Overcoming Long Odds to Help Immigrants Like Herself

Rutgers University | Hailing from a small mountain village in Honduras, Paola Benitez-Marquez was abandoned by her mother as a toddler and placed in a van full of strangers at age 5, traveling 22 hours to the U.S. border as an unaccompanied minor. After reuniting with her mother and grandmother in NJ, she started working at a young age to help support her family. At age 14, she discovered she was undocumented, living in fear of deportation throughout her adolescence while continuing to work long hours outside school.

In the ensuing years, there would be immigration lawyers, court appearances, family strife, and homelessness and food insecurity—as well as unexpected triumphs: In May 2024, she became the first in her family to attend and graduate from college and is deeply committed to advocating for undocumented immigrants and human rights in the U.S. and around the globe.