Ecuadorian named to Time magazine’s 100 most influential people list

Ecuadorian Cristina Jiménez has been named to Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

Cristina Jiménez

Jiménez, who moved to the U.S. with her parents when she was 13, is the founder of United We Dream, an organization dedicated to the rights of young immigrants to the U.S. According to Time, her efforts were instrumental in the Congressional passage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2012.

According to singer and Unicef ambassador Selena Gómez, “Cristina Jiménez dreams big. She dreams because she wants a bright future for the approximately 700,000 young people who, without their own choice, were brought to the United States as children by their undocumented migrant parents.”

Jiménez divides her time between Quito and New York City.

Other Hispanic-Americans included on Time’s list include Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, transgender Chilean actress and singer Daniela Vega and the mayor of San Juan (Puerto Rico), Carmen Yulín Cruz.