The housing crisis in Orange County isn’t getting solved any time soon, especially by local authorities. But Julio Aranas, who escaped poverty in Mexico with his parents, is helping young and first-time home buyers find a way. Gustavo Arellano, columnist for the LA Times and former professor to Aranas, says this is all due to an enduring positivity and work ethic instilled in immigrants.
He cites a recent LA Times/Kaiser Family Foundation poll showing that despite the hardships in the country right now, immigrants remain far more positive about the American dream than native-born people.
He notes that both of his parents grew up in poverty, but came to America to make a better life, and did. “I saw all the sacrifices that my parents made so I was not gonna take what the United States offered for granted.”