Immigration

October 25, 2024 0

Story of New Americans from Haiti Lost Amid Election Rhetoric

As immigration has taken center stage in the presidential election, it now feels like all eyes are on Haiti, my home country. That nation in turmoil — like Mexico and Latin America before, and even China in the distant past – has been unfairly singled out as a poster child for all kinds of America’s ills, with immigrants serving as scapegoats. Trump once stated that Haiti was a “shit hole country” and he opposed extending aid to the country as […]

September 27, 2024 0

How Political Banter, Local Law Enforcement Forever Changed the Lives of the Danbury 11

by Ryan Lundgren

As immigration has become an even more heated debate issue over the past year or so, especially with the immigrant housing crisis and hateful political rhetoric coming from public officials, Sampan took a look back at an event that rocked the hometown of our reporter, Ryan Lundgren, 18 years ago this month. It involved immigrants without their proper paper work, men just trying to get by for their families, and a set up by local law authorities to have them […]

September 27, 2024 0

EDITORIAL: The Lasting Hurt of Hate

by Editorial Team

The images are shocking, but are they really all that shocking by “today’s standards”? In one propaganda poster, a cartoon depicting a Japanese person’s face is getting punched by a muscled up “American” laborer. The words above the drawing: “Don’t save his face! Every blow counts in the battle for production.” In another cartoon, a Japanese person is depicted as a rat – the most despised of all animals – crawling into a trap that reads, “Army, Navy, Civilian.”And one, […]

September 27, 2024 0

Rally in Boston Calls Out Lies, Hateful Words About Haitians

by Milourdes Augustin

A group of demonstrators on Sept. 24 surrounded the “Embrace” sculpture at the Boston Common to stand in solidarity with Haitian migrants across the country. The group called out the rhetoric and lies spread by the campaign of former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump about Haitian refugees in Ohio. “As a Haitian American person, I have an obligation. Whenever something bad is said about my community, it’s important for us to come together and unite,” said Brockton Councilor […]

September 13, 2024 0

Bias Against Muslims, Palestinians Permeate Press: Rights Advocate

by Adam Smith

The contrasts in the headlines were striking. Projected on a screen were copies of online stories from The New York Times and the BBC News, both covering killings in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli bombings of Palestinians in Gaza.Pointing out the differences in the treatments, Hena Zuberi of the nonprofit human rights group, Justice For All, noted how in one set of headlines, the group carrying out deadly attacks, Israel, goes unnamed, and in the other, the […]

August 9, 2024 0

Report: State Sorely Lacks English as Second Language Classes for Immigrants

by Esther Wang

The Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center is among several nonprofits in Massachusetts offering free English classes aimed at preparing immigrant students for college and jobs. But as the influx of immigrants to Massachusetts – including undocumented migrants – has increased, so has the demand for English lessons. And now many nonprofit groups like BCNC say Massachusetts is in a state of crisis when it comes to providing English classes to the people who need them most. Case in point: BCNC is […]

August 9, 2024 0

‘Where I Belong’ Opens Book on Identity, Trauma. Co-Authors discuss healing Identity of Asian Americans

by Christopher John Stephens

If a sense of belonging requires a secure sense of place and identity, the very act of engaging in a diaspora means the goal will always be out of reach. In their new book Where I Belong: Healing Trauma and Embracing Asian American Identity, co-authors Soo Jin Lee and Linda Yoon look toward building a bridge between the home that was and the home that might never become fully realized.As co-directors of Yellow Chair Collective, Lee and Yoon effectively make […]

August 9, 2024 0

Editorial: Don’t Discount How Undocumented Immigrants Give Back to the U.S.

by Editorial Team

Immigrants, especially immigrants without all their proper paperwork, get blamed for many ills of our nation. But such scapegoating is not only dangerous to our shared humanity, it is often just plain untrue. In fact, immigrants — especially and including undocumented ones — contribute in many ways to our society and in many ways keep it running smoothly. It’s easy to scapegoat, but it’s difficult to look inward and ask questions like, where would our nation be without immigrants, even […]

August 9, 2024 0

State’s Sudden Shelter Limits Anger Immigrant Advocates

by Ryan Lundgren

The consequences of the housing emergency in Massachusetts and the lack of Congressional action on immigration reform have collided to create a nightmare scenario that has Massachusett’s emergency shelter system apparently unable to cope. The state on Aug. 1 began to transition their “safety-net sites” to “temporary respite centers” and limit their usage to 5 days (with the possibility of an extension to 30 days) unless they are in a group prioritized for placement in an emergency assistance shelter, which […]

August 9, 2024 0

Undocumented Immigrants Pay Billions in U.S. Taxes Annually

by Adam Smith

The nearly 11 million immigrants in the U.S. who lack the paperwork needed to stay here legally are often the target of politicians who decry the ills of “illegal” immigration. Yet, this group actually makes a massive contribution to the federal, state and local governments – paying billions to social programs they will never benefit from – according to a recent study. In fact, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in total taxes to all levels of government in 2022, through […]

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