ANIMAL » Immigration

NYC Embraces Its Immigrants

ANIMAL — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:09:36 +0000

Given recent national trends aimed at curbing the immigrant population and discouraging them from taking a crack at the American Dream, it’s refreshing to see that here in New York City, the melting pot is still bubbling. Walk down the streets and you’ll hear a million different languages. Go do your laundry or hail a cab and you’ll quickly realize that you’re surrounded by a vibrant and business oriented immigrant community.

So, it should come as no surprise that arecent study [PDF doc] from the Fiscal Policy Institute found that about 48% of NYC small businesses are owned by immigrants. These foreign upstarts include everything from dry cleaning and child care services to engineering and architecture firms and are dispersed throughout the five boroughs.

The study also finds that despite the high percentage of foreign business owners, they often encounter challenges that go beyond what non-immigrant small business owners endure. Paul Quintero, CEO of ACCION USA a NY based microlender, recently said “you put an application in and it’s processed by someone in Omaha” this is a huge disadvantage to immigrants, who often require extra attention when navigating through paperwork and loan applications.

The city, this year, has addressed these issues with three new initiatives. One being a competition that awarded funds to businesses helping immigrant entrepreneurs, another offering business classes in five different languages and finally an expo that will showcase immigrant food manufacturing businesses.

While states like Alabama are busy scaring 34,000 Hispanic kids from showing up to school, NY is once again, embracing their vibrant immigrant community. Whatever, who wants to live in Alabama anyway? (Photo: Eric.Parker/flickr)

Arizona-Style Immigration Enforcement Outside of Arizona

Bucky Turco — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:48:29 +0000

One doesn’t need to be in Arizona to be hassled by federal immigration authorities, they’re more than happy to oblige right here in in New York. A Times reporter riding Amtrak from NYC to Buffalo witnessed it firsthand when Border Patrol agents asked her if she was a U.S. citizen on a train that wasn’t even crossing any international borders. Evidently, this is a common process and while passengers can decline to answer, they better do so in perfect English or their silence can possibly be used against them.

Arizona’s Epic Immigration Law Comes To a Grinding Halt

Bucky Turco — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:30:36 +0000

Something happened in Arizona today and it has to do with not being able to treat Mexicans like “prawns” in District 9.

New Yorkers Starving for Immigration Reform

Bucky Turco — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:30:36 +0000

Unlike Arizona and other redneck hot zones, New York celebrates immigrants and to stress the need for a major overhaul of U.S. immigration laws, over 40 people are participating in a three-day fast. It’s the latest of many demonstrations taking place across the country and the city and according to the New York Times, “a total of 109 activists have been arrested” in the past three weeks.

Second Grader Rats Out Her Mom To First Lady

Bucky Turco — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:38:02 +0000

While President Obama met with President Calderon of Mexico to discuss how racist Arizona is and the need for comprehensive immigration reform, the First Ladies traveled to an elementary school in Maryland where they got an unexpected confession dealing with the volatile topic head on, via a second grader.

The young girl told Mrs. Obama that she was worried about the president deporting people without papers and then blurted out how her mom doesn’t have any. Awkward!

Nazi-zona Protest Posters

Marina Galperina — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:20:22 +0000

Various artists have created anti-SB 1070 posters in protest of the recent immigration bill legalizing racial profiling. Swastikas seem to be the prevailing motif. See more and contribute at Alto Arizona.

High School In California Picks Wrong Time To Be So Stupid

Bucky Turco — Fri, 07 May 2010 22:40:01 +0000

Cinco De Mayo aka Mexican St. Patty’s Day is more popular in the U.S. than its country of origin, although increasingly, it’s becoming less about celebrating Mexico defeating France and more about celebrating national pride, which is fine, just don’t expect everyone to care—Americans specifically.

Administrators at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California instructed several students wearing t-shirts with depictions of the American flag to turn their clothes inside out or change, otherwise face suspension because it might rile up their predominantly Mexican-American peers. WOW. So, two of the boys refused and were sent home. Then things got exponentially stupider when approximately 200 Mexican-American students were so insulted by the incident, that they walked out of school the following day to protest. Not in support of the suspended students might you, but against them for wearing the stars and stripes in the first place. Keep that kinda shit up and Arizona isn’t going to be the only state encouraged to pass racist immigration laws. |NBC|

AriZona Iced Tea Hates Arizona Too

Bucky Turco — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:55:24 +0000

AriZona Iced Tea would like to remind its customers that they have NO relation to the wacky, immigrant-hating red state bearing the same name, they’re from New York, so please don’t boycott.

Jamaicans No Longer Permitted in the U.S.

Bucky Turco — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:11:57 +0000

At least the ones who chat reggae. Some of dancehall’s most successful Jamaican artists are in the process of having their visas revoked according to the Jamaica Star, which would top off a terribly depressing week of immigration-fucked news. Brand names such as Beenie Man, Mavadao, Elephant Man, Ricky Trooper and Aidonia were all reportedly included in a memo issued the by U.S. Embassy in Kingston:

The Embassy of the United States in Kingston, Jamaica, is in the process of revoking the visas of the following citizens of Jamaica. The people mentioned here currently hold a US visa that we have not yet been able to physically cancel. Do not allow these passengers to board any flights bound for the United States in reliance on this visa.

Although it’s tough to find an upside in all of this at least they won’t have to worry about getting set up by the feds like Buju.

More Bad News for American Justice

Bucky Turco — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:15:19 +0000

If yesterday’s post about a legal resident whose life was ruined for smoking a joint wasn’t depressing enough, here’s some more egregious immigration abuse news involving Haitians to sadden you. More than two dozen survivors rescued in Haiti and “waved onto planes by Marines” have been incarcerated in U.S. detention centers for not having visas according to the Times. |NYT|