Oral history interview with Sheryl L. Cousineau, 2021
Abstract
Sheryl Cousineau discusses her life in Kennewick, Washington, and reflects on her written correspondence with President Obama in 2015, when she wrote a letter to the White House about the need for immigration reform and improved conditions for undocumented Americans. Cousineau describes her family's orchard in Kennewick, with a particular emphasis on a family that worked on the orchard with which s he has a particularly close relationship, and recounts the circumstances surrounding the father of the family's deportation to Mexico. She outlines her motivations for writing a letter to Obama, and speaks widely about her political commitments and the political landscape in her area. Also discussed are the conditions facing undocumented immigrants in Washington and around the country and the disproportional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant communities
Sheryl Cousineau is a vocational counselor and the president of Sheryl's Rehabilitation Services, Inc., based in Kennewick, Washington. In 2015, she wrote a letter to President Obama about the need for immigration reform and improved conditions for un documented Americans, informed by her experiences with the families of those who work in her family orchard
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on June 24, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Sheryl L. Cousineau, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023