San Diegans are taking a chance all to achieve the American Dream.
At lunch time on a Thursday, you can see Mahin Rashidi cooking up some of her favorite Persian dishes.
"This is again Ghormeh Sabzi," she said, as she stirred a pot filled with green stew.
She is grateful for what she has. She said she accomplished it all through hard work.
"Life wasn't easy... It was very difficult, very difficult," said Rashidi.
She owns her own restaurant, Soltan Banoo, located in University Heights.
"At first, I was thinking that I cannot make it but, hey, this is the land of opportunity and it give it to me," she said.
Rashidi moved to San Diego from Iran in 1988. As a single mother of two daughters, she wanted them to get an education and have a career.
After 20 years of working out of a smaller location, Rashidi was finally able to purchase a bigger place.
Today she attributes her success to our country.
"I did more than I really wanted because of this society."
She wants other immigrants to have the same opportunities as her family.
"This is beautiful in United States. That all other countries can come here and live with peace.
It's really the land of opportunity, it is," she said.
Rashidi shared her story today as part of an event organized by Congresswoman Susan Davis.
Davis, along with local immigration and business advocates, denounced recent actions by President Trump on Immigration and emphasized how immigration benefits our country and local economy.
"They’ve contributed to in so many ways and we want to be welcoming of that and I think that was the message here today," said Davis, "that in the midst of the plans that have been put forth by this administration, they're only making people fearful, they're not solving the problem. Let's solve the problem first."
Davis has vowed to continue fighting for comprehensive immigration reform.
