I grew up in newsrooms. I've been in newsrooms since I was 17 years old. Journalism has been like my church; it's been like my identity.

You have to stand for something bigger than yourself.

If I could, I'd go city by city, county by county, town by town, and talk to people to explain to them what immigration is really about - that this is not about me, this is not about us, this is not about us taking something from you. This is not about us being a threat to you. This is not about Democrat or Republican, and this is not really about border security. But in some ways our politics, and in many ways our politicians, have gotten in the way.

No amount of success - whatever that means, quote-unquote success - no amount of success replaces the reality of being separated from my family for this long.

To me, it's just that social media is allowing people to be in charge of their own narratives.

I have no control over what people call me. The only thing I have control over is my work, and that's really all I can be judged on.

The only reason I became a writer was so I could exist on a piece of paper.