Category Archives: Social Justice

Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw Was Detained by ICE. This Is Her Story.

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When ICE detained Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw, I knew I wanted to help tell her story. ICE has detained thousands of asylum-seekers in the United States, and every single one of them deserves the opportunity to have their story told. But many are understandably afraid to speak out. Through her lawyers, Armelle has made it clear that she wants her experience to help others. She does not want what she is going through to be in vain.

Well known and deeply loved by her community, Armelle has been a community leader since she was in high school. That has allowed me, even while she remains detained, to talk with the people who know her best. Through their stories, I hope readers can see Armelle not simply as an immigration case, but as a wife, mother, teacher, mentor, friend and community leader whose life has touched many others.

These are the columns I’ve written so far as a result. I will continue to tell Armelle’s story as her case unfolds, and I look forward to the day I get to write about her return home to her family. If you’re looking for ways to support Armelle and her family, visit Bring Armelle Home for the latest information about her case and ways to help.

America Raised Armelle Bondonga. Now It Is Trying to Reject Her.

Published August 28, 2026

On Aug. 12, Armelle and her husband, Terrance Bradshaw, voluntarily appeared for what was supposed to be a final interview in the process of obtaining her marriage-based green card. Instead, ICE agents separated the family and took Armelle into custody.

Armelle did exactly what Americans who favor stricter ICE enforcement say immigrants should do: She followed the law. She showed up, followed the process and did the paperwork. Now she is detained.

Read how Armelle came to the United States and why her family stayed. Read more…

America Raised Armelle Bondonga. Now It Is Trying to Reject Her., by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
As I write this, Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw has not seen her husband or held her 19-month-old baby in over two weeks. On Aug.

She Followed America’s Immigration Process. ICE Took Her Anyway.

Published September 4, 2026

Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw was nervous walking into her final green card interview, but her husband Terrance assured her that it was all going to be fine. They had done everything the U.S. government had asked of them. ICE detained her anyway.

Read the details of what happened to Armelle that day when she and her husband Terrance went to their immigration interview. Read More…

She Followed America’s Immigration Process. Then ICE Took Her Anyway., by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw was nervous walking into her final green card interview, but her husband Terrance assured her that it was all going to be fine. They had done everything the U.

When ICE Detains Our Immigrant Neighbors, Our Communities Lose.

Published September 11, 2026

When ICE detains immigrants and asylum-seekers disappear, it doesn’t only affect immigrant families. It’s naive to think we don’t lose anything collectively when we remove people from our communities. If immigration doesn’t touch your family directly, I challenge you to look around.

We talk about immigrants as though they are people on the other side of some political argument. But they’re not. They’re a vital part of our daily lives.

Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. How do immigrants affect our communities? This column has it by the numbers. Read More…

When Our Immigrant Neighbors Disappear, Our Communities Lose, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
A man who worked in the cafeteria at my husband’s workplace disappeared. My husband talked to him each time he stopped in for lunch.

His Student Was Detained by ICE. Now He’s Fighting To Bring Her Home.

Published October 2, 2026

“I’m being taken, please fight for me.”

This is the text that came through on Ryan Davis’ phone on Aug. 12 from his former student Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw.

Ryan got to watch Armelle grow from a student in his classroom into a leader he could work alongside. To have all of that taken away is, in his words, “devastating.”

So Ryan is fighting for Armelle, just like he told her he would.

He has spoken out at press conferences and on social media. He has helped raise money for her legal fees and he brings donations from the community to Armelle’s husband and child. He has helped lead letter-writing campaigns and circulate petitions to put pressure on elected officials and keep Armelle’s story fresh in their minds.

These columns about ICE detaining Armelle Bondonga publish in newspapers across the United States. From Maui to Virginia, Americans have read Armelle’s story. Read More…

His Student Was Detained by ICE. Now He’s Fighting To Bring Her Home., by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Want to help Armelle?

If you’re looking for ways to support Armelle and her family, visit Bring Armelle Home for information about her case and ways to help.

Armelle’s story is still unfolding, and I’ll keep following it.

I’ll add new columns here as they publish. If you’d like to stay connected, subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on social media.

Where Are the Hispanic Executives? Why Representation and Mentoring Matter

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for Hispanic Heritage Month I wanted to shine a light in a dark spot and I’m grateful that my husband let me write his story to help do that. I hope you’ll read and share.

“My husband, who is also Hispanic, has worked in manufacturing for over 25 years. He started in accounts receivable and then moved to operations, working first on a manufacturing line. He’s encountered bigotry and racism while forging his own path to upper management. One of his early supervisors thought it was cute to call him “spicktacular,” and she honestly believed she was paying him a compliment. Another manager questioned my husband’s motives when he helped a Spanish-speaking hourly worker write an incident report in English for human resources.

“Now my husband is the plant manager of a local auto manufacturing plant. He is also the only nonwhite manager at his factory. Recently, my husband came home from work with quite a different story. A Hispanic hourly worker approached him to say that because of him, she has an example for her teenage son. She tells her son, “No nomas somos trabajadores.” Which means, “We are not just workers.”

“Workplace representation matters. It not only matters for aspirational employees, but a study from McKinsey and Co. also found that diverse businesses enjoy increased profits as well as better employee engagement, access to talent and consumer insight.”

Read the full column below.

Where Are the Hispanic Executives? Why Representation and Mentoring Matter, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
My husband, who is also Hispanic, has worked in manufacturing for over 25 years. He started in accounts receivable and then moved to operations, working first on a manufacturing line.

Read more from Bonnie Jean HERE and HERE.

Breastfeeding Moms Need Support to Succeed

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“Last week, a Washington mom made news by getting kicked out of a restaurant for breastfeeding her infant son. Women need support, not judgement, and certainly not shame when feeding their babies. The restaurant owner made a bad situation worse when responding to the family’s online review, “Be like decent people not like animals, there are places for everything and this place is not to breastfeed your children.”

“The science supports that “breast is best,” but what we don’t talk about is that the most common deterrent from breastfeeding is lack of support.”

Read the full column below

Breastfeeding Moms Need Support to Succeed, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Last week, a Washington mom made news by getting kicked out of a restaurant for breastfeeding her infant son. Women need support, not judgement, and certainly not shame when feeding their babies.

Read more from Bonnie Jean HERE and HERE.

The Disruption This World Needs

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Bonnie Jean with her son at the park

“We like to talk about “getting back to normal” which feels like a comfy old shoe. On the other hand, a “new normal” was thrust upon us, born from necessity with masks, sanitizer and social distancing. However, the pandemic has carried on long enough that I no longer crave getting back to some pre-COVID-19 before times “normal.” Something in me has crossed over.

“I want more from life.

“Humanity is in a collective existential crisis.

“Our mortality is being showcased, and we’re all coping in real time in our own way. Whether that’s in denial, in faith, through science or ritual, we are all taking a hard look at what it means to live.”

Read the whole column at the link below.

The Disruption This World Needs
Fall always brings me nostalgia. My best childhood memories are of marching band, autumn leaves and Halloween.

Read more from Bonnie Jean HERE and HERE.

Mental Health Matters More Than Adolescent Milestones

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This is the second of three columns in a back-to-school mental health series. If you missed the first one read it here: Unmasking Support for Mental Health in School.
The second column is linked below.

“My daughter was a good student with a part-time job and friends in the marching band. I knew she didn’t like school, but what choice did we have? We had to get her through it. She cried each day on the drive to school. I hounded her about personal hygiene and tried to understand what was going on, but I just didn’t. I’ve never experienced depression, and because of that, I didn’t recognize when she was in mental health trouble.”

Mental Health Matters More Than Adolescent Milestones, by
My daughter was a junior in high school when her therapist called me into her office. I bounced my toddler on my knee and tried to absorb what the therapist was saying.

Read more from Bonnie Jean HERE and HERE.

Unmasking Support for Mental Health in School

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Ezra showing off his Fiona Mask from the Cincinnati Zoo

This is the first of three columns in a back-to-school mental health series.

“Mask debates have returned to school board meetings. Many districts are mandating masks for everyone in the classroom, prompting the mental health cry of “these poor children” all over social media.”

Read the full column at the link below

Unmasking Support for Mental Health in School, by
I sat with my son in the school cafeteria. Wearing masks, we waited to meet his kindergarten teacher.

Read the second in the series at the link below

Mental Health Matters More Than Adolescent Milestones, by
My daughter was a junior in high school when her therapist called me into her office. I bounced my toddler on my knee and tried to absorb what the therapist was saying.

Read more from Bonnie Jean HERE and HERE.

Immigration Is our Universal American Story

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“When asked what drove her to see it through, she said that she wanted to be an American citizen like her children and husband. She wanted to show them she could do it and make her family proud. Manuela also very much wanted the right to vote. On July 14, 2017, she was sworn in as an American citizen.

“The opposition to refugees and immigrants is strong, but it is the most universal story we share as Americans. It should be the common ground that unites us.”

Click belw to read the full column

Immigration Is our Universal American Story, by
Last week, a federal judge in Houston ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy was

Read more from Bonnie Jean HERE and HERE

Every Path Is Valid

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“I did not attend my high school graduation. My family had a lot on its shoulders. My dad and stepmom were going through a divorce. I was told the Friday before my senior prom that it was over.

Graduation photos are all over my social media feed, and even The New York Times featured prom photos on their front page. High school graduation is no doubt a rite of passage and a major transition in life. But there was no point in pomp and circumstance for me. It would seem my future was not so bright anyways. I was a horrible student. Don’t get me wrong, I loved to learn, I just didn’t learn well in a classroom. For others, college would be the next logical step, but I barely had the grades to graduate high school.

I clung to the words of Chuck Keller, my junior year English teacher. He had told me, “Your success in high school does not determine your success in life.”

Read the full column by clicking below

Every Path Is Valid
My experiences would really inform my parenting.

Getting the Full Story in the Age Of Media Mistrust

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I really enjoyed this conversation with Julian Rubinstein and Terrance Roberts. Julian’s new book The Holly which focuses on Terrance’s story is a great read that manages to shine a light on how local media failed Northeast Denver. The interview recording is linked below. I hope you’ll watch.

I also reviewed this book for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and that review is linked below the recording. The book is worth the read.

Almost dead in Denver
In ‘The Holly,’ journalist Julian Rubinstein tells the story of how one Denver neighborhood dealt with gangs, drugs and gentrification.

Read more from Bonnie HERE and HERE

For more author interviews click HERE

The Privilege to Push Against Progress

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Two supporters help up a banner at the back of the auditorium to show their support for the proposed social equity course.

critical race theory

“I recently moved back to my hometown of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, located just across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio. I promised my husband, who’s Hispanic, that it is more progressive and more diverse than when I was growing up. I also sold him on the fact that it is one of the top school districts in the state. But, as I sat in a community meeting in our local high school auditorium and listened to my fellow community members make public statements about a proposed elective course on social equity, I worried that I was wrong.

Many of the comments at the microphone were in favor of teaching social equity. Some shared a personal story to illustrate why it’s important to them. But those who spoke out against the course hammered home the same sound bite that’s been echoing across the country as states seek to ban critical race theory (CRT) from public education.”

Read the full column at the link below.
The Privilege to Push Against Progress
Matt Bertasso, the Highlands High School outgoing principal, said the social equity class in Fort Thomas was tabled because “It did not pass the neutrality test.” But our sanitized stories of America don’t pass the neutrality test either. Perhaps our curriculum should start by being honest.

Read More of Bonnie’s work HERE and HERE.