By Leo Juarez, Scott Martindale and David Eisenberg

Iliana Carter-Ramírez, 22, was born into a family with a long history of activism. Her father, who is white, helped organize factory workers in Los Angeles throughout the 1970s and ’80s. Her mother, who emigrated illegally from El Salvador, was once a textile factory worker and also has worked on union causes.

Iliana attended her first union rally when she was 4 or 5. When she began college at UCLA at age 16, she joined a student group called Conciencia Libre, or Free Consciousness, which worked to unionize staff members on campus.

Since graduating from UCLA last year, Iliana has remained active, helping to coordinate the March 25 protest in downtown Los Angeles that brought an estimated 500,000 people to the streets. She also is a founding member of the Coalition of United Students and, as one of its most active members, served as the emcee of the April 15 student march.

Iliana feels strongly about education and points out that illegal immigrants, who do not qualify for financial aid, typically have no financial means to attend four-year universities.

“This is going to affect our future. If you can’t go to college, you end up in a low-paying job,” Iliana said. “It becomes a cycle. What young person wants that kind of life?”

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In her own words

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