Voices of Immigration

Samuel Tuero is a recent Rutgers-Camden political science graduate and activist with parents that immigrated from the Dominican Republic. After Trump's presidency began, he was inspired to start his political activism. During his time at the university, Samuel founded an immigrant rights student association called “Define American”. He also served as vice president to the student government association and the political science society. As someone whose passion for public service was sparked through hardships faced by his immigrant parents, we discuss many topics with Samuel including how much identity seems to be tied to what language we speak, how difficulties with identity and stereotypes present themselves when you assimilate into American culture as child of immigrants, how the attacks on DACA impacted immigration advocacy, and more.

Karanveer Pannu is a current 1L at Rutgers Law Camden who recently completed his Masters in Public Administration from Rutgers Camden as well. While in his senior year of undergrad, the Mayor of his home town of Voorhees appointed Karanveer to the Zoning Board. Karanveer is passionate about public service & government and hopes to use his law degree to further his dedication to serving others. In this episode, we talk about how Karanveer, who self-published a book as a young boy, decided to write about some of the sensitive and significant time periods of his life. We will also walk you through his experience as an immigrant and his vision as the youth of this nation. In order to help you gain a better understanding of the episode we have also created an outline. In this episode we discuss: • Sikhism as a religion and its philosophies. • The experience of being a part Sikh community in the USA. • Language being a barrier for immigrants. • Youth's optimism towards a better future of the nation.

In this episode, we are discussing the traveling anxieties that existed for many Middle Eastern individuals in living in the world post 9/11. We bring onto the show Shaheera Hussein, a student that discusses her personal experiences with her and her family in traveling and discrimination. We also go through the history and policies of what has happened post 9/11 and contextualizing what it was like for Middle Eastern Americans.

In this episode, we are talking about Dreamers and what their experiences have been like since Biden was elected into office. We bring on Erika Martinez, a student that advocates for immigrant rights, and she speaks about her experiences as an undocumented person. We also bring on Jason Hernandez to speak about the technical updates regarding DACA.

In this episode, we explore how the start of the pandemic negatively affected the immigrant community. First, we talk about the hardships faced by international students when a number of institutions failed to act. Next, we talk to a student advocate about how they stepped in to provide COVID-19 aid for those excluded. Finally, we explore the broader impact of the pandemic, addressing the failures of government institutions and employers.

Welcome to our podcast! In this first episode, you'll hear from Rutgers University-Camden students, Tania Martinez and Sandra Benjamin, about their own immigrant experiences and the impact it has had on their lives, in what ways they help advocate for the immigrant community, and what this podcast series seeks to achieve for its viewers and participants. Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy! RESOURCES: Adams, Derek, et al. “Third of International Students in US ‘Discriminated against'.” Times Higher Education (THE), 20 Nov. 2019, www.timeshighereducation.com/news/third-international-students-us-discriminated-against “Why People of Color Are Suffering More from COVID-19.” Tufts Now, 13 July 2020, now.tufts.edu/articles/why-people-color-are-suffering-more-covid-19. “Coronavirus: Why Some Racial Groups Are More Vulnerable.” BBC Future, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200420-coronavirus-why-some-racial-groups-are-more-vulnerable Stephanie Soucheray | News Reporter | CIDRAP News | Aug 14, 2020. “US Blacks 3 Times More Likely than Whites to Get COVID-19.” CIDRAP, 14 Aug. 2020, www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/08/us-blacks-3-times-more-likely-whites-get-covid-19 Survey: International Students' Main Concerns Center on Issues of Health, Safety and Immigration, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/07/01/survey-international-students-main-concerns-center-issues-health-safety-and

A podcast produced by the Rutgers-Camden Digital Studies Center (DiSC).