Rick Sanchez says he fights for the little guy and the "littlest of guys in this country right now is the Mexican immigrant.”

The 50-year-old anchor of CNN's NewsRoom has attracted fans and haters for siding with Latino immigrants in lively TV debates with such conservatives as Tom Tancredo, Lou Dobbs and William Gheen. A Cuban exile whose parents made less than $11,000 a year when he was growing up, the bilingual Sanchez says he can relate to those he defends because he knows "what it’s like to be poor.”

A standout football player at Hialeah High School in Miami, Florida, the Emmy award-winning reporter was reluctant to pursue a career in journalism until his professors helped him obtain a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. "I remember telling them it was a waste of time because nobody on TV in the U.S. looked like me, they were all white men," recalls Sanchez. Nearly 28 years later, the charismatic newsman has covered important events like the war in Nicaragua, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

When asked why he stands out in the crowded field of TV news, Sanchez replies: "I still see things like an immigrant."