Media Resources

News

• Pazniokas, Mark. “Connecticut Provides Coronavirus Assistance for Undocumented.” The CT Mirror. 3 June 2020.
  • Gov. Ned Lamont promised $3.5 million in “state and philanthropic dollars” to assist members of the undocumented migrant community who are ineligible for “federal pandemic relief.” This assistance includes $2.5 million to be allocated to landowners whose undocumented tenants and $1 million from 4-CT to be given to undocumented famlies who are screened for need. With there being an estimated 120,000 undocumented immigrants in Connecticut, the $1 million in direct assistance/aid is very “modest, just $8.33 per person if it were to be distributed evenly.” Due to the pandemic, the undocumented community was hit from both sides, as those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 had (have) no access to aid, and those who continued working were exposed to the virus on a daily basis. Kica Matos, the director of the Vera Institute’s Center on Immigration and Justice, is urging Gov. Lamont to consider a second phase of direct aid for the undocumented community in order to make up for the limited assistance that the first phase provided. The $1 million isn’t even being provided by the state itself, as 4-CT is an organization created to assist CT residents during the pandemic. The undocumented community, especially undocumented essential workers, are excluded from the state’s narrative of aid during this time.

• Reuters. “Explainer: Why Is the New U.S. Policy for International Students Causing Backlash from Colleges?” The New York Times. 8 July 2020.
  • This article details the Trump administration’s new rules that could force thousands of international students to leave the country if their universities/colleges convert to an all-virtual learning model due to the coronavirus pandemic. Harvard University and MIT have sued, and many other schools have expressed that they are working to protect their international students by creating hybrid models for learning in the fall, which would allow international students to stay on campus for an extended period of time. ICE did not provide any reasoning for the rule change, but Trump has openly criticized Harvard for deciding to go with an online model of learning in the fall. 

• Jordan, Miriam. “A Woman Without a Country: Adopted at Birth and Deportable at 30.” The New York Times. 7 July 2020.
  • Jordan describes Rebecca Trimble’s frustrating, painful, and heartbreaking experience with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as an adoptee who was born in Mexico, and moved to the U.S. with her adoptive parents at age 3. Trimble lives in western Alaska with her husband and two children, and spent the majority of her life thinking that she was an American citizen. She wasn’t notified that she was technically an undocumented immigrant until 2012, on the eve of her wedding.

• Hakakian, Roya. “We Immigrants Owe a Great Debt to the African American Struggle for Equality.” The Washington Post. 9 July 2020.
  • The author details her experience as an Iranian refugee, and how immigrant communities “owe [the African American community] a great debt of gratitude.” With immigrant communities also being grouped as “the other” in the U.S., they can relate to some of the struggles that the Black and African American communities have faced and fought against for hundreds of years.

• Hilgers, Lauren. “How Two Waves of Coronavirus Swept Through the Texas Panhandle.” The New Yorker. 10 July 2020.
  • Hilgers describes the experiences of migrant workers during the pandemic, especially in the meatpacking industry. The immigrant community has been affected by the coronavirus in extremely disproportionate ways, especially due to the fact that they do not receive proper support and protections from the U.S. government.

• Alvarez, Priscilla. “Nearly 75% of Detainees at U.S. Immigration Facility in Virginia Have Coronavirus.” CNN. 23 July 2020. 
  • Out of the 360 immigrants in custody at the ICE Detention Center in Farmville, Virginia, 268 detainees have confirmed cases of coronavirus. ICE has continued moving COVID-positive detainees between facilities and continually put detainees at risk by disregarding social distancing guidelines.

• Kanno-Youngs, Zolan. “Appeals Court Blocks Immigrant Wealth Test in the Northeast.” New York Times. 4 Aug 2020. 
  • The public charge rule/wealth test will not be used in immigration cases based in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. This rule stated that those who use government-aid, such as Medicare or food stamps may be disqualified from applying for a green card. Many immigrants’ rights advocates believe that this rule has prevented immigrants from seeking medical help during the pandemic. 

Podcasts

• “Hole in the Fence.” Border Trilogy (49 mins.)
  • Summary of Hostile Terrain 94 and Jason De León’s work, background information on the Sonoran Desert and “Prevention Through Deterrence” policy.

• Immigrants and the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Conversation with Rep. Judy Chu. (30 mins.)
  • In this episode, John Hudak interviews Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) about the experiences of immigrants during the pandemic, and how they are not receiving the same assistance and protections as others in the United States. They discuss various pieces of legislation and how they help and hurt the immigrant community, such as the CARES Act, the Heroes Act, the Immigrant Families Protection Act, and the No Public Funds for Public Charge Act. Although this podcast might be most helpful/successful when the audience is well-versed in the subject matter/language used, I really enjoyed this episode and hearing Rep. Chu’s point of view. This episode provides a solid overview of the legislation being created and discussed during this period of time.

• Momentum A Race Forward Podcast Episode 2 (43:58 mins.) 
  • This podcast is about the work of Shattered Families – which is a report created by Race Forward to bring attention to the children in U.S. foster care separated from their parents because they are detained or have been deported. It also discusses the work of BAJI (Black Alliance for Just Immigration) – which unites black people from the U.S. with people who are immigrating to the U.S. in any capacity (asylum, etc.) to work towards the shared need of racial justice and equality. They also are working to include the narratives of underrepresented immigrant groups.

• VPM’s Resettled Series (6 episodes, 27-41 mins.)
  • This series is spread over six episodes, each of them focusing on refugees and a particular theme of resettlement, including first arriving, learning English, looking for work, and retaining cultural traditions.

• The World in Words. “Who gets to decide what ‘assimilation’ means?” (32 mins) 
  • This podcast discusses the term “assimilation” and what determines who has to assimilate and what does it look like when you do? It discusses politicians’ perspectives and pushes to make immigrants assimilate, often through school and language. They talk with people about their feelings on the term and if they felt they were ever forced to assimilate. It also discusses the concept of “assimilation” in other countries. They also discuss the term “ex-pat” and the privilege and power surrounding the term, as well as potentially equivocal terms in other languages.

Documentaries/Videos

• Living Undocumented (6 episodes, 45 mins each, Netflix Docuseries,)
  • A Netflix produced series about several families that are living undocumented, focusing on the stories and experiences of the families interviewed, but occasionally providing context to the policy that contributed to what the family may be going through (an explanation of DACA, for example). This article discusses what the creators were going for.

• Indivisible (78 mins, Amazon)
  • This documentary follows three individuals (one in Boston, one in New York, and one in Florida) that are advocating for immigration reform. They discuss the struggles of having an undocumented status and how they have suffered from family separation through the deportation of their family members. They meet their mothers at the Arizona-Mexico border, participate in lobbying and protests, and work to receive advance parole to travel and see their family. 

• Out of Many, One (34 mins, Netflix)
  • This documentary shows the work of the New York Historical Society as they help immigrants prepare for citizenship. It describes the test on American government and history immigrants have to take and shows a clinic similar to IASC’s. Many immigrants discuss their interest in migrating and how difficult it became after 9/11. A lot of the documentary features the civics class the immigrants are taking to prepare for the exam and the oath when they are sworn in as citizens.

• Immigration is a Black Issue (3:34 mins, Instagram) 
  • A video by @atribecalledjoyce on Instagram with information and figures from RAICES, BAJI, and ICE about how black immigrants are treated worse than any other race of immigrants. I actually came across this because peers from Conn had posted this video on their stories for others to see.

• Immigration Nation (6 episodes, 60 mins each, Netflix Docuseries)
  • This docuseries looks at the ICE operations in the United States, including specific policies in place, such as 287G. It also features groups that support immigrants, making sure they are informed of their rights and bringing awareness to what ICE is doing.
  • Episode 6 – Prevention Through Deterrence
    • This episode shows what happens when bodies are recovered from the desert after attempting to cross. This episode also features the Homeland Security Investigation piece of ICE, which has been targeting smuggling/trafficking groups. Jason de Leon from Undocumented Migration Project discusses the items left behind and the bodies that are found.

Books

• Jiménez, Francisco. The Circuit Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.
  • The Circuit is a series of fictional short stories drawing from Jiménez’s experiences crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally and traveling with his family across California each year in search of work picking crops. He details his experiences of living in farmworker housing, struggling to make ends meet, and overcoming challenges learning English and doing well in school. However, if you wanted to focus on select stories, I recommend “Inside Out”, which narrates his experience starting the first grade; “Cotton Sack”, which describes the work done in the fields and Jiménez’s intent to prove to his father that he can work in the fields and help contribute; and “The Circuit”, which describes the constant moving the family did in order to find work, while also the progress Jiménez made in school and the spark for his interest in becoming a teacher.

• De Leon, Jennifer. Don’t Ask Me Where I Am From. Atheneum Children’s Books, 2020.
  • An up-and-coming young adult novel about a 15-year-old girl who transfers to a predominately white high school. There, she encounters issues regarding racism and immigration.