Undocumented and Less Worthy

Fernando talks about his knowledge of the United States prior to immigrating.

I knew, is that if someone is here illegally and they do something, the first thing that happens is that they get deported—I knew I wasn’t going to have any right—Like hospitals, I wasn’t going to be able to go to one and receive medical care. I thought that if something happened to you, no one was going to help you, not even the police.

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The Jailhouse Lawyer

Neville, a 63-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, discusses how he combats discrimination, not only for himself but also for those who cannot stand up for themselves:

Well I’ve experienced discrimination on the job. You experience it back in the 60’s, 70’s yeah… What happened to me was that I had a good sense of self. On the job, wherever I worked, I was the jailhouse lawyer, you know. What that meant was individuals who were not treated fairly and needed formalize their grievances with the company, I would write their letters, when nobody knew. You know, so individuals– sometimes people are about to be terminated, and uh, we’d just talk and I would write the letter personally with them and they could put their letter in the file and they’re still on the job.

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Accepted

During his time of assimilation, he has been treated like an equal.

…I will say I think I have ever feel discriminated but I have seen that on other people. At work, on tv, people that I know. But I will say to me, not really. I don’t really remember that I hear anything racial or I got any problem like that. But I hear it. You know, when I go to work, on the train, I see some people shouting to the other people either from my country or other Latin people. And yeah, probably one time. Probably one time. I was listening to Christian music and there was this guy. He was not a Christian and he was like oh why don’t you take off that music. He was saying bad words. I just calmed down and I didn’t want to get into problems. So I said if it bothers you I’ll just turn it off. But I’d say that is a religion problem, not racial.

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It’s Not Your Fault

Throughout Lilya’s 17 years in New York she never felt discriminated against by America or it’s people:

You know, I like this country. And I like to live here. Despite, you know, to be an immigrant, it’s not an easy (chuckles) it’s not an easy process. And through these 17 years, I went through many difficults. I went through many problems, but you know, I whatsoever happened to me here, I never ever blamed the country, I never ever blamed the United States.

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