In the afternoon of February 1st, I met with Mae Lee. She is the Executive Director of the Chinese Progressive Association. They assist newcoming Chinese immigrants as well as the Chinese people who have lived in New York City for generations. Their main goal is to serve the Chinese community as a whole. From our conversation I learned a lot more about the experience of Chinese immigrants.

She spoke to me about the early stages of immigrating to America and how the Chinese Progressive Association helps to ease the overwhelm and stress of moving to a new country. They offer English classes as well as assistance on finding jobs, justifying tenant rights, citizenship classes and help registering to vote. However, with more immigrants coming, she has had a different array of who she serves at the English classes. She has found that more parents are coming to class. This is not a surprise.

The experience of children to Chinese immigrants is similar to those of other children of immigrants. A lot of the time, they have to become the translator for their parents, even handling legal obligations. She told me that kids from even age 10 have to help their parents pay taxes or apply for a job, because their parents’ English is not up to par. In many of these families, the children also have to navigate the school system on their own. But, Chinese parents do a lot of work and sacrifice for their children. Mae said that one of the main reasons people have been immigrating from China is for educational opportunities for their children. This is a large sacrifice, especially for people with established careers in their home country.

One of the largest reasons that Chinese immigration is happening is also that many of their family members live in the US. Family is one of the core values in Chinese life and having family in America makes the move a lot more relaxed. A big motivator of getting a Green Card in America is that it helps you be able to bring family over. It also gives many more protections, especially with Trump’s anti-Chinese attitudes, they are needed.
With Trump back in office for his second term, Chinese racism is skyrocketing. He has pushed stereotypes on Chinese Immigrants. There was even proposed legislation by Tom Cotton, a Republican Senator from Arkansas, to restrict Chinese nationals from buying property, forcing generations out of a stable home to call theirs. Mae said that if we teach children more ethics studies on Chinese history and immigration, we could have future people who fight against policies such as this and people like Tom Cotton. I want to end off with that she told me we need to realize our common interests “to unite and stand together”.

*Image from the Chinese Progressive Association’s website

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On Thursday, January 23rd, I had the pleasure to meet Cecilia Aranzamendez. She has over 16 years of experience working with migrants especially, both in legal work and from a management perspective. She works at LSSNY (Lutheran Social Services of New York) to oversee their Immigration and Safe Haven for Children programs which works with unaccompanied minors, with many of them being migrants who were separated from their families. She says that working in that program, her and her colleagues have taken on a parenting role for kids who really need the help. We covered many topics regarding migrants, their rights in NYC, and what their future may hold.

She told us that there are many differences between civil law and immigration law. For example, an immigrant or migrant is not entitled to a lawyer. Although you have the right to counsel with one, the government will not provide a lawyer to a migrant. With many migrants coming in with little wealth, that makes hiring a lawyer simply impossible.

I also learned about what jobs many new coming migrants are taking, if they can find any. If you didn’t know, migrant workers are not allowed to be employed until they’ve spent 180 days in the United States. However, Biden did amend this for New York City being a sanctuary city, and it was changed to 30. Yet, Trump’s anti-migrant beliefs may change this drastically. It is heartbreaking to learn that some families aren’t even legally allowed to provide for their children especially when it’s all they want; even if they are taking minimum wage jobs in the food industry or construction.

Through all this fear with the new Trump administration coming for a second term, she told us some ways that we are trying to fight against that. Red cards are being handed out which tells a migrant what rights they have. “Know your rights” seminars are popping up everywhere. Talking with Aranzamendez, the thing I take away from this the most is that our government can be so cruel towards innocent people trying to make better lives for themselves. But, it’s good to know that there are so many people out there who are a shining example of what we can do to help.

*Photo from the LSSNY website

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On Saturday, January 18th, my group mate, Oliver and I worked with Carl Garrison at Manhattan Church of Christ. Garrison works with unhoused people and migrants, and offers them food and clothes free of charge. We put together meals including hotdogs, chili, and cheesecake for dessert. I met families, and individuals all with many different lives. However, while they may be homeless, many of them are still joyful. We sang and danced around with them, and listened to their intriguing stories. For example, one man I met had been a preacher and in a choir ever since he was a teenager. He even gave a small performance. But not all stories are cheerful. I also met a father, trying to get enough food to support him and his family. He looked like he hadn’t eaten for days.

Just getting to be in the presence of dozens of people who don’t know where their next meal will come from has made me reflect on how I’ve never had this fear. This really widened my eyes to the experiences people are going through. Garrison is one of the many trying to help unhoused people, along with the over 50,000 migrants in shelters right now. Meeting fathers and children, who have traveled far for this meal has made me more aware that nutrition isn’t guaranteed, and sadly this affects families alike, including many migrant families. I learned that adults are trying to raise children on empty stomachs, or feel guilt that their kids are being sent to school hungry. This made me realize that many kids will not have the nutrition they need to focus in class. I have seen and learned a lot from this fieldwork. However, if you ask me what I take most from this experience, it is getting to be the one to provide a meal for those who really need it.

*Photo from Manhattan Church of Christ’s website.

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On December 19th, I interviewed Manija Mayel. She works with Welcome Home New Jersey, an organization that works with migrants who have found refuge in New Jersey. They help migrants with legal tasks and paperwork such as applying for healthcare benefits, or daycare for their children. Mayel is a child of Immigrants herself, with her mother being a refugee from India. However, many new migrant experiences are much different than her parents’.

Her parents said it was difficult for them in America at first, speaking little English, which made it hard for them to find a job. However, with much work ethic they found successful careers as a nurse (her mother), and an entrepreneur (her father). This experience is out of reach for new migrants coming in. With the cost of living going up, and job opportunities being sparse, all aspects of starting a new life in America are substantially harder. Although, New York and New Jersey are considered “sanctuary cities” for migrants and refugees which means that their rights here are far more equitable than in rural areas, or red states. Mayel’s goal for Welcome Home is for her to be able to teach migrants how to be able to be self-reliant. She believes that if they are dependent on people like her, they’ll never learn how to face these situations on their own. She’d rather lead the way, so that they can take on similar challenges in their future.

With the Trump-Vance administration coming in very soon, it has made futures for migrants and refugees very uncertain, but Manija and her team are making sure that every migrats knows their rights, or finalizing their paperwork for VISAs or asylum. She told us that if everyone just took a second look at the migrants and refugees coming in, our perspective would change tremendously. Many of us can see ourselves in them, so we need to make sure we treat migrants and refugees just as we would any other person.

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