This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
New York schools that serve new immigrants to the United States are witnessing a dramatic drop in enrollment. Enrollment at Pan American International High School in Elmhurst is down 18 percent from last year. Others in the network of schools Pan American belongs to have also seen significant drops, nine percent on average. That’s three times the citywide average of enrollment reduction, according to Chalkbeat. Administrators are worried about the students who dropped out, but also the financial ramifications of lower enrollment. The drop stems from immigration restrictions and family issues amid the coronavirus pandemic. Chalkbeat
In other local immigration news…
Misinformation Sows Vaccine Mistrust Among New York Latinos
📍 Documented Original
Since the pandemic began, Documented has been using WhatsApp to provide Latino immigrant New Yorkers with critical information about changes in immigration regulations, access to food and health care, fake news spreading via messaging apps and the latest on rent relief and evictions. Some of our users expressed fear regarding taking the COVID-19 vaccine, so we decided to survey more than 50 members of our WhatsApp community. Of them, fewer than half (43.8%) of our respondents said they would take the vaccine immediately. A quarter of the respondents said they wouldn’t take the vaccine, and 31.3% said they would maybe take it.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many members of our WhatsApp community asked Documented how safe it was to seek help should they feel symptoms of COVID-19. But after nine months, the worries of the community seem to lie not with immigration enforcement, but rather their health and wellbeing. Read more at Documented.
DoorDash Delivery Workers Win Some Bathroom Access and Equipment
After THE CITY published a series of articles about a growing labor movement among bike delivery workers, the app-based food delivery company DoorDash says it will work on increasing the workers’ bathroom access in restaurants, roll out new safety measures and supply free and discounted bike gear in 2021. Delivery workers have become increasingly busy as many New Yorkers are shut in at home. But the tech companies who facilitate deliveries have done little to provide protective gear or basic amenities. An informal network of Guatemalan and Mexican food delivery workers called “Los deliveristas unidos” is now pushing for better work conditions. THE CITY
NY Immigrant Artists, Supporting Organizations Disproportionately Struggle
A report from the Center for an Urban Future found that nearly one-third of New York-based artists are immigrants and that they, as well as the organizations that serve them, have been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. Many are facing existential threats with little to no aid from the city. The report found that the number of immigrant artists in the city has grown by 69 percent since 1990. And as income from performances and side jobs have dried up, many are struggling to make a living. Some organizations have been forced to move from their previous locations, but others have been forced to shut down permanently. Hyperallergic
Support the work of Documented
Documented was founded with the goal of making sure the people affected by our stories were also the people reading them. Immigration reporting is often extractive and isn’t produced or published with the main protagonists as the intended audience. Through our reporting and out outreach via WhatsApp, we’ve created award-winning journalism that is created with and for New York’s immigrant communities. This work is not easy and it is not cheap. Consider becoming a member today to help fuel this work. By joining the Documented Community, you can not help only provide us with the financial freedom needed to fulfill our mission but also meet others who are passionate about immigration in the New York area. Become a member today.
