Multimedia Reporter Billy Shields spoke with migrant families in Richmond.

(food sizzling) (metal clanging) BILLY SHIELDS: For José Galo, it's another day at the office, making pupusas for the lunchtime crowd at his Midlothian Turnpike restaurant.

The overwhelming majority of his customers are migrant workers.

(José speaking in Spanish) BILLY SHIELDS: They're made from two fried layers of cornmeal with fillings inside, a specialty from his native El Salvador.

It's a country he left when he was 17, crossing the border without papers in 1996.

(José speaking in Spanish) BILLY SHIELDS: He worked restaurant jobs in Maryland and Virginia, similar to what he does now.

He got help from an employer to become naturalized, and eight years ago, he opened his own restaurant.

(José speaking in Spanish) BILLY SHIELDS: The business is set up by and large to cater to a growing Latin American population on the South Side.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 7% of the population of Richmond was born in another country.

EDWIN GALO: So pretty much our core customer base is probably a lot of Latin, Latin people, a lot of workers, a lot of construction workers, outdoor people who work, grass, you know, all that, so.

It's a lot of Latin people.

BILLY SHIELDS: That is Galo's son, who manages the restaurant.

It's due to this increasing Latin American population that the offerings here are pretty close to what you'd see in a restaurant back home in El Salvador.

The 22-year-old Edwin Galo is proud of his father.

EDWIN GALO: Someone who comes here not knowing anything about the country, just starting fresh from zero, and having to work hard to achieve something they want in their life.

BILLY SHIELDS: The restaurant still has its first employee, Yolanda Velez-Pérez.

(Yolanda speaking in Spanish) BILLY SHIELDS: Almost a decade ago, her native Guatemala was a dangerous place for Velez-Perez.

(Yolanda speaking in Spanish) BILLY SHIELDS: Velez-Perez and her son were granted asylum by the U.S. government eight years ago, allowing them to stay here.

(Yolanda speaking in Spanish) BILLY SHIELDS: For the Galo family, Edwin says he's grateful that his father took the risk.

EDWIN GALO: I feel very appreciative of them taking that, just making that decision to come here and wanting to have a better life.

BILLY SHIELDS: Now he wants to ensure he rewards that risk.

EDWIN GALO: I work around 10, 11, 12 hours a day, just because I've seen how much my dad works.

And you know, I want to continue the essentially, like building a legacy here.

BILLY SHIELDS: It's a small business on busy Midlothian Turnpike.

If you blink, you might miss it.

But it's full of stories of people from all over the Americas who came to Virginia in search of the American dream.

For VPM News, I'm Billy Shields.