“I do consider Puerto Rico a borderland of the United States,” says Brenda Piñero of her homeland, which is both a part of, and apart from, the U.S.

In Episode 60 of the America the Bilingual podcast, Brenda shares what it’s like to work on the border in South Texas as an American immigration attorney from a part of America that is a territory rather than a state. Every day she crosses emotionally from stories that are heartbreaking to those that are heartwarming. Often, they’re both.