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A Cleared Record Makes Way for New American

New citizen Nic Marines, his wife and son at home in Tucson, Ariz.
Ted Robbins
/
NPR
New citizen Nic Marines, his wife and son at home in Tucson, Ariz.

Nic Marines lives in Tucson, Ariz., but more than 20 years ago, he entered the country illegally, crossing the border between Mexico and the U.S.

After the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, he got amnesty and continued to work in the U.S. But his name got attached to a convicted drug dealer's fingerprint file and he was denied an extension on his work permit.

It took eight years to get his record cleared -- and his citizenship finalized.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

As supervising editor for Arts and Culture at NPR based at NPR West in Culver City, Ted Robbins plans coverage across NPR shows and online, focusing on TV at a time when there's never been so much content. He thinks "arts and culture" encompasses a lot of human creativity — from traditional museum offerings to popular culture, and out-of-the-way people and events.