Desi Voters, COVID-19, and the 2020 Election: Episode 10 of our Podcast Series, “A Better Life?”
New Jersey shows the potential of South Asian political power in the US, as well as the pitfalls.
Tag: New Jersey
Introducing “Call Your Elders” – A New Feature of Our “A Better Life?” Podcast Series
Monique and Eric Barrau talk to their daughter about quarantine and their lives since leaving Haiti in the 1960s.
Dreaming of Damascus – The Fi2W Podcast
A Syrian refugee looks toward the city, and wishes she was somewhere else.
For African Cooks One New Jersey Farmer Has What They Need
Meet NJ’s African-born farm family in this multimedia feature.
Dispelling Vodou myths: Fi2W on Deutsche Welle
Rachel Bongiorno goes to New Jersey to find out more about the Voudou religion.
Not Just Childcare – Some Nannies Hired for Language Skills and Cultural Knowledge
A Venezuelan mother in New Jersey says having a bilingual nanny is the best way to teach her children about their roots.
Food in 2 Worlds™ Podcast: First Comes Filipino Immigration then a Jollibee Restaurant
Jollibee restaurants have taken American food that was imposed on Filipinos during the colonial period and made it something that Filipino immigrants can be proud of.
The Morton Memo In Action, Deportation Reprieves Granted, But Immigrants Remain in Limbo
Deportation proceedings against two New Jersey brothers have been suspended, but they face an uncertain future under the Obama administration’s policy of prosecutorial discretion.
Video: The Turkish Olympiad – Building Cultural and Linguistic Ties to Turkey
An annual competition gives students from Turkish schools in the U.S. a chance to show off their knowledge of Turkish music, culture and language.
New Jersey Controversy Over In-State Tuition, Driver's Licenses For Undocumented Immigrants
By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor
Governor Corzine disagreed with a recommendation by the panel he created in 2007. (Photo: NJ Dept. of the Public Advocate)
New Jersey has become the latest state to try to fill the gap created by the lack of federal immigration reform. Last week an advisory body created by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine recommended that the state issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants and that state colleges allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates.
The Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy issued a 123-page report with a list of measures New Jersey could take to implement “a comprehensive and strategic statewide approach to successfully integrate” some 400,000 undocumented immigrants into the state population. [Visit the panel’s site for the full report or an executive summary in pdf.]
The reaction – much of it critical – has mostly concentrated on the recommendations about in-state tuition and driver’s licenses.
“Allowing illegal aliens to obtain ‘no questions asked’ state driving privileges would undermine New Jersey’s strict licensing laws,” The Gloucester County Times said in an editorial Sunday.
“…it’s a shame that (the panel) muddied the line between legal and illegal immigrants — and went too far, in our opinion, in a few of its recommendations,” The Press of Atlantic City said. “That tends to polarize the debate even further than it already is.”