"We end up helping people when we report the news.” - Mark Garzon (2017)
Mark Garzon’s Bio
Mark Garzon is a senior at Baruch completing a major in journalism and is currently working at the Queens Ledger running the paper’s afternoon newsletter. After spending two years at John Jay with minimal exposure to the world of journalism, Garzon came to Baruch where he fell in love with investigative reporting. With assistance from the department at Baruch, Garzon created a portfolio with published articles in Dollars and Cents written on an array of topics, including a journalism trip to Cuba.
Condensed Interview Transcript
The following is an edited version of an interview with Mark conducted by Steve on Wednesday May 10, 2017.
Steve: What was the first work you did for the Queens Ledger?
Mark: I was sent to Jackson Heights immediately after the election. Immigrant organizations were gathering immigrants in an attempt to disseminate information regarding scammers. These people are called “notarios”; they are, essentially, public notaries. The issue was that they were filing paperwork for illegal immigrants. Immigrants were going to these people because in their countries, notarios have the same authority as lawyers; but here, in the U.S., this is not at all true. Many people were given advice that was unreliable and sometimes even worsened their status. They would file incorrect paperwork. Some even set themselves up for deportation. They trusted these people and were betrayed.
S: You mentioned interviewing a man named Vicente, can you speak more about your interaction with him?
M: I remember…when [Trump] first announced his candidacy, it was on immigration. He wanted to increase the number of deportations, secure the boarder. He ran on that platform. Many people were afraid, others were ready to fight and protest, others were getting ready to take action to fix their paper-status. These sentiments form the basis of Vicente’s work. I know for Vicente, he left his two sons…he had to leave them behind. He came here to send money back, and it was sad that he couldn’t be with them. I think he didn’t see them for over a decade…and that’s the reality for a lot of people who are here undocumented. They leave their family members behind and don’t see them for a long time. The best they get is, maybe a photo. Perhaps technology has made that better. Vicente, and many other, made very clear that they left their home countries not because they want to, but because they have to. The primary issue for them is finances—earning a living in their home countries. Most of the immigrants I have spoken with said that they left their home countries for the sake of their families. It’s still traumatizing. I know for Vicente, till this day, he feels terrible about it—not getting to see his children grow up. When he left his kids they were teenagers and when he returned, they were pretty much adults. He felt like he missed out on a very important part of their lives. For many immigrants, this is their reality. Overall, speaking with Vicente…kind of opened the door for me. Before that, my knowledge of immigration was mostly from what I saw on the news.
S: Can you address your upbringing as the child of immigrants?
M: My mom is from Mexico and my dad is from Ecuador. We grew up speaking about immigration regularly because our family and friends—many undocumented—came from other countries. We used to watch a lot of Spanish news—De Telemundo, for example…and, from what I remember, there were many images of immigrants crossing the border and ICE raids (Immigration Customs Enforcement). My parents saw nothing wrong with illegal immigration. They never instructed me to dislike someone because of their legal status. Growing up, I felt like [my parents] sympathized a lot with those people.
S: What are your personal thoughts on the presentation of immigration in the media today?
M: It’s great to [quote] the leader of an organization, but it’s really about engaging with the immigrants themselves…Unfortunately, the news right now is too busy covering raids, and they are helping fuel the fear. In general, we end up helping people when we report the news. Immigration is a complex issue…when we report other issues aside from the raids and deportations, we put important information out there. It’s important to cover what’s going on in the communities too. It’s important for news outlets to broaden the stories they report…Growing up, my only exposure to immigration was what I saw on the news. But after speaking with many different people, I’ve gotten to see beyond the legal issues, revealing so many important elements that I would not have known otherwise.