Death by Numbers
ANDI MCDANIEL: The portion of the Sonora desert that lies in southern Arizona is a hot and lonely place. Long black stretches of black highway weave through a scrubby brown landscape full of prickly, spiny plants—cholla cactus, devil’s claw, Velcro grass. With temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summertime, it’s hard to imagine a less welcoming place. Despite the occasional brave rancher’s dwelling, this region is empty of human settlement, unfit for people. Except for migrants.
Roma Scholarship Program Aims to Integrate Romanian Society
KIM GEIGER, BUCHAREST: As Romania marks the 20th anniversary of the 1989 revolution this year, the ethnic minority Roma who live here have little to celebrate. With an estimated population of 1.8 million — 8.5 percent of the Romanian population — Roma, also known as Romani, or gypsies, face incredible poverty, discrimination, lack of education, and lack of access to health care.
Sanctuary City
ANONYMOUS: Last week Jesus Gutierrez was arrested by the University of California police. According to news reports the campus police entered Clark Kerr cafeteria, where Gutierrez has worked for the past two and a half years, after they received information from police in Southern California that Gutierrez was allegedly using a stolen social security card. Police then informed Immigration Customs Enforcement that they had Gutierrez in custody and it’s unclear whether ICE will take legal action against him.
Underground Student
JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: Every year 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from American high schools. For those who go on to higher education, they are challenged to navigate the university system without legal status.
September 11
ALI WINSTON, NEW YORK CITY – It was a day we’re told to remember forever, but for a long time I tried my hardest to forget. September 11, among other things, shattered my preconception that, as the son of an American father and a Turkish mother, the two halves of my identities would not conflict.
An Unwanted Journey
JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: On any given day, Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers detain men and women on suspicion of being in the country illegally. This is the story of one man’s journey through the U.S. immigration system.