Immigrants In USA Blog

Immigrants in the American heartland

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:54:00 +0000

This story shows how diverse this whole country is becoming, including small town Iowa and other rural areas. - - Donna Poisl

By Paul Adams

Look around America's rural heartland in the 21st Century and you see some remarkable things.

A Buddhist temple, with monks dressed in vivid saffron robes, set amid rain-drenched cornfields.

Newly arrived Somali workers, tucking into burritos in a Mexican restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

Ultra-orthodox Jews hurrying through the chilly autumn gloom to Sabbath prayers in a small town set amid rolling hills.
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High Commissioner's Remarks at Nansen Refugee Award Ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:32:00 +0000

The Nansen Refugee Award is awarded in recognition of extraordinary service to refugees. Senator Ted Kennedy received it posthumously. - - Donna Poisl

HC Statements

Mrs. Kennedy, ladies and gentlemen,

During my time as Prime Minister of Portugal and in my current position as High Commissioner, I had the great honor and pleasure of meeting with Senator Kennedy on a number of occasions. I could not help but be immensely impressed by him -- impressed by his compassion and his unwaivering commitment to human rights and refugee protection. What he famously said of his brother is so true of him as well: he saw wrong and tried to right it. He saw suffering and tried to heal it.

When he traveled to East Bengal in 1971, he recalled a sight that seared his memory. I quote – " …a 10-year-old girl out foraging for something to cover the body of her baby brother." Thirty five years later, he wrote of those who fled the war in Iraq, "refugees are witnesses to the cruelty that stains our age." His powers of observation and compassion never waned. His conviction led to action that rescued scores of uprooted lives.
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Va. Hispanic chamber founder believes in building bridges

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:10:00 +0000

This story, about a son of immigrants who grew up with the thought to help his community, just like his family was helped. He has started a Chamber of Commerce office helping businesses owned by immigrants. - - Donna Poisl

by JOHN REID BLACKWELL TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Helping others is a common thread in Michel Zajur's life.

It began at an early age for the soft-spoken son of immigrants who moved to the Richmond area from Mexico in 1960.

"When my parents came here, they did not speak any English," he said. "So my siblings and I grew up as translators and we helped them, because we learned English a lot quicker than they did," Zajur said. "There were people who helped my family. There was an uncle who helped my father get started in a business."
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State to launch new grants on English classes

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:02:00 +0000

There are about 17,000 immigrants on waiting lists to learn English in state funded classes, this grant should help tremendously. - - Donna Poisl

Posted on boston.com

WORCESTER, Mass.—State officials are slated to announce $1.3 million in grants aimed at helping the state's immigrants learn English.
The state secretaries of labor and education are scheduled Wednesday to give details on the grants for new adult English classes.
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Hispanic ministries finds a home at FUMC

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:53:00 +0000

This church has added programs to help the immigrants in their area. They are teaching them English and how to function in this culture. - - Donna Poisl

By David Snow | Demopolis Times

DEMOPOLIS — One of the greatest issues facing the United States is immigration. Many thousands of people are coming into the U.S., predominantly from Mexico and Central America, seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

The two greatest needs that these future Americans have is to learn English and to become a part of their new communities. There is a ministry at the First United Methodist Church that seeks to meet both needs.
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Immigrants urged to back Deeds

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:38:00 +0000

If immigrants will vote in all the elections and not just for president, they can help the presidential programs go through. Many immigrants think the president is the one who does everything, not realizing he is only one small part of the whole process. - - Donna Poisl

By Anita Kumar

Immigrants, who traditionally are not well represented at the polls, are being encouraged to get out and vote Tuesday for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds.

Organizers of the effort say they want to get the same immigrants who turned out in record numbers for Barack Obama to turn out for Deeds because of his stances on the economy, education, healthcare and, yes, illegal immigration.
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Many L.A. students not moving out of English language classes

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:25:00 +0000

Students do much better if they get into the mainstreams classes and out of the English learner programs as soon as they are able. But many are staying in the classes and many of them drop out of school entirely. - - Donna Poisl

Almost 30% of those placed early on in such programs in L.A. Unified were still in them when they started high school, study says. The sooner students moved on, the more they excelled.

By Anna Gorman

Nearly 30% of Los Angeles Unified School District students placed in English language learning classes in early primary grades were still in the program when they started high school, increasing their chances of dropping out, according to a new study released Wednesday.

The findings raise questions about the teaching in the district's English language classes, whether students are staying in the program too long and what more educators should do for students who start school unable to speak English fluently.
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Census sees rise of foreign-born population on LI

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:14:00 +0000

These communities are all trying to make sure the population is correctly counted in the new Census. It is very important to get an accurate count. - - Donna Poisl

By OLIVIA WINSLOW

Thirteen of Long Island's hamlets and villages have a foreign-born population of at least 20 percent, with most increasing since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest estimates for 2006-2008 out Tuesday.

In 10 of those localities, 10 percent or more of the population are not U.S. citizens, a Newsday analysis showed.
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Google's Brin give $1M to aid immigrants

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:19:00 +0000

This is one of the ultimate immigrant success stories in this country. And everyone knows what he has accomplished, since it is happening now. - - Donna Poisl

Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

Google Inc. co-founder Sergey Brin is giving $1 million to the group which helped his family escape anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union 30 years ago.

Brin told The New York Times he is donating the money to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
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Making New York 'Immigrant Friendly'

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:10:00 +0000

New York City is home to people with more than 170 languages, Mayor Bloomberg knows how important immigrants are to the city and he is encouraging more to come. - - Donna Poisl

by Larry Tung

Elick Bloomberg, a native of Balvan, Russia, moved to the United States before the turn of the 20th century. According to his World War I draft registration card, he settled in Chelsea, Mass., and was employed by Metropolitan Life as an insurance agent.

His experience was shared by tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe at the time. However, it was one of his grandsons, Michael, who gave the family name a household recognition. Mayor Bloomberg is proud of his immigrant heritage in a city where 40 percent of its residents are foreign-born.

"Immigrants are why New York City became America's economic engine," said Bloomberg in a recent press conference where he announced his campaign platform for immigrant communities.
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Church's ‘Talk Time’ helps immigrants improve English skills

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:27:00 +0000

Immigrants in this neighborhood meet weekly just to talk. They are all new English speakers, from many countries; learning, sharing stories and practicing their English. - - Donna Poisl

By Leonel Sanchez, Union-Tribune Staff Writer

LINDA VISTA — Linda Vista Presbyterian Church wanted to reach out to the immigrants and refugees who live in the poorer sections of the neighborhood.

The congregation needed only to look at the limited-English-speaking students at the adult school next door.

The church launched a conversation program this year to help the students who settled here from around the world improve their English skills. They call it “Talk Time.”
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Immigrant children most at risk

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:19:00 +0000

This study followed 5,200 children for almost 20 years. An interesting and somewhat upsetting story emerged. Most are doing well, but one group needs help. - - Donna Poisl

By EDWARD SCHUMACHER-MATOS - For the North County Times

NEW LONDON, Conn. ---- In the early 1990s, sociologist Alejandro Portes and a group of colleagues began an ambitious project of following the progress of 5,200 children of foreign-born immigrants.

Immigration studies were rare then, and focused on arriving adults. Portes hit on the observation that the real national impact of the burgeoning number of immigrants turned not on inflammatory issues such as their health care, but on the success or failure of their children. In turn, there was a historical American bargain for the immigrants themselves: They might suffer, but their offspring would advance.
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Parent Academies Help Mom and Dad Face School

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:07:00 +0000

Miami-Dade County, Philadelphia and Boston all have Parent Academies and other programs to help immigrant parents and other parents in low performing schools learn more to help their kids succeed in school. At the same time, these parents are learning too.

Guest editorial: Adult ed often starts with basics: reading

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:55:00 +0000

Another great story about teaching adults and immigrants to read, write and speak English. - - Donna Poisl

By Meg Nugent

Imagine how limited your life would be if you were an adult who could not read. Think about the basic things you could not do. Imagine how limited you would be if you could not speak English. And yet you must work, take care of kids, grocery shop, fix the car and pay bills.

The Nashville Adult Literacy Council sees this every day. We teach U.S.-born adults to read and English skills to adult immigrants, thanks to many volunteer tutors who sign up to help us.
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Hispanic Immigrants’ Children Fall Behind Peers Early, Study Finds

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:41:00 +0000

More help should be given to immigrant parents to begin reading to their babies. They are healthy but are behind their peers when they start school and many never catch up. Language is part of the problem and so is poverty. - - Donna Poisl

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

HOUSTON — The children of Hispanic immigrants tend to be born healthy and start life on an intellectual par with other American children, but by the age of 2 they begin to lag in linguistic and cognitive skills, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, shows.

The study highlights a paradox that has bedeviled educators and Hispanic families for some time. By and large, mothers from Latin American countries take care of their health during their pregnancies and give birth to robust children, but those children fall behind their peers in mental development by the time they reach grade school, and the gap tends to widen as they get older.
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Literacy brings immigrants closer to full participation in life

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:24:00 +0000

This Literacy Center is teaching English to immigrant adults and also teaching them how to read. Both are necessary for success. - - Donna Poisl

by HECTOR TOBAR

In her one-bedroom apartment in the Pico-Union district, garment worker Julia Rodriguez lives surrounded by young readers.

Her oldest child, 10-year-old Santos, is giving Harry Potter a try. Nine-year-old Wendy devours girl-detective stories. Even her youngest, 6-year-old Marlyn, zips through early-reader books.

"Tim spins," Marlyn reads from her book. "Tim spins his hat." Julia listens to her daughter and beams. Until recently, the 34-year-old mother of three couldn't read the simplest sentence in any language. Having been illiterate most of her life, she feels deep, bittersweet emotions watching her children master reading.

Earlier this year, in the classrooms of the nonprofit Centro Latino for Literacy, Julia finally started learning to read and write herself.
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Cardinal Egan memorializes forgotten Irish immigrants on Staten Island in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:07:00 +0000

Many unnamed Irish immigrants died in quarantine on Staten Island in the mid 1800s. Some of the bones from the mass grave were found during a construction project and are being reburied with a funeral ceremony. - - Donna Poisl

By MEGAN FINNEGAN AND ELEANOR MILLER, IrishCentral.com

Mourners gathered at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Staten Island Saturday to bury the dead, but this was no ordinary funeral.

Members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians escorted two caskets - one a small, white children's casket with golden angels; the other larger and pearl-colored - into the church as bagpipes played "Amazing Grace."

The two coffins contained the final remains of immigrants who died over 150 years ago.
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Commentary: Latinos Are Assimilating In The USA

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:52:00 +0000

This well-known writer talks about the CNN special about Latinos and how it proved that assimilation is happening. - - Donna Poisl

Reporter: Ruben Navarrette Jr., Special to CNN

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Have you ever seen 47 million people hold their breath and hope for the best?

Take it from this Latino in America, when many of my compadres heard that CNN was putting together a documentary on being "Latino in America," that's pretty much what happened.
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Literacy opens doors to those who knock

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Here is another nice story about a woman who found that becoming fluent and literate in English is necessary to be sucessful here. - - Donna Poisl

By Teri Vance

Beatriz Britting, 34, is living the American dream. She and her husband of eight years, Jerome, own a home in Dayton where they are raising their sons Branden, 6, and Jason, 4.

He works during the day as a plant manager in Minden. She attends evening classes at Western Nevada College. They spend most weekends camping as a family.

But at 17, Britting had no idea what her future held. She only knew she didn't have one in Mexico.
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Saint Joseph’s Literacy Connection helps immigrants Connect

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:58:00 +0000

All immigrants know that they need fluency in English to be successful in this country. Here is another wonderful program helping some of them to achieve this. - - Donna Poisl

By Pat B. Tarantino

Allston-Brighton - When Natasha Iftica immigrated to Boston from Albania, she found herself isolated in the most populous city in New England.

Without a command of written or spoken English, Iftica struggled to find a job, schedule a doctor’s appointment or even navigate the Registry of Motor Vehicles until she discovered the Literacy Connection, a program operated by Brighton’s Sisters of Saint Joseph to give recent immigrants and refugees one-on-one tutoring in English and professional skills.

Last week, Iftica stood with Literacy Connection’s director, Sister Pat Andrews of Saint Joseph’s, before community leaders who helped fund the Literacy Connection since its inception in 1987 to thank them for their continued support during their second annual community meeting at the Saint Joseph Motherhouse.
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Latinos are honored at citizenship ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:10:00 +0000

More than a million people became U.S. citizen last year. This ceremony in Portland had a mariachi band serenading 69 new citizens. - - Donna Poisl

By Gosia Wozniacka, The Oregonian

With a ruffle of colorful double-circled skirts and the "ay, ay, ay!" of a serenading mariachi, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services honored Latinos and their contributions during a special citizenship ceremony Thursday commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month.

Sixty-nine new U.S. citizens were sworn in during the ceremony at the Bonneville Power Administration auditorium in downtown Portland. They hailed from 26 different countries, the majority Spanish-speaking. Half of Thursday's new citizens were born in Mexico.
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Bilingual Americans essential to makeup of U.S

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:20:00 +0000

This opinion piece talks about how important it is to be bilingual and how far we have come since Reagan talked about everyone knowing English. - - Donna Poisl

by Wyatt Kanyer

Ronald Reagan once said, "By emphasizing the importance of a common language, we safeguard a proud legacy and help to ensure that America's future will be as great as her past."

To say that the language "legacy" in the United States is "proud" is a dangerously presumptuous statement.
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Immigrants from India wanted to participate in SJSU study

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:06:00 +0000

This notice was in the San Jose Mercury News. Any readers here who know people who fit into this group? Donna Poisl

By Lisa Fernandez

A team of researchers wants to interview people who immigrated to Silicon Valley from India between the years of 1940 and 1965 in a project titled, "The Indian Diaspora Oral History Project.''

Participants will be asked basic biography questions that delve into deeper issues about difficulties in transitioning to life in the United States and hardships encountered as a new immigrant. When complete, the findings will be available at the San Jose State University library.

"This research will fill an important gap and serve as a benchmark in the studies of Indian immigrants,'' said historian Rajiv Khanna, one of the researchers involved in the project. "The oral histories will both illuminate what it means to live as an Indian-American in the Bay Area as well as help the immigrant connect with their roots.''

Khanna said he hopes to attract immigrants, ages 65 to 85, who come from all parts of India and come from an array of cultural, educational, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.

The $9,500 study is being funded by the San Jose State University Foundation and Silicon Valley Center for Global Innovation and Immigration.

If you're interested in participating, contact Khanna at 408-924-5548 or e-mail him at rajivkkhanna@yahoo.com

Flushing House fund-raiser to honor senior advocate

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:34:00 +0000

Three women are receiving an award for their work with senior citizens, including immigrant seniors who are often very isolated. - - Donna Poisl

By Connor Adams Sheets

The legacy of Queens-based senior citizen advocate Rose Kryzak, who died in 1999 at 99, has not been forgotten as three annual awards are set to be bestowed in her name at a Nov. 5 fund-raiser to benefit the nonprofit Flushing House retirement residence.

A dedicated advocate and activist, Kryzak is most remembered for her key role in helping to pass New York’s landmark 1987 Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage legislation, according to Robert F. Salant, director of community relations at Flushing House.

A year after her death, the first Rose Kryzak Senior Leadership Awards were distributed to deserving senior advocates, and the tradition has continued with three new recipients named every year.
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Maryville College documentary premier highlights Ferschke immigration struggle

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Poisl) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Maybe if more people learn about the problems this Iraq soldier widow is having, the law can be changed. - - Donna Poisl

posted by Blount Today

The story of Michael Ferschke’s life, death and how his wife has struggled with federal immigration laws is the subject of a documentary that premiered at Maryville College recently.

The national premier of the Brave New Films documentary “Second Battle” is about two military spouses fighting to stay in the country for which their husbands proudly served. A portion of the film focuses on Ferschke and his widow, Hota.
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