For black immigrants here illegally, a battle against both fear and historic discrimination
by Makeda Easter, Los Angeles Times
Jan 15, 2018
4 minutes
LOS ANGELES - The young Ethiopian dreamed of owning his own business. It's what he had worked toward since moving more than a decade ago from Addis Ababa to Los Angeles.
Things seemed to be looking up for the 28-year-old. He taught himself investment banking and day trading and got a job as a project manager for a mortgage company.
But he is also in the country illegally - a situation further complicated by the color of his skin.
When he accepted his job, he hoped his legal status wouldn't come up.
"I didn't know if my direct manager knew about my status when he gave me that offer," he said, asking to be identified as
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