An analysis of interviews with representatives of global governance institutions and international nongovernmental organizations conducted between 2007 and 2010 in the Latin American and Caribbean region and at the headquarters of relevant international organizations in Geneva. Argues that because the discourse on migrant women's rights and their labor exploitation is framed predominantly in the context of trafficking, little headway is made in advancing migrant women's labor and social rights.
Last May, President Bush signed an Executive Order allowing the Coast Guard to immediately turn back Haitian boat refugees without checking to determine if they were fleeing political persecution. Before that, thousands of Haitians had crowded into unsafe boats to try to get away from their dangerous homeland. The U.S. tagged them "economic" rather than political refugees. "The fact is our government has turned a blind eye to Haitians," said Wade Henderson, director of NAACP's Washington bureau. I have a dream that I intend to make a reality. I'm calling on African Americans and Haitians here in Miami to come together to sit down, talk and work out a plan to help Haitians. But I'm also asking that Hispanics, Jews, Anglos -- everyone -- pitch in to help.
Amid the flurry of designations by the media, law enforcement officials, and advocacy organizations--terms ranging from "migrants" to "asylum-seekers" to "economic refugees"--one thing was clear. The people aboard that boat had fled desperate conditions for safe harbor in the U.S. What awaited them when they touched land was then, and remains, a matter of great contention. When asked about the implications of the designation "migrant," Miami field office INS public relations officer Barbara Gonzalez said that in the context of INS policy, "There is really no such thing as a migrant." She said, "Many use the word," when the correct terminology for what they intend is "non-immigrant." How about the terms "alien" and "refugee?" Amnesty International notes that the term "alien" has been used in U.S. legislation to describe various types of non-citizens, including those Amnesty would call "asylum-seekers." Similarly, the INS describes an alien as any non-citizen or national of the U.S.
Byron,Margaret (Author) and Condon,Stéphanie (Author)
Format:
Book, Whole
Publication Date:
2012
Published:
London: Routledge
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
288 p., Presents a different perspective on post-war Caribbean migration to Britain and France. This book examines trends in migration patterns, household and family structures, social fields, employment and housing trajectories.
Examines the depiction of first-wave West Indian immigrants to the United States in Black print culture in the early 20th century. The authors conduct a series of content analyses of four newspapers that had wide circulation in the Black community between 1910 and 1940. Each content analysis serves as an empirical test one of four common hypotheses about ethnic differentiation between West Indians and African Americans: (a) the group consciousness hypothesis, (b) the racial nationalism hypothesis, (c) the radical politics hypothesis, and (d) the model minority hypothesis. The authors find very little empirical support for either the group consciousness hypothesis or the racial nationalism hypothesis and find only a modicum of support for the radical politics hypothesis. Finally, the authors find evidence confirming the model minority hypothesis. They also find that the Black press presented an accurate portrayal of the West Indian immigrants' socioeconomic advantages to native-born Blacks.
