Angel Padilla
Angel Padilla is a welding instructor whose family arrived in the United States as refugees during the Salvadoran Civil War. Later, he was detained by ICE and eventually sent to the Northwest Detention Center. As a means of protesting the medical care and general conditions of the facility, he began to work with local immigrant rights groups and members of the media to communicate his story. In this interview, Padilla talks about fighting cancer in the facility, the conditions of the detention center, and the lasting consequences of the Salvadoran Civil War.
This interview is also part of Amanda Díaz’s American Creed project.