Covering Immigrants & Immigration

January 15, 2014

Amid national debate over immigration reform, recent immigrants and refugees face a host of challenges in the U.S. Many have survived extreme traumas in their native countries, such as genocide or violent civil conflict, natural disaster, chronic community violence, poverty and human trafficking. Here, they may encounter discrimination in housing, education, employment, health care or in encounters with law enforcement, along with cultural and language barriers. Women and children often face particular challenges, including family violence.

All of these issues have a profound impact and demand robust mental-health support for individual immigrants, families and communities. But despite this well-documented need, immigrants face significant obstacles in accessing essential help.

Reporters, too, face special challenges in covering immigrant communities – whether in individual stories, on community beats or in reporting on politics and policy.

To help local journalists and regional news organizations in the Greater Philadelphia area improve their coverage of immigrant communities, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia Journalism School sponsored the two-day workshop, “Covering Immigrants and Immigration.”

The workshop featured a range of local and national mental health and immigration policy experts, award-winning journalists, immigrant community advocates and service providers. The workshop included expert briefings and specialized reporting skills training to enhance the practical ability of journalists to report on immigrants and immigration-related issues knowledgeably, ethically and effectively.

Scroll down for video coverage from the following panels:

Immigrants, Refugees and Mental Health
Trauma, Resiliency and Psychosocial Support
Politics & Economics of Immigration Reform - The National Landscape
Immigrant and Refugee Law & Policy: An Overview
Keynote Conversation with Jose Antonio Vargas
Special Focus on Immigrant Children and Families
Advocacy and Action
Local History and Demographics
Jose Arreola: A Life Undocumented
Reporting the Immigration Beat
The Community Experience

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Andres J. Pumariega, MD, Chairman and Chief, Department of Psychiatry, Cooper University Hospital, gives a keynote address on immigrants, refugees and mental health.

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Denise Ziya Berte, Ph.D, Psychologist and Founding Director, Liberty Center for Survivors of Torture gives a talk on trauma, resiliency and psychosocial support

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Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice, Center for Community Change, Washington DC, and Edward Schumacher–Matos, Ombudsman, NPR and James Madison Visiting Professor, Columbia Journalism School, have a conversation about the politics and economics of immigration reform on a national scale.

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Fernando Chang-Muy, JD, Thomas O’Boyle Lecturer in Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, provides an overview of immigrant and refugee law and policy.

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Jose Antonio Vargas, Journalist, Filmmaker and Founder of Define American, gives a keynote address on his life as a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and undocumented immigrant.

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Joanna Dreby Ph.D, Assistant Professor, University of Albany gives a talk with a special focus on immigrant children and families.

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Erika Almiron, Executive Director, Juntos, Peter Gonzales, President & CEO, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians and Mia Lia Kiernan, Co-Founder and Organizer, One Love Movement have a conversation with Bruce Shapiro on working with immigrant communities in the nonprofit sector.

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Domenic Vitiello, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of City Planning and Urban Studies, University of Pennsylvania, gives a comprehensive talk titled "Local History and Demography: The Philadelphia Migration Project."

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Jose Arreola, Organizing Director, Educators for Fair Consideration, gives a moving talk on his life as an undocumented immigrant.

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Cindy Carcamo, Reporter, The Los Angeles Times, Michael Matza, Reporter, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Maria Sacchetti, Immigration Reporter, The Boston Globe, and Bruce Shapiro have a conversation on linguistic issues, identity protection, interview techniques, and how the immigration beat has changed.

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Alia Malek, Author, A Country Called Amreeka, and Gary Pierre-Pierre, Executive Director, Center for Community and Ethnic Media at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, have a conversation about covering specific immigrant communities, and share tips for working journalists.