Only in America with Ali Noorani Ali Noorani

In the second episode of our series focused on the agriculture industry, we hear about the challenges that U.S. farms face due to a lack of workers.

Ali talks to Fred Strathmeyer Jr., the Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary for Plant Industry and Consumer Protection. Fred talks about his department’s commitment to a sustainable and safe food supply and its connection to immigration.

In the first episode of our series focused on the agriculture industry, we hear about the often-invisible challenges that fieldworkers face.

Ali talks to Judy Fisk Lucas, the founder and president of Friends of Fieldworkers, a non-profit providing support to immigrant fieldworkers in the major agricultural region of Ventura County, California. Judy and her husband Ted talk about working with farmworkers and the needs they and their families have.

U.S. farms feed millions of Americans, and they need roughly 2 million employees per year to do so. But we’re not meeting that need, and we’re seeing crops going unpicked and dying in fields. Our farms don’t have enough workers — and there aren’t adequate immigration pathways to allow more workers to do those jobs.

Throughout this series, we’ll hear about the experiences of growers, farmworkers and more about the challenges they face — and ways to create the stability and opportunities they

We finish our series by discussing immigrant contributions to less visible industries, which are highly important but often the least valued. Domestic work — including caretaking, housekeeping and nannying — will continue to be key as our nation ages. It’s long been undervalued, and workers are even more at risk if their immigration status is uncertain.

Ali talks to Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, about recognizing the importance and dignity of domestic wor

Alejandro Flores-Muñoz is an entrepreneur and DACA recipient based in Denver. He started three businesses: Unum Sunglasses, Progressive Button, and, most recently, Stokes Poke. In addition to running his own businesses, he mentors, educates and empowers other DACA recipient and marginalized business owners.

Alejandro talks to Ali about the companies he runs and how he’s helping other DACA recipients and marginalized business owners start and grow their own businesses.

This week, Ali speaks to Nafy Flatley, a Senegal-born chef and entrepreneur who founded the food and beverage company Teranga.

In a conversation at San Francisco’s La Cocina, Ali spoke to Nafy about her journey to the U.S., the challenges of starting a business,  and how her idea of the American Dream has evolved.

La Cocina is a test kitchen that supports immigrant and women food entrepreneurs formalize and grow their business. This year, La Cocina plans to open the nation’s first women-led food