Finger Lakes Community Health program along the northern Border

Finger Lakes Community Health (FLCH) is a tele health program in the Finger Lakes region along the Canadian border that serves 27,000 patients, including 9,000 who are farm workers and many of whom are refugees and immigrants. There are "refugees from Burma and immigrants from China, Saudi Arabia, Haiti, and Mexico." (Chow, npr.org) Because such a large portion of the people FLCH serves are immigrants this tele health program was launched in an effort to maintain the health and well-being of these rural communities, that otherwise would not seek out medical attention.

Seeing as this region is so close to the U.S.- Canadian border, there is a large presence of Border Patrol, so many immigrants are afraid to travel along the roads. Chow writes in her article that "by U.S. law, Border Patrol can board-and search-any vehicle within a "reasonable distance" of the border." (Chow, npr.org) The Border Patrol has been active in exercising this U.S. law as evident by the fact that staff members of FLCH who are persons of color have been stopped by Border Patrol before while in route to see patients. Many immigrants, legal or not, have tremendous anxiety about venturing to far from where they live, so many choose not to travel unnecessarily, including not going to the doctor if they don't have to. This program is relatively new, but with new innovative ways of connecting physicians with patients through video calls and home visits there is hope that the people in these communities will get the care that they need, while giving them one less thing to worry about concerning their immigration status.

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/04/06/598038490/in-a-border-region-where-immigrants-are-wary-a-health-center-travels-to-its-pati      

Language and Cultural Identity

Kevin Garcia, an intern for NPR, writes in this article about is personal experience as a Mexican-American who is monolingual and how much his lack of knowing the Spanish language has created a disconnect between him and both his community and culture. Garcia is not alone in his circumstance because according to a PEW Research Center study which he cites found in 2017 that "while the number of Latinos who speak Spanish at home continues to increase due to the overall growth of the Latino population, the share of Latinos who speak the language has declined over the last decade." He writes that he has struggled with his Mexican identity, since language is such a huge part of a culture. In addition, Spanish transcends Hispanic borders and unites the varying experiences and communities of Latin Americans, this is referred to by a single word: Latinidad.

Garcia has experienced feelings of shame when the extent of his American assimilation becomes apparent to his "Hispanic compatriots" when they view him as "just American" not Mexican-American. Although he did not grow up speaking Spanish, he nevertheless embraced his culture by making tamales, singing Selena songs, and dancing ballet folklorico. In trying to find answers about how to define his relationship to his culture, Garcia quotes Amelia Tseng, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University who reasons that this language insecurity that many second and third generation Latinx Americans feel stems from the level of "opportunity you have to keep it", referring to Spanish language retention. She adds that "there are barriers to bilingualism that are often outside of our control: social pressure, stigmatization, and discrimination." Garcia ends his article with acknowledging that he is not sure if he will ever be able to find comfort in his lack of knowing Spanish. Lastly, it is important to remember what Professor Tseng says which is "Let's celebrate all identities, and not just the ones we think are correct."

Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/03/10/588306001/can-you-lose-a-language-you-never-knew   

George Wallace and Donald Trump

This New York Times article, written by Clyde Haberman, points out the striking parallels between George Wallace's and Donald Trump's political rhetoric. George Wallace was an Alabama Governor in the late 1950's to the 1980's who was initially a part of the Democratic party before becoming an American Independent party member and he ran for President three times and for Governor four times. Wallace, similarly to Trump, was able to tap into and stoke the fears of his constituents in order to make political gains which Dan T. Carter, a Wallace biographer, wrote about during the 2016 Presidential elections and is quoted in this article as saying "What both sides share is the demagogue's  instinctive ability to tap into the fear and anger that regularly erupts in American politics." (Haberman, New York Times)

Also, both men were known for their theatrics. For example, being an ardent supporter for segregation in June of 1963 George Wallace "in an exercise that was more stagecraft than true resistance, he made a futile "stand in the schoolhouse door" to keep two black students from enrolling in the University of Alabama." (Haberman, The New York Times) An obvious example of Trump being theatrical is the fact that he had his show "The Apprentice" where he coined the phrase "Your Fired!", which he continues to use today just not to his cabinet members' faces.

The populist conservative ideals both men ran their campaigns on won them support from the same regions in America. As we have learned in our class, America has a pattern throughout history to target minority groups and make them out to be monsters in the imaginations of the public. Today, Trump actively discriminates against immigrant groups, not only to serve his, as well as other Republicans, agendas and also because he sadly does believe the United States should not be a place of equal opportunity for people of all ethnic backgrounds. Lastly, on a personal note, I try to always see the best in people, but President Trump makes it extremely difficult.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/us/george-wallace-tapped-into-racial-fear-decades-later-its-force-remains-potent.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=42&pgtype=sectionfront

David Fairchild: Food Explorer

David Fairchild was a botanist from Kansas who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 19th century. He created the Section of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the USDA at only 22 years old. He is a pioneer for American cuisine which consists of foods from around the world. Fairchild traveled to more than 50 countries to fulfill his curiousity about food, he was sort of the original foodie.

During this time as we have read from our textbook travel was no simple task, so the fact that he did travel, albeit for work, reveals how important he thought it was to not only diversify American cuisine, but expand cultural understanding in America. The article includes a story where Fairchild practiced international diplomacy in Germany in order to bring hops to the United States. Finally the article concludes with the metaphor that "almost every food we eat is an immigrant", which demonstrates that no matter how much people may resist and stop immigration in the United States it is hard to escape just how interconnected our global world is, and just how enriched our lives are because of those interconnections.

  https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/20/586459088/like-lemons-quinoa-thank-this-food-explorer-for-bringing-them-to-your-plate

Bangledeshi Food in Michigan

Bandhu Gardens connects Bangladeshi women in Michigan together, along with their families and supplies local produce to restaurants in the surrounding area. Emily Staugaitis started the project which was inspired by her friendship with a Bangladeshi immigrant, named Minara Begum. When she moved to the U.S. with her family, Begum took her garden and cooking skills she had learned in Bangledesh and started a South Asian garden in her backyard. The produce that she grows feeds her family and visitors. The surplus of Begum's garden and the gardens of six other homes is sold to female run restaurants in an effort to not only provide female immigrants with employment, but support female entrepreneurial-ship too.

One day Staugaitis hopes to widen the scope of Bandhu Gardens to create a network among women and their families in Detroit that will help those who are immigrants recieve guidance to navigate the systems of the U.S. like the health care system. Toward the end of the article the author, Dorothy Hernandez, writes that "the current dialogue on immigration and the social and political climate have strengthened Bandhu Gardens' resolve." I hope that this project continues to grow and thrive because it unites people across cultures.

Link to the Article:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/03/14/519214834/this-garden-connects-bangladeshi-women-with-restaurants-and-each-other  

Link to Bandu Gardens Website:
https://foodlabdetroit.com/directory/bandhu-gardens-

The State Departments new Appointee

There is new proof that the President may be trying to end the United States refugee resettlement program. He has appointed Andrew Veprek to fill the position of deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). The article from POLITICO notes that Veprek has been known to harbor anti-immigrant views, which was made evident by his role in encouraging the Trump administration to not participate in international talks concerning migration issues.
His position prior to this appointment was a Foreign Service officer for the White House where he worked closely with Stephen Miller and the Domestic Policy Council. According to the article, Veprek "argued in favor of dramatically lowering the nation's annual cap on refugee admissions." (Toosi, Politico) Under this administration the number of refugee admissions has slowed to a crawl. The current cap on refugees that the U.S.is willing to accept is 45,000 per year, down from President Obama's commitment to accept 110,000 refugees annually. In justification for this decrease the current administration and its allies in Congress have portrayed refugees as being potential sources for terrorism. Those in opposition to this policy say that all refugees that are admitted to the U.S. are thoroughly screened first. Lastly by having an isolationist, populist foreign agenda, the United States is further complicating the problems that "65 million people who are displaced around the world because of war, famine, and other calamities" (Toosi, Politico) already face.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/08/andrew-veprek-state-department-refugee-admissions-448210

   

Is Compromise Possible?

Amidst public outcry in support of immigration reform that protects dreamers and puts forth common sense gun control members of Congress continue to grapple over these issues with no real measurable steps forward. When it comes to debating these polarizing issues Congress men and women seem to be caught in a never-ending stalemate. The author of this New York Times article attributes this common scenario in politics to the fact that our government is being run by Republicans that are mainly concerned with serving the interests of their constituents who tend to hold minority sentiments on legislation about immigration and gun measures. For example, recently when Senator Mitch McConnell succumbed to public pressure and allowed for a vote on immigration proposals, all hope for any agreement was lost when the administration criticized the bipartisan plan that "would have given Dreamers-but not their parents-a path to citizenship in exchange for $25 billion" to be spent on a southern border wall because the President also wanted more stringent limits on family based migration. As long as our leaders continue to bend to the will of their constituents rather than serving the rest of America I fear that we will continue to see progress halted when it comes to voting and ratifying legislation that could possibly save lives.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/us/politics/gun-control-immigration-legislation.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news