Immigrant Stories: Isabel Noriega Meet Isabel Noriega. She has five children, one son and four daughters, all adults now. She and her family are from the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, where she worked for 20 Read more…
IRA Refers Newcomers to Needed Resources Moving to a new city is one of the most difficult things you can do, especially when you are on your own. Not knowing where the nearest grocery store Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Anarela Mitchell Meet Anarela Mitchell. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Anarela has been traveling back and forth for the last 30 years, but has been living in the United States for the past five Read more…
IRA Offers Assurances through Power of Attorney If you are anticipating being in a situation where you may not be able to act or make decisions on your own, you can establish what is called Read more…
BIINvestment: Renewed Community Support for BIIN! As a small non-profit organization, BIIN takes pride in being able to do a great deal on a fairly limited budget. Part of BIIN’s approach is to rely on Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Mariana Fierro Olivares Mariana Fierro Olivares was born and spent much of her early life in Mexico City. She enjoyed living there, and recalls walking on the main avenue in the city, going Read more…
BIINtern Sequels: José Morales, humanitarian aid In the summer of 2019, José Morales was half way through his junior year at Texas A&M. A sociology major from Victoria, Mexico, he knew he wanted to do Read more…
IRA Helps Neighbors Find Local Resources The process of seeking asylum is a hardship that many immigrants face when attempting to come to the United States for a better and safer life. Having a support Read more…
Q & A with Conversational English teacher, Julia Lynch BIIN is fortunate to have a strong corps of volunteers serving as English teachers this spring. One of them, Julia Lynch, has designed her class so Read more…
NEW Resource! College Guide for Undocumented High School Students in Texas Are you or someone you know thinking about college, but worried that being undocumented will make it hard to attend or afford college? Take Read more…
¿Tiene preguntas sobre el pago de impuestos?
Conversational English teaching team springs forward Conversational English classes have been an important and increasingly popular part of BIIN’s programs for several years, even when they had to move online in response to the coronavirus Read more…
IRA gives guidance to vulnerable workers Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network received a call from an immigrant neighbor; he had been injured while he was working at his job. Due to his injury, he was demoted Read more…
Welcome to one of our newest citizens! BIIN celebrates every milestone, big or small, knowing that sometimes the biggest ones come in small packages. One such milestone happened on March 13, 2022, when Miguel Eduardo Read more…
Immigrant stories: Yris Rodriguez Originally from Venezuela, Yris Rodriguez came to the United States 6 years ago, more specifically, in September 2015. During those years, Venezuela had been going through political changes that caused social Read more…
IRA Provides Peace of Mind © Stacy Sodolak for The New York Times A woman who is not a U.S. citizen came to the IRA clinic held at Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network, to ask if Read more…
Immigrant stories: Alma Hernandez Before immigrating to the United States, Alma Hernandez lived in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She remembers it as a place of limited opportunities. Not only was the city an unsafe place Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Nereida Lopez Nereida Lopez attended college in Mexico, but was unable to find work in her field. Like many people who have come to the U.S. in search of greater opportunities, Nereida quickly Read more…
Update on BIIN Programs for Spring 2022 BIIN is jumping into 2022 with a full slate of programs. Despite the many challenges posed by the on-going coronavirus pandemic, BIIN volunteers are working hard to maintain Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Maria Ruiz On November 16, 2021 Maria Ruiz successfully completed the most daunting and difficult part of the American citizenship process: the USCIS naturalization test. Fresh from passing her naturalization test, Maria was Read more…
Immigrant stories: Josefa Contreras Cuevas Josefa Contreras Cuevas is one of the students in the Level 2 Conversational English classes at BIIN, but her story is quite unique and sets her apart from other students. Read more…
El Maestro Receives “Remarkable” Recognition For many people across the Brazos Valley, BIIN is synonymous with “El Maestro,” its long-time volunteer and community advocate, José Antonio Caraballo. It is through Tony Caraballo’s work in many Read more…
Partner Spotlight: St. Thomas Episcopal Church Many of BIIN’s community partners over the years have been faith-based organizations. BIIN itself was created by people who had witnessed the frequency with which low-income immigrant neighbors appealed Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Rafael Sepulveda Rafael Sepulveda is one the faithful few that have been attending the level 3 conversational English classes at BIIN this fall, and his hard work and determination extend beyond the realm Read more…
BIIN Gives Thanks! It’s the time of year when everywhere we turn, we are invited to express our gratitude. Here are some of the people and things that we at BIIN are grateful for, as Read more…
Partner Spotlight: St. Thomas Episcopal Church BIIN has long relied on allied organizations, known as “community partners,” to support its mission in various ways: by providing space for offices or special events, funding or in-kind Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Nicolas Aguirre Nicolas Aguirre shared his story with Carolina Kane, a BIIN intern in the summer of 2021, who wrote this profile. Originally from Guerrera, Mexico, Nicolas Aguirre grew up in a small Read more…
Faces of BIIN: Mollie Fitzpatrick If you moved across the country to a new town, how would you find like-minded people? What if meeting folks through work was not an option, since the organization you Read more…
October Fundraising Efforts October has been a busy month for BIIN staff, interns and volunteers, due to two sequential fundraising efforts: the local Brazos Valley Gives campaign and a Covid-conscious version of BIIN’s annual Light Read more…
A Tribute to Rhoda Segur When Rhoda Segur passed away on August 3, 2021, BIIN — along with other organizations and people — lost a remarkable advocate and friend. We take this opportunity to recall Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Brenda Maldonado A relatively new student to the BIIN community, Brenda has worked to take advantage of the resources BIIN provides. In January 2021, she began attending BIIN’s online citizenship classes. Brenda moved Read more…
Brazos Valley Gives Campaign: Now through October 19, 2021 In order to provide quality services at no cost to immigrant neighbors in need, BIIN must raise funds. We work to do so in many ways: Read more…
BIIN is offering a full slate of programs for fall 2021. Despite the many challenges posed by the on-going coronavirus pandemic, BIIN volunteers are working hard to maintain Read more…
BIIN achieves SECC approval We are thrilled to announce that as of September 1, 2021 Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network is an approved State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) organization. This means that if you work for Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Leidy Lopez Originally from Colombia, Leidy Lopez moved to the Bryan/College Station area in October 2018. She moved here after her husband came to earn a doctorate at Texas A&M University. Adjusting to Read more…
Haga clic aquí para obtener los recursos de COVID-19! -------- Click here to get COVID-19 resources!
Partner Spotlight: St. Andrew’s BIIN has long relied on allied organizations, known as “community partners,” to support its mission in various ways: by providing space for offices or special events, funding or in-kind donations, specialized Read more…
Summer Superstars! It’s summer in central Texas: hot, humid, sunny one minute, rainy the next. The crepe myrtles are blooming gloriously, the mosquitoes are buzzing, and the grass keeps growing so fast it’s hard to Read more…
Summer Superstars: The Conversational English Team Learning a second language, as an adult, takes time, practice and a patient community of people who use the language and support you in your efforts to develop your Read more…
Faces of BIIN: Vivian Bronsoler As a major university, Texas A&M brings many people and resources to the Brazos Valley. But there is also a flip side: the patterns of connection and movement that universities Read more…
BIIN on the move! In response to a request from Grace Bible Church, BIIN has moved from its original office to a new location on the church campus. Since the church will be using the Read more…
Allies Spring into Action Many people are familiar with BIIN’s long-standing citizenship and Conversational English classes and the Information/Referral/Assistance (IRA) program. But there’s another program, known as “Allies in Action,” that has been added to Read more…
CMSA and ComUnidad 2021 BIIN benefits in countless ways from operating in a community that Texas A&M University also calls home. From the wide and diverse realm of TAMU-related people, BIIN regularly recruits much of Read more…
Behind the Scenes at Citizenship Classes BIIN has been offering citizenship classes in one form or another for years: the program is designed to help prospective applicants understand the process of applying for US citizenship Read more…
Immigrant Stories: Melissa Dávila Adults who study English as a second language, at BIIN and elsewhere, do so for many different reasons. Some are preparing for the naturalization exam. Some want to speak better English to improve Read more…
Citizenship Classes Continue Strong If you follow the news, you likely know that one of the measures taken by the Trump administration during its final weeks in power was to decree changes to the civics Read more…
Recommended Reading BIIN’s mission is to promote the dignity and well-being of all immigrants in our community, and to advocate for and facilitate better access to legal, educational and social services. While our organization acts Read more…
Volunteer Spotlight: Darci Kole, Website Specialist Darci Kole has much in common with other BIIN volunteers. She identifies with BIIN’s mission “to promote the dignity and well-being of immigrants” as vital parts of our communities. Read more…
Update on BIIN CARES Fund In early February 2021, we announced the Board’s decision to extend the BIIN CARES Fund, in order to provide financial assistance to immigrant-led households still reeling from the effects of Read more…
Vaccination Education and Registration Campaign The push to vaccinate people against the coronavirus has brought energy and hope to communities across the country and around the world. In the United States, who can get vaccinated, Read more…
Have you been thinking about the new year and the experiences you want to have in 2021? Are you looking for safe ways to connect with and help others, as the pandemic continues? Here’s a Read more…
If you have participated in BIIN’s English conversation classes at any time over the past few years, you’ve probably met Zoë Schneider. A Texas A&M senior graduating in May 2021, Zoë has been a key Read more…
Yesenia Aguilar is a U.S. citizen, for she was born and began her life in Beaumont, Texas. But when she was still a baby, her parents separated, and her mother took Yesenia back to Mexico, Read more…
Like non-profit organizations across the country, 2020 has been a challenging year for BIIN when it comes to fundraising. The pandemic has made it unwise to pursue plans for in-person fundraising events, such as the Read more…
This year, give your friends and family gifts of kindness that help local immigrants. Your gift receipt will receive a specially designed e-greeting card of your choice and the joy of knowing that, because of them, immigrants will have access to...
As 2020 draws to a close and the U.S. anticipates new leadership from the White House, many people have been wondering what this may mean for immigration law, policy and regulations. For those interested in learning Read more…
For a decade now, BIIN has served the Brazos Valley: promoting the human dignity and well-being of all immigrants in our community, by offering classes and programs that meet a variety of needs, advocating for Read more…
Ten years ago, when BIIN was formed and began as an organization to offer services to immigrants in the Brazos Valley, its “charter” program was IRA: Information, Referral and Assistance. For years, IRA’s trained volunteers have hosted Read more…
The coronavirus pandemic has changed and complicated many things we once took for granted. For parents, helping children succeed in school is one of many daily tasks that the public health crisis has transformed. Whether children attend Read more…
What would BIIN be without its volunteers? An empty shell, a driverless car, a promise waiting to be fulfilled. All of BIIN’s programs and services are planned and run by volunteers – people who share Read more…
Immigrating to the U.S. is a long, hard process, requiring years of effort, patience and persistence. Angela Suarez knows, for she and her family have been taking the steps required to immigrate and become citizens Read more…
In people’s lives, birthdays and anniversaries mark the passage of time. In the life of an organization, taking stock of what has been and thinking about what is to come often happen at the annual Read more…
It was January 2013. Mary Campbell was looking for a good way to help her A&M undergrads understand the relevance of readings and lectures about race and ethnicity in American society. As an associate professor Read more…
Jesús Alberto Pérez Delgado had a rich and interesting life in Venezuela. He had a good education and a rewarding career as a manager, administrator and executive, specializing in financial management and human resources. For some thirty years, he worked for firms in various industries, including...
The news media continue to provide much food for thought, regarding: evidence of disparities in the ways that the coronavirus pandemic has impacted different segments of the population, debates over the nature of any future Read more…
Calls have been coming in to Línea Amiga, the local Spanish-language helpline that was created to provide a way for people to ask questions and get information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was launched Read more…
How does a non-profit “pivot” in a pandemic? For BIIN, this has meant keeping our focus on the needs of immigrants in our community, while practicing social distancing, to ensure that we do not contribute Read more…
BIIN is hosting a virtual Sip and Learn event via Zoom on Saturday, June 27, at 3 pm. We will have a lively discussion and a chance to hear not only about the families that received Read more…
A new Spanish-language helpline, Línea Amiga, has just been launched to provide information for people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Staffed by trained volunteers, and supported jointly by BIIN, Friends Congregational Church, and the First Read more…
College Station, Texas has been home for Darcey Rydl for all of her life. As a native of the region attending Texas A&M University, it would have been easy for her to stay in her Read more…
Rosa Lopez grew up in Durango, Mexico and has many happy memories of life there. But her life took an unexpected turn when her husband moved to central Texas, joining members of an extended family Read more…
Dear friends, Wow! ¡Carramba! Ouf! We did it! Thanks to your generosity, we have reached our goal in the BIIN CARES campaign: raising $50,000 to support our neighbors impacted by COVID-19 and the economic downturn. In particular, Read more…
Article written by Yvonne Reyes (KYR Intern) Mrs. Teresa Gonzalez is originally from Pachuca Hidalgo, Mexico. She arrived in the United States in 1998, looking for a way to support herself. She first lived in El Paso, Texas, working for Read more…
Article written by Ana Balderas (IRA Intern) Recently, a man who works in construction came to BIIN, to ask for help recovering wages for a job he had done. To make it easier to tell Read more…
Carlos Espina is a familiar face to many who have been involved with BIIN. Since 2016, Carlos has found ways to share his time and talents with the organization and the community. Born in Uruguay but Read more…
CHANGES TO BIIN’S PROGRAMS IN RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS For the health and safety of our clients, volunteers, and the larger community, BIIN is moving all in-person classes online. Answers to questions and case management Read more…
Information, Referral, and Assistance (IRA) is one of BIIN’s long-standing programs. But if you’ve never been to IRA, you may wonder what exactly happens there. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, people needing help with different kinds of Read more…
Jake Shatzer is a junior at Texas A&M, doing a double major in International Studies and Economics and a minor in Spanish. After studying abroad, Jake was looking for ways to get involved with the Read more…
Enrique Espinoza has lived in Texas for several years, but he can still remember how confusing it was when he first arrived from Mexico. Even a simple task such as buying a cold drink stirred Read more…
Take a look at this article by KAGS that we were featured in about our DACA workshop! Provides helpful information on DACA.
DACA Workshop As you probably know The Supreme Court heard oral arguments challenging The Administration’s decision to end the DACA program this past November. A decision is expected no later than June 2020. Anyone with Read more…
Thank you Kimberly Lerma for the excellent video that showcases our citizenship classes! Thank you Carol Goldsmith, one of our amazing teachers, for explaining the program so well! Please share our new video!
Join us on February 23, 2020 at 3 PM at the BIIN office to learn about the legal challenges of being an immigrant in Brazos Valley. Laura Leon, a local immigration attorney, will talk about real legal cases Read more…
Maryuri Nuñuz de Gonzalez is a student in our Conversational English Class this fall. She moved to the United States in 1998 from Venezuela to get her PhD at UC Davis and transferred to Texas A&M Read more…
BIIN’s Information, Referral, and Assistance (IRA) program is the heart of our organization but many people do not know what sort of problems our dedicated volunteers help with so we will start sharing some of Read more…
Please share this information with anyone you think may be interested in attending our programs or volunteering to help with them. BIIN still needs wonderful volunteers for our conversational English classes on Mondays and Wednesdays Read more…
Love shopping online with Amazon? Love supporting BIIN and immigrants in your community? Thanks to AmazonSmile, you can now do both at the same time!AmazonSmile is operated by Amazon and features all the same products Read more…
Paula Lira is a student in our Conversation English Class this fall. She is from Monterrey, Mexico, and has lived in the United States since 2004. She loves attending class so she can practice English Read more…
Norma Madrigal is an Information, Referral, and Assistance (IRA) volunteer that has been volunteering at BIIN for four years. She helps clients with any problems they have, whether it be translation needs or advice on Read more…
BIIN PROGRAM UPDATES: Please share this information with anyone you think may be interested in attending our programs or volunteering to help with them. English Conversation Classes are every Monday and Wednesday evening from 6:00 PM Read more…
Please share this information with anyone you think may be interested in attending our programs or volunteering to help with them. English Conversation Classes at BIIN will resume on September 9, 2019 on Monday and Read more…
Please join us on September 8, 2019 from 4 pm – 5 pm to celebrate you and all of our volunteers that have dedicated so many hours to make BIIN programs great. We will have Read more…
Meet Indiana. Indiana has been attending classes at Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network for several years with the goal of becoming a United States citizen. This summer, her hard work paid off, and Indiana gained her Read more…
Friends, Meet Nicolas. Nicolas is one of our hard-working students. He comes twice a week, every week, to our evening English classes. As a young child, his mother always told him to work hard and Read more…
Friends, Tomorrow our annual 4th of July Fundraiser is kicking off. This year, it is our goal to raise enough money to sponsor fifty students in citizenship classes. These citizenship classes provide local immigrants with Read more…
BIIN will have a Volunteer Orientation on June 7, 2019 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM at the BIIN office, 107 Williamson Drive in Bryan. We are located in the gymansium behind St. Michael’s Episcopal School. Read more…
Thank you Mays Business School! Students in the Strategic Philanthropy course chose BIIN to be a recipent of its Community Grant. We received $10,500 for operational support.
Mark Lacey moved to Bryan, TX from the Washington D.C. area in 2017 after retiring. His parents are missionaries and he grew up in a part of Belize that speaks Spanish where he mastered his Read more…
A couple that went through our classes and became citizens share their story!
One of our Citizenship Class students Socorro tells us about her dreams and experiences!
BIIN is launching a new volunteer appreciation program. Eligibility for the gifts is determined by the accumulative hours that have been logged in our online volunteer software starting January 1, 2019. So if you have Read more…
Socorro Hernandez is originally from Zacatecas, Mexico and moved to the U.S. in 1995. When she heard about BIIN’s citizenship classes through a local newspaper, La Voz, she immediately signed up. She completed the 10 week Read more…
Janet Morford moved to the BCS area in 2017 from Illinois. She learned about BIIN through St. Thomas Episcopal Church and was excited to get involved and contribute to a positive and constructive organization. She Read more…
BIIN is hosting its second annual Light of Liberty fundraising dinner on May 15, 2019, and we need help filling 80 seats. Our goal is to raise $600 to $1,000 a year from each guest Read more…
BIIN is holding a volunteer orientation on March 23, 2019 at 2:30 pm at our office. We are located in the gymnasium behind St. Michael’s Episcopal School, 107 Williamson Drive, Bryan, TX. The orientation will Read more…
Maria Villanueva immigrated to the U.S. from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico because “it is the country of opportunity”. Her hope is to provide a better life for her children. Independence Day is her favorite holiday because Read more…
“Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped us in the citizenship classes. Thanks for dedicating your time to motivate us. We started our citizenship application. Thank you! Thank you for your help and dedication. Read more…
Two of BIIN’s Citizenship Class teachers, Mary Campbell and Nancy Plankey-Videla, were excited to attend the swearing in ceremony of 10 former Citizenship Class graduates on December 20, 2018.
Originally from Brownfield Texas, Greyson Holt is an outstanding volunteer for our Conversation Partners program. He first found out about BIIN from a friend after revealing his hope to possibly volunteer somewhere he could speak Read more…
This week on Tuesday, we held our very first #GivingTuesday campaign! Every donation made was matched 1:1 by a kind donor. Thanks to all of your support and generosity, BIIN was Read more…
On February 2nd, 2019, we will begin the spring’s free Citizenship classes in both English and Spanish. The class takes course over 10 weeks, every Saturday. They will take place from February 2nd to April Read more…
Ricardo Gonzalez is the volunteer-coordinating intern for BIIN. He is a senior Sociology major with a minor in Latino Studies and Japanese from Dallas, Texas. Ricardo has helped with the management of volunteers’ accounts and Read more…
Our Conversation Partners program is where aspiring citizens practice speaking English and answering interview questions. But… our students need textbooks! Please consider sponsoring a student. For $31 you can sponsor one student’s textbook and workbook Read more…
This week’s featured volunteer is Susan Dennis, who volunteers with our Conversation Partners program. Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Susan and her husband have made College Station their home for the last 30 years. Thanks to Read more…
Thanks to all who came out to BIIN’s Volunteer Appreciation and Annual Meeting on August 19th! It was great to come together and celebrate BIIN’s work this past year. If you missed it, here are Read more…
