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Deadly Imports
Stretched to the Limit Struggling to Stay Together By STEPHANIE ANASTASSIOU Natalie* was an undocumented immigrant from Haiti who had been living in the United States for more than seven years. Peter* was born in Haiti but had lived in America for some time and was now a citizen. He had filed papers with the Immigration and Naturalization Services to get Natalie a green card almost immediately after their wedding day. When the time arrived to go with her to the mandatory interview with the INS 10 months later—about the same time the abuse started—he refused. FULL STORY
A Hard Road Traveled How the "Snakeheads" Rule By LENORA CHU The majority of Chinese who enter America illegally are ushered every step of the way by large international networks masterminded by snakeheads. The snakeheads often enlist help throughout the journey, calling on people such as fishermen to transport aliens to a mother smuggling ship or gang members to collect fees at the end of the journey. FULL STORY
The Beat Goes On Changing the Face of the City Mexicans are everywhere in New York City. They make our food, they deliver it and then clean it up. They sell flowers, make clothing, work construction and clean apartments. Mexicans make New York City run and are now the city's fastest growing community of new immigrants.
School Daze Hard to Stay the Course By JAMES PINDELL It is March 14, 2001, and a new student named Juan walks through the door of Liberty High School in Chelsea. Even though he is 16, it is his first time inside a school in the United States. On this day he learns that he must change rooms after a bell rings. He learns that to be called upon to speak he must raise his hand. FULL STORY
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 Golden Image Why They Still Come By SARA B. MILLER When walking through Washington Heights, where merengue music pours from the windows, or meandering through Chinatown or Corona or Flatbush, there is no way of separating the legal immigrants from those who are undocumented. The two are speaking the same language, they are listening to the same music and, they are working the same jobs. They are both in unfamiliar territory, both carrying memories of home. The difference between the two is fear. FULL STORY
Buyer Beware
Anything But Welcome Suburbia Meets the Statue of Liberty By SOPHIE HAYWARD Many towns, forced to cope with an ever-increasing influx of immigrants, a housing shortage and a perception that the immigrants are damaging the way of life for native residents, have resorted to pressure, intimidation, local legislation and general bias to force the immigrants out. FULL STORY
Hemmed In Times Change, Conditions Don't By HANNAH GLOVER The day had started like any other at the factory. Seamstresses were stitching cut-out forms into suits for high-end designer labels including Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. But work stopped when INS agents came onto the midtown Manhattan factory floor, fanned out, blocked the exits and windows and began asking workers for papers to prove that they were legal immigrants. FULL STORY
Getting Jobbed Long Hours, Low Pay, Little Hope By SEAN CORCORAN Near the corner of Division and Bedford in Brooklyn about 30 men mingled in small groups one brisk March morning. Some of the men appeared to be having serious discussions, and a few were joking around, but when a minivan or a station wagon came within sight, all eyes focused on the approaching car. The vehicle represented at least a few hours of work at $6 or $7 an hour. FULL STORY
The New Breadwinners Different Era, Older Faces By SAMUEL P. NITZE Many of the young immigrants working today are teenagers who came here on their own or with cousins or other relatives, leaving immediate family behind. They work all over the city—delivering pizza, busing tables, selling flowers, bagging groceries, sewing in garment factories—and in many cases, they are their family's sole breadwinners. FULL STORY |
Any
Way They Can
Fear
Factor
Hard Time Seeking Asylum and Dignity By KEVIN HOFFMAN Abdulai Bah, a soft-spoken 19-year-old from Sierra Leone who dreams of becoming a journalist, fled from rebels who hacked off his countrymen's hands and arms. "They would ask the person, 'Long sleeve or short sleeve?'" he said, chopping at his wrist and elbow to demonstrate the distinction. He arrived at Newark Airport without a valid passport or visa on Oct. 22, 2000 and applied for asylum. FULL STORY
Judgment Day Delays, Confusion, Red Tape By DOUG DALENA The 17-year-old Chinese girl shifted back and forth in the witness chair inside a federal immigration courtroom in downtown Manhattan. Responding to questions from her attorney, she testified through an interpreter that her parents had taken her to an airport in China and turned her over to a man who gave her some identification documents, including a passport. Then the man put her on a flight bound for San Francisco. FULL STORY
 Overwhelmed Life at 26 Federal Plaza By PHILLIPP OEHMKE One of every 12 INS employees who were investigated nationwide worked in the New York district although the INS runs 33 districts throughout the country. A quarter of the cases in New York led to guilty pleas or convictions, according to the Department of Justice. INS employees in New York pleaded guilty to or were convicted of crimes including fraud, theft, civil rights violations, conspiracy and bribery. FULL STORY  OTHER IMMIGRATION-RELATED WEB SITES |
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Under the Radar is the work of The Investigative
Project class © 2001 Columbia University |