She left a gang-plagued neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro at age 7, crossing illegally into the U.S. with her family and living in a one-room New York apartment, scavenging furniture while her mother cleaned houses. Today, she’s an activist and campaign surrogate for her husband, who’s running for the Senate as a Pennsylvania Democrat.
The candidate, John Fetterman, his state’s hulking lieutenant governor, says her story is what inspires his immigration policy.
Gisele Barreto Fetterman spent nearly 15 years undocumented, at times dumpster diving and foregoing medical care. Each day before school, her mother would tell her, “Be invisible,” a reminder that a misstep could jeopardize their new lives.
