News Reports by Ethnic Media Journalists Focus on the Complexities of Reporting Immigration
 
IJJ Projects:

• Read Fernando Diaz’ report from The Chicago Reporter: Families of fallen service members say they never got immigration benefits approved by Congress.
   
• Read Fernando Díaz’ Story Behind the Story on how he produced his IJJ project article.
   
• Read Julio Morales Almada’s stories in La Opinion (in Spanish): Six immigrants --from Vietnam, Poland, Nepal, China, Ethiopia and Korea -- illustrate the similarities and differences of the migrant experience.
   
• View Karla Escamilla's series from Univision Arizona, "Following a Dream."
   
  • First three parts: “Tiradero de Sueños.” On remote trails in the Arizona desert, reporter Karla Escamilla finds remnants of undocumented migrants' treks: Backpacks, clothes, empty water bottles, shoes, baby toys, books and letters. They are often left behind when the migrants' loads become too heavy.
     
  • Second three parts: “Sueños de Margarita." Margarita, a 20-year old migrant, died in the Arizona desert, pursuing her dream: to provide for her daughter and mother. Karla Escamilla interviews the family in Mexico's Oaxaca state.
     
    
  • Final two reports: “Sueño Americano.” The American Dream does come true for some immigrants in Tucson.
     
    
• Fellow Karla Escamilla discusses her Univision broadcast project, “Left Behind at the Border,” with John Rudolph, producer of Feet in Two Worlds program.  
  
  
• Read Mariana Alvarado Avalos’ reports on faster processes in place for identifying migrants who die in the Arizona desert near Tucson:
  *Arizona Daily Star, July 23, 2008: "Identifying illegal migrant dead is faster"
  *Arizona Daily Star, July 24, 2008: "Anonymous $200K gift gets ball rolling"

• Read Dzung Do's two-part report in Nguoi Viet News:
  *September 4, 2008: "The long road -- Part 1"
  "The Vietnamese know the struggles of escaping one land for another. But so do those from Mexico."
  
  *September 11, 2008: "Seven years later, a new world order -- Part 2"
  How the 9/11 attacks changed U.S. border operations
   
• Read Emilio Flores’ stories in La Opinion on “the widow’s penalty.” Under this provision, a spouse married to a U.S. citizen and in the process of becoming a resident becomes subject to deportation if the spouse dies before a two-year time frame.
   
  • June 30, 2008: (Article in Spanish) “Penalized because they became widows too early.” Also: “Measure proposed to help widows caught in limbo”
     
  • July 1, 2008 : (Article in Spanish) “Immigrant widows win court decision”
     
  • Emilio Flores’ Story Behind the Story

Related Articles:

• An in-depth report by Associate Director Cooper from the LA Weekly.
  
  
• Click to read stories by Fellow Paula Díaz of Hoy newspaper:

Reportaje Especial: De vida o muerte

Salvando migrantes