Immigration, Democracy, and Diplomacy: Dana Bucin’s Path from Romania to the U.S.

Dr. Lisa Wisniewski’s latest interview is with immigration attorney and Honorary Consul of Romania to Connecticut, Dana Bucin. Dana speaks of her journey from her birth in the Transylvanian region of Romania to leaving her country at eighteen to study in the U.S., eventually obtaining a law degree. She discusses her role as an honorary consul as one of advocacy and building political, economic, and artistic ties between Romania and Connecticut. Dana then goes on to explain in detail the immigration process and speaks to the barriers for those seeking legal status in this country, from DACA, those young people brought here illegally, to obtaining TPS (Temporary Protective Status). The conversation then leads to an emotional recollection of the Romanian Revolution and itsaftermath and the bloody collapse of the Ceausescu Regime. She relives the subsequent turbulent years and the move toward economic stability and the adoption of democracy, a free market, and memberships in the European Union and NATO. She shares her success in assisting in obtaining the Visa Waiver Program for Romania and completes the interview with a warning on avoiding political extremes and being alert to thesigns of tyranny and dictatorship.