Online Exclusive: Xenophobia is alive and well
Preethi Nallu
Issue date: 10/27/06 Section: News
Alvaro Briones knows more about healthcare than the average landscaping employee. A medical school graduate from Nicaragua, Briones hopes to one day practice medicine in the United States. For now, he works for a landscaping company that sub-contracts to Washington University.
Briones presented his story of transition into American culture at Wednesday's town hall meeting on "Xenophobia and Immigration in St. Louis," co-hosted by the International and Areas Studies Department and its honor society, Sigma Iota Rho.
Speakers discussed the current state of immigration and its associated implications.
Sunita Parikh, associate professor of political science, presented the historical and sociological context of America's current immigration issues. Cities like St. Louis, she said, were pivotal for expanding immigration beyond gateway metropolitans and into smaller cities and towns.
"We [St. Louis residents] are on the forefront of what immigration will look like in the next 30 years as opposed to what it looked like in the previous 30 years," she said.
In spite of the encouraging diversity across the nation, she noted that the more recent waves of immigrants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East experience stigmatization that is comparable to the treatment of Italians, Slovaks and Jews during the early 1900s.
"Xenophobia is alive and well," said Parikh.
Briones spoke to the crowd of about 75 graduates and undergraduates following Parikh. His experiences in St. Louis reflected the "invisibility" of the immigrant worker that is prevalent in today's American society.
Joan Suarez, is the co-chair of Workers' Rights Board and Immigration Rights Action Task Force, reaffirmed by Briones' feelings of invisibility. Suarez further discussed constitutionality of immigration ordinances and legal rights of immigrant workers. During the question and answer session, Suarez reported that Missouri did not allot state government funds toward the assimilation of immigrants. Instead, she pointed out that the Illinois state government allocates fund towards immigration projects such as English programs.
Briones presented his story of transition into American culture at Wednesday's town hall meeting on "Xenophobia and Immigration in St. Louis," co-hosted by the International and Areas Studies Department and its honor society, Sigma Iota Rho.
Speakers discussed the current state of immigration and its associated implications.
Sunita Parikh, associate professor of political science, presented the historical and sociological context of America's current immigration issues. Cities like St. Louis, she said, were pivotal for expanding immigration beyond gateway metropolitans and into smaller cities and towns.
"We [St. Louis residents] are on the forefront of what immigration will look like in the next 30 years as opposed to what it looked like in the previous 30 years," she said.
In spite of the encouraging diversity across the nation, she noted that the more recent waves of immigrants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East experience stigmatization that is comparable to the treatment of Italians, Slovaks and Jews during the early 1900s.
"Xenophobia is alive and well," said Parikh.
Briones spoke to the crowd of about 75 graduates and undergraduates following Parikh. His experiences in St. Louis reflected the "invisibility" of the immigrant worker that is prevalent in today's American society.
Joan Suarez, is the co-chair of Workers' Rights Board and Immigration Rights Action Task Force, reaffirmed by Briones' feelings of invisibility. Suarez further discussed constitutionality of immigration ordinances and legal rights of immigrant workers. During the question and answer session, Suarez reported that Missouri did not allot state government funds toward the assimilation of immigrants. Instead, she pointed out that the Illinois state government allocates fund towards immigration projects such as English programs.
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