New York City is currently experiencing one of its greatest periods of immigration in history.

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Nearly two-thirds of the city's residents are immigrants and their children, and 56 percent of New York's 1.9 million children have at least one foreign-born parent. Over 140 different languages and 200 countries are represented in our schools, with over 13 percent of public school students learning English as a second language.

The Center for New York City Affairs' focus on low-income neighborhoods and rapidly changing communities means that immigrant issues are central to our work. Joining these issues to another of our core concentrations, child welfare, the Center embarked in 2000 upon its New Immigrant Families and Children project.

This project focuses on the special challenges faced by low-income immigrant families, especially those with limited English ability and those who are newest to New York City.

Poverty is a long-term reality for very many of the city's working immigrants and their children.  Recent immigrants especially tend to be very poor. Forty percent of legal permanent residents entering New York City after 1996 had incomes below the federal poverty level in 1999-2000 — a rate double that of the city as a whole. Limited ability to speak English is also closely linked to poverty.  More that one-third of adult immigrants with limited English proficiency had incomes below the poverty line in 1999-2000.

Immigrants are also nearly three times as likely to worry about food or be hungry than the overall population, and one-third of children with immigrant parents live in families that have difficulty affording food.  Fifty-seven percent of New York City's children of immigrants, in fact, live in low-income households (with annual incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level).

The New Immigrant Families and Children project aims to bring these issues to light and initiate conversations about how the government, non-profit and private sectors can work together to provide services that address the needs of these families in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways.

In the last four years, the Center has presented numerous public programs and reports as part of this ongoing project.

In 2004 we held a three-forum series sponsored by the Foundation for Child Development, entitled “Supporting New York's Newcomers:  Immigrant Families and Children in NYC.” The forums brought together an impressive array of expert panelists, and the Center produced original reports for two of them.

• In January 2004, we held our forum "The Many Languages of Poverty:  Immigrant Family Services in NYC," at which we released Hardships in Many Languages:  Immigrant Families and Children in NYC.  This report describes how working, low-income immigrants with limited English language ability frequently have difficulty obtaining government services in New York.
  
  
• In March 2004, we held a public forum on early childhood education for immigrants, entitled "Newcomer Families and Pre-School Education in NYC," at which a panel of experts and a roomful of participants in the field discussed strategies for attracting more immigrant families to pre-school education programs.
  
  
• In April 2004, at our forum "Kids at Risk: Health of Immigrant Children in New York City," we released New Country, New Perils: Immigrant Children and Family Health in NYC, which highlights current research on immigrant child health, examines several key areas — health insurance, environmental health, obesity and mental health — and explains how immigrant families and children are disproportionately impacted.

WNYC Radio, American Public Media, the Center for New York City Affairs and producer John Rudolph are pleased to present a new public radio documentary.

Feet in Two Worlds: Immigrants in a Global City

For generations, immigrants who came to the US were forced to make a clean break with home. Today, with cell phones, the Internet, videoconferencing technology, faxes and cheap air fares, many immigrants remain in constant contact with their home countries. For them the key to survival is not just learning how to live in America, but learning to live in two places at once. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes, 'Tis) and set in New York's immigrant neighborhoods, "Feet in Two Worlds" features stories by reporters from the city's ethnic newspapers, as well as WNYC reporters who regularly cover immigrant communities. Most of these stories have only been available to readers of small ethnic newspapers. Now public radio listeners have a chance to get an insider's perspective on immigrant experiences in one of the world's most culturally diverse cities.

This emotionally-charged and sound-rich hour of radio features a soundtrack produced by DJ Rekha, an innovator in the city's music scene.

Feet in Two Worlds was broadcast on WNYC Radio in segments during Morning Edition, Monday through Friday, May 16 to 20, 2005, and the complete documentary aired four times:

* Friday, May 20: 3-4 PM on 93.9 FM
* Friday, May 20: 9-10 PM on AM 820
* Saturday, May 21: 4-5 PM on AM 820
* Sunday, May 22: 6-7 PM on 93.9 FM

For further details on the Feet in Two Worlds documentary, click here.

In conjunction with this documentary, the Center presented a public forum on May 10, 2005, featuring panel discussions on transnational communities in New York City, excerpts from Feet in Two Worlds, ethnic food and music by DJ Rekha. The evening was taped for broadcast on The Brian Lehrer Show and aired the following day, Wednesday, May 11, on WNYC 93.9 FM / AM 820 from 10am to noon.

Click here to listen to the broadcast.

As part of the Feet in Two Worlds project, participants created a Radio Tool Box that offers lessons and insights about developing a collaborative documentary project with professionals from the ethnic and immigrant print media. Click here to read our reflections and learn more about the project.

Reports

Below are past reports and public programs presented by the New Immigrant Families and Children project.

New Country, New Perils: Immigrant Child and Family Health in NYC
April 2004

This report highlights current research on immigrant children's health, examining several key aspects such as health insurance, environmental health, obesity and mental health. The authors explain why immigrant children and children of immigrants face special challenges in those areas. Includes the latest data on lead poisoning in immigrant communities.

Hardship in Many Languages: Immigrant Families and Children in NYC
January 2004

This report highlights current research on immigrant families and poverty, examines several key aspects of the social support sector – food stamps, child care, neighborhood family services and other programs – and explains how publicly funded programs have been slow to adapt to serving New York’s newcomers. Immigrant families, although often economically poor, are mostly working families. Yet immigrant parents are not gaining full access to the safety net established by New York City, the state and nation during the last decade to promote and support work.

Newcomers Left Behind: Immigrant Parents Lack Equal Access to New York City's Schools
September 2003

In a city of immigrants, language and cultural barriers inevitably prevent some people from participating fully in civic life. Yet when it comes to education, parent involvement is widely recognized as a fundamental component of a child's success. Acknowledging this, public school policymakers have established guidelines intended to overcome the problems that differences in language and culture pose for New York's immigrant parents so that they may participate more actively in their children's educational life. No matter how enlightened, however, policies themselves cannot solve problems. What truly matters on the ground - in the schools and communities of New York City - is the action taken in carrying out those policies.

This report discusses findings from a survey of, and interviews with, immigrants from around New York City conducted between summer 2002 and spring 2003. We found that while immigrant parents are, according to Department of Education policy, meant to be supported in every reasonable way to ensure that they are actively engaged in their children's education, this is not what is taking place at the school level. The policies and procedures meant to address the special needs of immigrant students - and particularly English Language Learners - and their parents are in many cases either unknown to or not being carried out by school staff.

Click here for the version of the survey you wish to view.
English | Spanish | Chinese

Bilingual Education and New York City
A Resource Guide and Companion to the Public Seminar on February 6, 2001

Nearly 160,000 students in New York City's public schools are "English Language Learners," accounting for 15 percent of the total student population. This guide provides facts and resources on bilingual education, both in a New York and nationwide context.

Health and Mental Health Issues: Immigrant Youth and Families in New York
Report #2, Winter 2001
Its contents were discussed in a group roundtable session on March 21, 2000, at The New School

This report was compiled by Adam Gurvitch and Wendy Brennan with the assistance of a group of service providers, advocates, community leaders and young people. Its contents were discussed in a group roundtable session at the New American Youth in New York Conference on March 21, 2000, at The New School, and the results of that discussion have been incorporated, along with feedback from many other individuals.

Immigrant Girls: Struggling with Cultural Traditions
Report #1, Autumn 2000
Its contents were discussed in a group roundtable session on March 21, 2000

While there are significant differences among immigrant communities, the challenges faced by young girls are often strikingly similar. In most cases, the traditional cultures of immigrants' homelands are threatened by the American emphasis on women's rights, individual expression, and rebellious teenage culture. Each young woman and each family responds to the challenges of acculturation in a different way. In more extreme cases, young girls run away from home or drop out of school in an attempt to escape a restrictive environment. But in most cases immigrant girls and their families struggle through the process of adaptation with limited guidance and support.

This report provides for community organizations, schools and government agencies, developed by a group of New York area advocates, service providers, community leaders and young people.Its contents were discussed in a group roundtable session at the New American Youth in New York Conference on March 21, 2000, at The New School, and the results of that discussion have been incorporated, along with feedback from many other individuals.