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Macaulay Honors College
at Baruch, Spring 2011Professor Els de Graauw
ITF Emily Sherwood -
Authors
▪ Alyssa Alicino
▪ Brandon Baksh
▪ Ru Xiao Chen
▪ Belinda Chiu
▪ Els de Graauw
▪ Becca Glickman
▪ Elisabeth Greenberg
▪ Doris Hu
▪ Peky Huang
▪ Toby Joseph
▪ Haesol Jun
▪ Nika Kartvelishvili
▪ Farrukh Khan
▪ Holly Kiang
▪ Julian Kipnis
▪ Kar Yi Lim
▪ Yang Lin
▪ Cait McCarthy
▪ Sofya Moshkovich
▪ Mariya Tuchinskaya
▪ Ying Zhang Login
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Services to an Illegal Immigrant
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. When she was pregnant, she wanted to give birth to hear baby specifically in New York City:
During the period when I was pregnant, I was eligible to apply for Medicaid even though I was undocumented. My children get free Medicaid and can be renewed every year. One important factor was the language. I do not speak English well. In New York City, they offer services in different languages, and Chinese is one of the main languages. The nurses and some doctors are able to speak Chinese. Even if they could not, there are translators. With Medicaid, we, the pregnant women, are able to visit doctor for free and check on our baby’s health. It is free to give birth.”
Gradually Integrating: 50% American
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. When asked how much she had “Americanized,” she responded:
So far, I would say half and half. I mean, I came here for more than eight years already. Eight years are not short. And I worked in other states, where there are [few] people who are able to speak the same dialect as you. There are mainly Americans. On the other hands, some Chinese tradition and thoughts are settled in my mind still. I do, I am a little different than people in China, since I have been trying to integrate into this culture. […] My family has a family day every Sunday. Even though we own a Chinese restaurant, we like to go to American restaurant. And when the weather gets nice, we bring our kids to beach, just like the Americans.”
Learning English From My Daughter
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. Jennifer said that she is slowly learning English, also with help from her daughter:
Now my daughter is at a stage and asks me a lot of questions. I know simple phrases and words in English. One day, she asked me how to say triangle in English. I answered her triangle is called “triangle.” Then, she asked me how to say rectangle in English. I did not know the answer. I felt bad. I really want to learn English. The other day, when my daughter came home from school, she happily told me that she learned how to say rectangle in English. She taught me. And I asked, how do your teacher ask for what shape is this? She told me, “What shape.” Because of my daughter, I learned a little more.”
I Want to Become a Citizen
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. When asked about her intention of becoming a citizen, she commented:
Of course. I mean I already have a home here. And after they granted me a legal status, which I appreciate so much, I must become a citizen to show them my good faith to stay in this land. I want to become an American. And I want to integrate into the American culture and society. In the future, I can have better communication with my children, who are citizens. […] Yes. Definitely. One of the duties for citizens is to vote in elections. When I become a citizen, I will vote to fulfill my duty.”
Fear of Religious Persecution in China
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. Here Jennifer explains how she eventually sought asylum to legalize her immigration status in the United States:
Since my husband is a citizen, the first thing that came to our mind was I could apply a legal status through my husband’s status. However, when I first came, there is no record of my entering under my name. Therefore…in order for my husband to sponsor me, I have to go back to China first. So, basically he cannot sponsor me, because I do not want to go back to China and wait for that long process of immigrations. I am afraid of going back. I have two children here. I…my family is here. What if I go back and am not able to come back to the United States again? I am worried.”
Later on in the interview, she went on to say:
When I was pregnant with my second child, I heard that from my friend… how can I put it? Okay. I am a Christian. When I had my second child, through my friend, I knew that I could sue for my legal status based on political asylum. […] Recently, there are kinds of political asylum in the United States for undocumented as a method, umm, to get their legal statuses. Basically, political asylum gives undocumented immigrants a legal status to stay in the United States to prevent them from deportations since they are going to get political prosecutions for some reasons in their home country. […] In my case, I know for sure that I am going to have some kind of prosecutions in China if they deported me. First of all, if I go back to China with my kids, I am going to get prosecuted. According to the One Child Policy in China, they are going to do tubal ligation on me to prevent to give more birth. Secondly, I am going to get prosecuted for practicing freedom of religion. I am afraid of these prosecutions. I do not want to be treated that way.”
Starting at the Bottom as a Cashier
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the country for more than eight years now. Here, she talks about her first year in the New York City?
My first year here? Uhm. It was like I woke up in the morning, I went to work right after I brushed my teeth. And then, I came home late from work. Uhm. And it continued like this for a very long time. Uhm. I cannot remember exactly how long. It was really tiring. […] We did restaurant work. And we worked until midnight at 12 o’clock. […] I am a cashier. Even though I am a cashier, you have to know the basic work in a restaurant first, starting from the bottom. You got to know what the menu very well.”
A Snakehead Got Me In
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. Here, she talks about how she originally entered the United States:
I came here through snakehead, who smuggled me to the United States. […] We borrowed money from our relatives and friends. After I came here, I got to work really hard to earn money and pay the money back to our relatives and friends. […] If I go to work every month, back in my days with my condition, it probably took me like three years or so [to pay off all the debt].”
A Paradise, a Dream Land
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. This was what she thought of America before she arrived:
Before coming to the United States, inside my heart, I dreamed the United States as a paradise. Very nice place. A dreamed land. However, my friend also told me that jobs in the United States are tiring. Anyways, before I arrived, I had a wonderful image about the United States.”
Escaping a Bad Life in China
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. She explains her reasons for coming to the United States:
I was one of the people who had a bad life. That is why I came to the United States. […] After I graduated from some high school, it was really difficult for me to find a job with my diploma in China. There were too many people, but not many jobs. In addition, many people had higher education than me. Therefore, I really was thinking about going to the United States.”
Family Ties and the Promise of a Better Future
Jennifer moved to the United States from mainland China when she was 21 years old in 2002. She has been in the United States for more than eight years now. Here she comments on why she decided to come to the United States instead of another country:
Because I have many relatives, classmates and friends here. And they told me if you were willing to work diligently in the United States, your life would basically become better than what you have in China.”
