feel like you belong

sharing the life stories of immigrants, expatriates, and refugees to the United States

Television Show

Feel Like You Belong TV is your source for real stories about the real people we call migrants. They may be the seasonal workers who traverse the country picking our daily produce.* They may be the expatriates who come on temporary assignment for their multinational companies. Or they may be the intrepid** souls who have committed to calling these United States their new homeland.

People have been migrating since time immemorial.*** They have moved for safety from earthquakes and drought. From war and disease. From persecution and economic hardship. They have the same characteristics as our immigrant forebears who gave up the familiarity and comfort of home in order to take risks and build a better life.

Join us here every week with these heroic storytellers and learn about what it is that still makes America a destination for entrepreneurs and risk-takers. The people who moved themselves and their families across deserts and oceans. People who add to each new generation’s vibrancy**** and can-do spirit. Welcome to Feel Like You Belong.

July 06, 2015

Special Edition: Talking with the Writer and Cast of "Elvira" -- a Play about Undocumented Immigration

July 06, 2015/ Alan Headbloom

Actor/playwright Jessica Carmona was inspired about the real-life story of U.S. immigrant Elvira Arellano. Arellano was an undocumented woman living and working in the United States until ICE officers arrested her and threatened to separate her from her son, a U.S. citizen by birth. In this series of interviews, FLYB hears from Carmona and her four actors while in town from New York for a one-time performance at Grand Valley State University. We talk to Carmona's sister Jennica (Puerto Rico), Linda Obasi (Nigeria), Eduardo Leáñez (Venezuela), and Daniela Thome (Chile) about their roles in the play and what this production has taught them about the human side of immigration.

View the full, individual interviews here:

Jessica Carmona -- Jennica Carmona -- Daniela Thome -- Linda Obasi -- Eduardo Leáñez

feel like you belong

Feel Like You Belong is a sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always “touch-your-heart” real conversation about fitting into the American culture. It introduces guests who have made the immigrant journey to the United States. The stories–of both struggle and success–will help newcomers feel more confident in sharing their opinions and expertise, more likely to want to stay in the U.S., be more productive in their jobs, and fully invest in their communities.