are so wrong in every level, but we are enduring it. And they are trying with us, the immigrants first. And if they win, well, now they can do it to US citizens too. One of these days, right? So we are fighting, we're fighting, but every day it's something new. Every day is some stupid new thing that this government is trying on us.

SPEAKER_00 48:21

This administration. What is government? What is the current administration's position so that we are more informed, better informed, because right now we are so misinformed and we are in that place of panic. Whether you are an immigrant or an American, you are in panic mode. How am I gonna pay for gas? How am I gonna pay the food? The bills have skyrocketed, and we have this idiot who all he cares about is putting his name on buildings and getting money from foreign governments for his pocket. That is not a leader, that is a criminal.

SPEAKER_01 49:09

I keep reminding all my immigrants that we have to remain calm. That presidents will come and will go, administrations will come and go. What we stand for is hard work, raising our families, protecting our elder, that will remain. So we have to remain calm. We have to trust that things will be put in place at some point, sooner or later. As long as we remaining calm doesn't mean staying put and not doing anything. We fight.

SPEAKER_00 49:48

Right. Being calm doesn't mean being quiet. Right. It just is it's having that clarity so you can do what you need to do to advance government, not administration. In the first term of Trump, he did horrible things. There were a lot of repercussions from his presidency. But we had oh we had Biden who came in and cleaned up that mess, made it better, and then Trump came back in and made things worse. I want to hear your take on how you see the two administrations. Because I know that that regarding uh immigration, Biden had a tough stance, but it was but I believe it was a fair stance, yes or no?

SPEAKER_01 50:37

Lydia, I don't think none of those administrations did a good job in correcting the situation. Okay. I don't think any president is going to be able to fix the problem we have in immigration. I think the responsibility is on Congress. The law that we have in effect right now is from April 1, 1997. It's been 30 years with the same set of laws that are completely outdated, that do not reflect the reality of America, and does not provide the tools to any administration to do the right thing. Both administrations made several mistakes that led to the situation that we have right now. So it will not be a correct assessment to blame just one. I think the prior administration made several mistakes, but at least treated people with decency and humanity. And what the problem with this administration is that they are overriding laws and they're treating people with so much disrespect. They are violating human rights every day at every hour. Those things are the ones we are standing up for because those are violations of human rights, those are violations of American basic rights that are gonna, if we don't do something about it, they are gonna take rights from the American people. So when I am fighting for immigrants, I'm not fighting for only for immigrants, I'm fighting for my rights.

SPEAKER_00 52:29

So as Americans, going back to what we can do, so we need to put pressure on Congress to rewrite the immigration laws and make it fair, equitable, and treat immigrants with humanity. Yes. To give them a fair day in court and not to lump every immigrant in the same pile, right? That that every immigrant story is different, every case is different. Yes. What would be a good letter to send to Congress people or a call? How can we verbally or uh on paper state what we want in this area?

SPEAKER_01 53:13

I think it you just need to speak from your heart and say, look, uh senator, I understand you have an anti-immigrant stance, and I am the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth generation of an Irish, Ukrainian, uh, South American, whatever, where whatever is your heritage. And I firmly believe that we are a nation of immigrants. I agree with you, or I don't agree with you, that we should have closed borders and we should know who is inside the United States at every time. But we need to meet the demands of workers in the United States. And for that reason, I want you to do immigration reform. I want you to create laws that attest to the reality of the count of this country and the needs of this country. Because the same way we need gardeners and construction workers and agricultural workers, the same way we need business administrators and we need engineers and we need doctors and we need nurses and we need people in tech or in biology, but we also need uh electricians and plumbers. And so we desperately need a system where people can come, do their job, and go back to their countries and come in and out freely, because that will promote tourism, that will promote the making of money inside the United States and using those resources to improve the lives of all Americans in the United States. So I think you say it like you feel it. And if you are a small business owner, then you tell your congressman, uh, I can't find workers. This administration has scared the hell out of millions of people who have left the United States, and now I cannot find plumbers, I cannot find construction workers, I cannot find nurses or nurse technicians. I mean, we are hurting everywhere, and the rich and famous do not feel it because they are they are only the 1%.

SPEAKER_00 55:28

Right, they're in a bubble. And you talk about tourism. Tourism is our biggest moneymaker in this country, yet it has been decimated in the last couple of years because of this administration. The last I heard, and you're in Nevada, Vegas, which is a big tourist town. Big tourist town. I I I knew many people from Los Angeles who moved to Vegas because it was very good there. But that's not the case in the last couple of years.

SPEAKER_01 56:02

We are hurting so bad. The tourism industry in Las Vegas is hurting, but I I feel it's the same way everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 56:11

Everywhere. But but Vegas, because Vegas is such a big tourist town, you know, whereas some of the other, like Los Angeles is big in tourists, but there's also a lot of different other industries here. So you don't see it as as much as you would in Vegas. Because you go to Vegas to gamble, to eat, to take in the shows. I mean, you're going there for the adventure in in Vegas. You know, Los Angeles, you may be coming to work or coming to, you know, it to school, but Vegas is really a.

SPEAKER_01 57:01

Yes, you're right. We are hurting, we are we are strong, we are resilient, and we keep, you know, fighting the good fight. I believe that that every country has the president the country deserves at the moment. I am really sad to see that our country deserves deserves this administration. But I believe that better things will come.

SPEAKER_00 57:25

Yes, let's push for better. We need to push for better. I'm a believer that that what God has for you, nobody can take from you, and that this country, even though they keep saying it's a Christian country, it's not a Christian country. It just is based on Christian tenets that we are not following right now because the the people who set the course on this country was so that everybody could come here and have their freedom, their religious beliefs, whatever, that they could they could worship whoever they wanted. Even though we follow the tenets of Christianity, it is not a Christian nation in that way. It is a nation for all people to come and uh and serve their God in whatever way they they choose. That is my understanding as a child that you know the the pilgrims came here to run away from persecution because they have a certain belief. Yet they come and they try to restrict their or impose their beliefs on others. And and that, first of all, that's ungodly. It's ungodly. God gives us the right. As someone who loves the Bible and I love God, he gives us the right to choose. Every person has the right to choose, and that's what this nation was built on. Everyone has the right to choose. And when we start violating that, we are violating God's principles. I don't care what your religion is, but God's principles is that I give you the right to choose. I give you the right to choose whether you want to be with me or you want to be with Pablo over there. I give you the right to choose. So I just think we we need, first of all, to know our Bible for those of us who say we are Christians, to really know our Bible. It says, take care of the widow, take care of the children, the orphans, take love your neighbor as yourself. First, you got to love yourself, then love your neighbor. And it says, love God with all your heart and do not have idols. So we're out of order as a nation right now. So when you say we deserve this president, as much as I don't like what you said, I have to agree with what you said because we have been so out of order and so me focused. It's about me. I don't care about my neighbor. I don't care that my neighbor doesn't have enough food to eat right now. I don't care that my neighbor can't keep their lights on. That has nothing to do with me, where it does have everything to do with me. And I believe that. I mean, I I saw things changing about 30 years ago where young actors that I was mentoring could not afford to have their own place. They had to have roommates, not two roommates, five roommates. They, they, they couldn't afford. When I moved to California, I had my own place. It wasn't a big place, but I could afford that. I could make a living and have my car, have my, you know, pay my rent, pay my bills. I wasn't starving. Some some months were a little tight, but it wasn't because I couldn't afford it, it was because I made poor financial choices. And now it's not about making poor financial choices. You're lucky if you get enough money to put in money in your gas tank or whatever. So I'm a big believer of that. But I want to get to you. I I want to talk about you because um uh for those of you, I want to be very transparent. I met Katya in my in one of my groups, and I was so blown away by her, so impressed by, first of all, your your work ethic, your your stamina, your story. You have four kids. You have four kids. I only have one child, and that's a lot. You have four kids, you you uh got degrees as a dentist, as a journalist, then as a lawyer. You are also an immigration lawyer for Telemundo National. You are a public speaker, like I said, motivational, inspirational, public educator. You are an author and a social media influencer. That is a lot. And when you you mentioned that your mother was like, you know, if you don't have a degree, you're nobody. It made me laugh because it's the first time I ever heard of someone from my generation talking about their mother saying, if you don't have the right education, you're nobody. Whereas when uh what I heard on my end, if you weren't married, if you don't have kids, you were nobody. It was nobody. They didn't care that you had a degree, they didn't care that you had money. It was like you're not married? You're 20, how old, and you're not married? You it is there a guy? Are you gonna get married? But you have children's book? Is it one book or more?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:29

I've written a series of books where there are nine. I am in the process of publishing them. Uh, they're called The Adventures of Carlita Bonita. And Carlita, it's a girl who travels to different countries learning the culture, the most beautiful places, the music, and everything. And the idea behind The Adventures of Carlita Bonita is that immigrant parents will be able to transmit the story and the love of their countries to their children. So the books are bilingual books where you can read them in the native tongue and in English. And I am a firm believer that every kid needs to belong, needs to have identity. And while they are born in America, when they are first, second generation, they are born also with the culture of their parents, their grandparents. And it's beautiful when you can identify, when you can know the value of your parents' or your grandparents' sacrifice, when they have to abandon their land, their loves to make you a better life. So I grew up in America the past 30 years looking at my community and gangs and rate of criminality, realizing that most of these kids who take the wrong path, it's because they don't feel they belong. And it starts by, you know, it starts from the parents taking a stand on transmitting the same way we we teach our kids, we transmit faith. I think we need to transmit identity. Because, for example, let me give you an example. I have Peruvian American kids, and they grew up in the United States, and they are Americans, and they will tell you, I'm and I'm an American, and they they know their anthem and their pledge of allegiance, and they will sign up anywhere to go fight for this country. Yet they're very brown, they speak very well Spanish. When they go home to mom's home, they can they talk Peruvian, they know all their cousins, they know, you know, they know the culture, they know that uh, I don't know, Latino. I'm a typical Latino mother, and whenever they complain, they said, Why do we have a Latino mother? I'm like, oh, your luck. So they find a lot of answers in their identity, you know. When they were kids and the the American kids will go to uh you know sleepovers, they would have to say, you know, Latinos, we don't do sleepovers. Or or they would eat things that you know we never would never eat. So I think it makes them uh it gives them a richer life, they are more open-minded, they have experienced the wealth of America and the poorest sins of my third world country, and they have learned to empathize with both. And so I I am proud to raise these, you know, these Latino kids who believe believe they belong in both places.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:55

You also haven't had it easy. You have such a joy to you and such a light, but you have had a lot of struggles. You were divorced, you had to fight for your kids. First of all, coming to another country, not speaking the language well, is already puts you behind the eight ball. Because you you're trying to understand what people are saying. Having, you know, going to as an American, going to France or going to even going to Spain, even though they speak Spanish, it's different from what I'm used to in New York. It's a different uh vocabulary. It that's intimidating. It can be intimidating, but you have thrived here. You did not, you are a great example of what we're talking about of an immigrant coming to this country, working hard, and and succeeding in spite of all the odds, in spite of all the challenges, all the racism, because I am sure I get race, I get racial attacks all the time, and I'm American. So I'm sure you get it more. Um, you know, my problem is that when people say things to me, I come back at them. And I heard you say to uh to immigrants, Latino immigrants, right now is not a time to start conflict with people or or or try to, you know, defend yourself. Don't get drunk, don't start fighting, don't fight with your wife or your spouse. Stay calm, be, you know, go under the radar so that you're not this is the time to be invisible almost.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:47

Well, you're right. I I have suffered a lot. I have tried, but I have cried more than I tried. And my story is just a normal story. We all have ups and downs. I've had probably more downs than ups, yet my fate has kept me strong. I believe in the power of love. I believe that all of my struggles have made me the person that I am, which is completely unperfect, completely imperfect. Yet I'm grateful. I am grateful for every second of my life, for every struggle, for every tear, I wouldn't change it. Because based on my pain and my suffering, I've been able to help so many people. I think the reason I am so successful in, you know, at In the eyes of other people is because my audience knows that I that I understand them, that I understand fear, I understand anxiety, I understand pain uh at a at a very deep level. And when you do, and the pain of the other hurts you, that's when you make a connection. That's when you can talk from your heart, and people receive it not as uh in in the bad way, right? They receive it with love. Because, like you said, I reprimand people. I'm a mother, I'm a Latino mother, and so when somebody comes and tells me uh something, expecting that I'm gonna sugarcoat it and say, Oh, poor you! No, no, no, no, no, poor you. I mean, life is tough, you learn for your mistakes and you move on. And I say it with a lot of character, but with a lot of love, because I'm the first to make mistakes, you know. I am the first, and I've made some really bad mistakes.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:53

I mean, horrible, but here I am, and I'm gonna keep fighting until the day I die. Can we talk about your work ethic for a minute? Because just doing a series of nine books, that's a lot. That just that alone, and then being a lawyer, having a practice, and then saying, I'm gonna do a YouTube channel so I could help all these Latinos who are going through immigration. Having a channel is a lot of energy, it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and you do it what, two, three times a week? Every day. Oh, you do it every day. Okay. So, yeah, so yeah, so you're like a superwoman. You're not like everybody else. Yes, you've had more tears, but those tears have fortified you in a way that God has had his hand on you and is moving you through it. You know, the the big heroes in the Bible were the ones who suffered a lot, but yet moved a lot. They they moved things in a way that left them changed forever. And that's what you do, Katia. That that is what you do every day. You do it as a woman of faith, a woman who cares, a woman who is creative, because we haven't really tapped into your creativity. We've tapped into your being a hero for the poor. You know, you are there for the underdog, you are serving them, but but you also are very creative. You and and the big one on the list is you are a woman, which even though we're in America, I have to tell everybody we're still seen as second-class citizens. And the fact that that the ERA has not been ratified, that women's rights has not been ratified, everybody should be in an uproar. Every woman should be in an uproar. That's why they're they're messing with our reproductive rights, they're messing with what we can do. Now they want to say uh we may not be able to vote if we are married, we have to get permission. That's some bullshit. And and we need to fight. We need to say enough is enough. And I want to give a plug to equal means equal.org. And it is a Latina by the name of Kamala Lopez who is fighting for our rights. She's an actor. She was an actor. She found out about this. He just said, Oh no, we got to do something. And she's doing something. And one person can make such a change. You are making that change. I want to know about your creativity because we haven't tapped into that. We've been in the legal, we've been in the uh craziness of politics, but we haven't talked about you as a creative.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:48

I have severe ADHD. I can't stay put for, you know, a long time. Like you said, I'm very creative. I am coming up with these crazy ideas all the time in my brain, and some of them come and go, some of them stay with me to the point where I just act on them. Like I have three shows in my social media channels. Uh, I do have Immigrando con Katia, which is my educational show every morning at 8:30. Then I have a show on Thursdays. It's called Uh The Hour of Felicia and Fortunato. Tell us about that show because that is so unique in itself. Well, you know, as a lawyer, I cannot give uh legal advice to anybody who's not my client for you know privacy issues and it's the way that our job is. So I decided that I was gonna talk to imaginary friends and I named them Felicia, which means happiness, and Fortunato, which means fortune, and these are a female and male names. So the show starts uh when I open the link of my studio, and people who I don't know come in, they they have to close their their cameras and I talk to them, and everybody can listen to our conversation. So I show them how is a legal consultation with imaginary people. So I get to be me, I get to show them how hard is the work of an immigration lawyer, but with a lot of love, and we talk and they tell me their stories, and it's like going through 10 novellas in one show, and uh people love it. So that's the hour of Felicia Infortunato, and then I have a podcast on Fridays called United Voices with Katia. And in this show, I invite prominent figures of our community who speak Spanish, may or not, maybe Latinos, but just who speak Spanish and who can show us their journey to serving others. I think the key element in this podcast is the ability to grow and become successful by serving others. I think people underestimate the power of service. To me, it's the key of finding happiness. You know, happiness is not a state of being, it's it's a state of doing.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:10

Happiness is doing. I think that's where people think, I want to be happy. Well, do something. Do something of service and you will be happy. If you're giving back to community, you're gonna be happy. If you're if you're reading the little kids in the hospital, you're gonna leave happy. If you're working with old people in retirement homes and giving them a little love and support, you're gonna be happy. You're not otherwise, you're not gonna be happy.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:38

Yeah, you're right. So I that's Voces Unidas with Katya. Then I have the children's books that I'm about to release. I'm working on um uh on a series of poems uh based on the lives of immigrants and their stories and their journeys. Also, I'm working on a pilot with with Telemundo to do something else to help all Latinos, not only immigrants. And I continue my journey, trying to be the best that I can.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:10

As you were talking, I was thinking of Christina, who was, I think she was on Telemundo. Christina was Latin Oprah for a minute there. You could be our next, not just Latin Oprah, but our next Gatia, who gives value to everybody. You are the mama who gives it, gives us what we need: the love, the support, the encouragement, and the pow pow when we are not acting right. I said this to you before we started, but I love the motto you have for the podcast of bringing in guests to talk to about different things. Like I learned in listening to it this morning, I learned about how you can be a first-time homebuyer and buy a house and be able to buy one as an immigrant as well, depending on how you do it. I didn't know that. So you're bringing so much value in that, just that conversation. And then Felicia y Fortunato. That is a wonder. I love that. I love that people talk to you and they they just give you their whole life story and they want to keep going. I love that. And I love the fact that you also have one where you start with an encouraging word where you talk about the spirit, you know, and God, and you you are setting us right for the day before you start with your lost stuff. You just have so much to give. So I'm talking about all you do. How many people do you have helping you do all these things with?

SPEAKER_01 1:17:49

I have a team of wonderful creatives who keep me uh grounded. So it's about four or five. Uh, my team is four or five and it's growing because of that new world of AI. There is more work for influencers and for anybody who has digital provides digital services. So my team is growing. But yeah, they they keep me grounded. They don't ever let my ego go over me because I think that's one of the biggest mistakes that an uh a creative or an influencer can make, is to believe that things are happening because of them. And it's never about you, it's always about uh your audience.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:35

Something we didn't cover, and I heard you talk about this about influencers coming into the United States, that this administration is doing something where influencers technically are not allowed to work here, and by them filming and doing stuff here to monetize, that would be a violation of their tourist visa.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:01

Yeah, so this is one of the latest attacks, right? So the law that created the tourist visa uh many, many, many more than 30 years ago, said that when you come with a tourist visa, you have to have the intent of a tourist. So, what was the intent of a tourist 30-something years ago? Well, the intent of somebody who's just coming to visit and it's going to shop around and sightsee and go back to their countries, right? Well, what is the definition of a tourist nowadays? With social media, right? A tourist is somebody who comes and sightsees but has a powerful arm in their hands, their phones. And with these phones, they can video, they can take pictures, they can create reels and posts and videos, and they can monetize on those videos. Well, the law says that with a tourist visa, you cannot work in the United States. And the government has decided to stop visitors from doing posts, videos, and express themselves in social media and make any money because the government fears they cannot collect taxes on it. And they made the money based on, you know, the work that the thing that they did in the United States. So it's a big mistake, obviously, because it stops people from wanting to come to the United States. It cuts down on our tourism revenue. It's a big mistake because people may feel that just by turning off monetization, they're gonna take care of it. But the truth is, if you do something like that, you run the risk of when trying to come back, having your visa cancelled and you being returned to your country because they will find in your social media that you did something that looks like a real that went viral and you made money on it. Now, how are they gonna think that it's work? Well, if you are an influencer, maybe, but what if you're just regular, you know, Mary or Joe, and you come here, you make a nice video, and you become viral, and Facebook paid you for it. Uh, then you became an influencer in one second, and you no longer have a tourist visa. So it is a big mess. The whole thing is a it's a big enchilada, and it somebody has to stop these people from all this nonsense. You know, the amount of hate against immigrants that we're experiencing now, it's it's unbelievable. But love will always prevail, and as long as we keep going to the our the courts, or as long as we keep reminding this administration that we have laws and that the rule of law should prevail, we will win.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:58

And truth. Truth prevails. I think that's what we have to also keep in mind is that don't buy the lie, you know, don't buy the lie. It the devil is a liar, and that's how he lives. What is the thing that is in your hands? It's truth. The truth prevails. Uh, just because a person says a lie over and over again, it's still a lie. It's still a lie, and you gotta you gotta hold that. It is still a lie. Just because I say it a hundred times does not make it right, it's not truth. So I want to know about your four kids. What are their ages?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:39

My oldest is 26, then I have a 23, a 22, and a 13-year-old. Oh wow, that's a gap. The first that the three oldest are boys. Um, well, they're men now, but to me, there will always be my boys. And my little one, it's a girl, her name is Carla, and she is my teacher in life. She's um she is um the one that inspires me to show her the best version of a mother, of a happy mother who lives with purpose, and I pray that she will do the same when she grows up, and she will because her you are in her DNA, so she will.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:30

She will tell me about your relationship with God.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:34

I think that I've had all kinds of relationships with God. I grew up in a Catholic family, but nothing, you know, nothing very strict or it was just uh, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:48

It was the law, it was just the law.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:50

You went to Catholic school, you went to Catholic church, yeah, and then I became a teenager, and I became an atheist, and then I became an agnostic, and then at about 22 years old, and after a lot of you know exploration, I decided that my life was better believing in God, that I I found more peace. I was a very anxious person because of my ADHD, probably, but I was very anxious. I suffered from panic attacks, migrants, and things like that. And I found that believing in God, my life was easier, was more controlled. I didn't feel alone. So I chose to be a Catholic, and it was probably one of the best decisions in my life. I still stand by it. I love my relationship with God. It has changed over the years, as you could imagine. But in my at this time in my life, I think God is the center of my life. I think I've surrendered to God's will. I no longer put my my desires in front of me and my family. I now have dreams, but I know that my dreams will be possible as long as God is in control. So the moment you realize you're not in control of anything, you were not in control of coming into this world, you are not in control of the day you will go. So you are not in control of anything. You you are protected and loved by this power that that has allowed you the privilege of being alive. And so I I live by by that mantra. I I am the happiest when I feel the presence of God in my life.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:54

You remind me of a scripture: delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. And you just said it in the truest way. You surrender to God, you you you're on purpose, but on purpose for what he wants from you, so that when you align with him, then what you are doing is going to prosper because you've aligned with him as opposed to you. All right, I'm walking. My my my thing was in my 20s and 30s. I I I compare it this way. I would let God into my living room, but it, but he couldn't go into my bathroom unless I accompany him. And I wasn't letting him in the bedroom. And he could look in the kitchen, but he couldn't come in the kitchen. So I, you know, it's that thing of Lord, you this is your space. You have every right to do anything you want here. I give you permission each and every day. Do your will, do your way with me, put your super on my natural, and let's go. I'm ready. You know, there's another scripture that says, send me, Lord. It's in the Old Testament, and it says, send me. And so that's what I see in you. You're like, send me, Lord, I'm ready, go, I'm ready to go. I want to know what women in your life when you were growing up really were great influencers to you because you really walk in purpose, in in your strength. And it seems to me that you have to have seen that from a woman.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:42

Well, uh, many women have inspired me over the years. I think God has done a great job in sending me angels to show me the way. And so women and men, but uh definitely uh I've been very, very much influenced by my grandma. Uh, she has an amazing story of resilience and intelligence that I admired. My mother, it's also been my biggest example of intelligence put in action to serve others. In the United States, I've made few but great friends who have inspired me, my law school professors, my partners. I have very few friends, but amazing women, amazing women who have shown me the power. I always say it's the power of love, because love has many faces, and sometimes you see them through with a lot of pain, but it's love who is empowering them and pushing them through. So, yes, yes, I admired many women, but most importantly, I think my grandma and my mother have been my biggest influences.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:59

And you have your own law firm. I I didn't mention that before, but you have your own law firm. You're not partnered with you, it is Katia's law firm.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:09

Well, we are four lawyers, it's called GWP Immigration Law. I started it, and yeah, I have my firm. I also have other businesses, state planning firm and uh a tax uh preparation services office for immigrants. And so, yeah, I mean, I I like you said, I'm an entrepreneur. I uh believe in the power of you know creating your own business and serving others. I'm a serial entrepreneur, I love the ability that a normal person has to create their own wealth, and so yeah. What is the legacy you want to leave? I want my kids to be proud of having a mother that lives her life with purpose and for the service of others. I want my kids to struggle like everybody else, uh, but always with the goal in front of them. Okay, and the goal is to build your place in heaven. I believe that we are that our bodies are perishable, but our soul is not. And so if I can have my kids remember this after I'm after I'm gone, then then I fulfilled, I did my job.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:34

You mentioned goal. How do you work on a goal? How do you put your your desire, your idea into a goal to make it happen?

SPEAKER_01 1:30:46

Well, I think that. it's it's a very good question and because most people have dreams but they don't know how to make them concrete you can't you want you can want something humongous and and amazing but you're not gonna get from here to there in one day right you need uh several steps so I have big dreams but I also know that my dreams don't happen in one second they are gonna take time and they're gonna have take different steps so I love going for the next step and I don't care how long it's gonna take I don't care if it's ever gonna happen I just know that I haven't I have them so I know what's the next goal and I will tell if you ask uh me what are you doing next I can tell you all the things I'm doing next will they happen I don't know but will I try them? Oh you for sure I'll try them and the other thing is I am not afraid to fail I failed so many times that one more time who cares you know I my ego has been destroyed so many times that now I'm like bulletproof I'll try I don't want to be that person who will say if I if I would have done this or that I'd rather say oh my god remember that biggest failure when I did this and it was horrendous remember that how shameful this was I lived it I was there and I'm sure that 20 years from now I'll look back and I'll say and I overcame that how do you start your day in the morning meditation how much time do you take and what does your meditation look like the first thing I do is I do meditation and it may have many different ways it could be uh dipak chopra or jay shetty or it could be halo or it could be a priest or it could be Laudes uh which is the the morning prayer in the Catholic Church um then I stand up and while I take my shower and do my hair I am doing my rosary and that prepares me for the morning and during the day I am doing a hundred different things but I'm always um praying my head uh like I told you I'm very ADHD so I can be writing and I can be listening to what's going on the other side but I'm always praying and I'm always repeating phrases that remind me of who I am how imperfect I am and yet at the same time how blessed I am to be God's perfect child.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:50

I love that I love that I I love the the Bible talks about praying without ceasing so that throughout the day we are praying we are thanking God we are it it also scientifically changes the brain when when you are in in in prayer mode when you are in uh communion with your creator and when you are in gratitude mode it just changes the brain it activates it it makes it younger again so I love that this has been such a joy I thank you so much Katia I am so enamored with your spirit and what you are doing and how you are serving community and how you are doing it with the Holy Spirit it's like you are letting the Holy Spirit just guide you and say okay here we go let's go you know you are a wonderful example of what God's daughter looks like so I I am so grateful that that I got to connect with you in Evan Carmichael's group who we love I love Car uh Evan um but I just want to say thank you thank you thank you we have to do this again especially when the the book series comes out we have to uh go through all nine books probably you'll have 20 by the time they all come out but I can't wait and I can't wait till you get your very own show. Well if that's will it'll happen and if not it's gonna happen it's gonna happen no it's gonna happen because God said whatever we ask him if we believe we will receive and that's what faith is it says where two or more are gathered there he is in the midst of us or it's me and you and Holy Spirit come in right now I just thank you for Katia. I thank you for blessing her Lord I thank you God open those doors that were not openable before I pray for a perfect show for her Lord give her a large large audience bigger than she could have ever hoped or imagined I thank you you said if we are good stewards over little you will give us much and she definitely is a good steward over what she has been given. So I'm praying the bigness for her right now in Jesus' mighty name and I thank you God that it does not return void but it accomplishes everything it set out to do in Jesus' name amen lydia thank you thank you thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to to be here this was such a treat such a treat and I'm so happy to know people like you exist in our country that you are a champion for all the the underdogs that's the word I I was looking for earlier you are a champion for the under the underdog so thank you for that thank you it was awesome talking to you i i i wish you the best of the best of the best it was a treat to be here today and I hope that we get to touch people's hearts and make them realize that we are all human in the same world and that although there are barriers and borders at the end of the day we are just humans loving humans. Immigration is a serious thing right now in this nation and so I hope the information that you got helped you. If you are here as an immigrant and you need help I put Katia's information in the descriptions below and if you watch this video I would love to know your comments like what spoke to you what are you going through as an immigrant what is going on for you or what are your thoughts as an American on what's happening right now with immigration let me know and while you're in the comments below buy me a coffee. Caring is sharing so share our videos with your actor friends who may need the information as well and don't go anywhere because we got more great information for your career coming up right now.