Immigration

President Obama announced an executive order last night that paves the way for millions of undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States.

The order applies to an estimated four to five million people nationwide. Here in  North Carolina, it applies to more than 100,000 people.

Nearly 30 percent of immigrants in the United States are from Mexico, but migration between the two countries is changing. A study from the Pew Research Center indicates this country is at the tail end of the largest wave of immigration in American history.

And in North Carolina, more families are permanently relocating here rather than traveling for temporary work.

This is a story about two new Americans: Webton Webley, a 26-year-old active service member of the U.S. Army, and his wife 23-year-old Sherell Perry-Webley, an U.S. Army reservist.

Sherell's and Webton's lives in the U.S. have been closely intertwined. They went to the same high school in Jamaica, and Sherell eventually got a green card through her mom, who was living in Fort Lauderdale. Webton arrived to Florida on a visa to study at Miami-Dade College. Webton says that's actually the first place they spoke.

More than 400 women and children from Central America are currently being held at a temporary detention center in southeast New Mexico. Most fled to the United States to escape violence in their home countries. They are seeking asylum in the United States but face many legal and personal challenges. A group of attorneys from North Carolina traveled to the remote town of Artesia, New Mexico to represent the detainees. Host Frank Stasio talks with two of the attorneys, Evelyn Smallwood and Natalie Teague, about their experiences.

Lili Morales is a senior at Northern High School in Durham, N.C. As a part of WUNC's Youth Radio Project, she reports on the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.  Young people who entered the country illegally with their parents are eligible for the program if they are in school -- but they have to renew every two years.  It's a stressful process for some.

Hana Pichova grew up under a totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia during the 1970s. 

For Pichova, opportunities for learning and discovery were rare under the control of the communist government.

At 18, she and her parents fled to Switzerland. Pichova decided she wanted to  immigrate to America. Unbeknownst to her parents, she went to the German border to seek political asylum. When they learned of her move, they decided to follow her, despite their reservations. 

About a thousand refugees resettle in North Carolina each year, and one third of them are from Burma and Thailand.  The Triangle is home to four of the nation's 10 refugee and immigrant resettlement organizations.  There are two in Durham, and two in Raleigh.

Resettlement agencies distribute State Department grants, a one-time payment of $925 per refugee.  For the first 90 days, the State Department provides housing and language assistance. But 90 days isn't a very long time when you are coming from a refugee camp. 

  UNC journalism professor Paul Cuadros came to North Carolina 15 years ago to write about Latino migration.

A few years into his research, he launched Los Jets, the varsity soccer team at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City. It was wildly successful, but some of his players face an uncertain future when they leave the pitch. They are all sons of Latino immigrants, some of whom came to this country illegally.

Cuadros wrote a book about his team in 2006, called “Home on the Field: How One Championship Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of a Small Town.”

Five students walked 140 miles from Charlotte to Raleigh over the last 10 days to ask state lawmakers for in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants.

Elver Barrios, a computer engineering student at Johnson C. Smith University, and one of the advocates, says that when the group left last week, momentum seemed on their side.

"We were really excited on the first day of walking," he says.

But walking 15 miles a day means blisters on the feet and lots of sun on the face. It turns out there’s not much shade between Charlotte and Raleigh.

 Food, music and dancing are just a few of the contributions of Lebanese Americans to North Carolina’s culture. "Cedars in the Pines,” a new exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History, showcases the influence of Lebanese immigrants on the state.

When Jennifer Ho went to the hospital for testing on a lump in her breast, she encountered the image often associated with breast cancer: the pink ribbon.

A nurse led the UNC English professor to an exam room. She recalls, "And then I saw a tote bag with UNC hospital's name on it and the pink ribbon. And I had this immediate visceral reaction. And I'm walking with the nurse. And I said something I can't repeat on the air." Ho said, "I hate those *** pink ribbons."

Today is transgender day of remembrance, a day designated to remembering transgender people who have lost their lives to violence this past year.

When South Asian immigrants to this country get homesick, there’s a good chance they can probably locate an Indian restaurant or grocery store to remind them of home. Finding a place that stocks the plants and trees they grew up with is much harder.

On this week’s roundtable, a jazz great, a leading string theory mathematician and an accomplished writer share their diverse perspectives on the latest headlines. They’ll discuss a range of issues from the latest Middle East update to the challenges facing minorities in higher education. 

Last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 400,000 people. But what happens when those deportees are parents? Children may end up in foster care as parents abroad struggle to regain custody. 

This week, the General Assembly overrode two of Governor McCrory’s vetoes on high profile measures. One measure requires drug testing for certain welfare recipients and the other loosens restrictions for seasonal workers. Host Frank Stasio speaks with WUNC's Capitol bureau chief Jessica Jones about the response to legislature's moves. In other political news, the State Board of Elections ruled yesterday on two controversial decisions by local elections boards. Host Frank Stasio talks with WUNC’s Raleigh bureau chief Dave DeWitt about the decisions. 

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan says she's asked the nation's Attorney General to look into the state's new Voter ID law.  The North Carolina Democrat says she wanted Eric Holder to examine the legislation signed this month by Republican Governor Pat McCrory.  Hagan says the law enacts restrictions that could suppress voter turnout among minorities, as well as younger and older voters.  Supporters say it's intended to prevent fraud at the polls.  Hagan told WUNC's Frank Stasio those instances barely exist.

Last summer, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rolled out a plan to allow undocumented young people who meet certain requirements to receive a temporary legal reprieve. More than 17,000 people in North Carolina have applied for status under the measure, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA.

Some North Carolina members of the U.S. House are taking sides as their chamber gets ready to take up immigration reform this week.   Many House Republicans on Capitol Hill disagree with the comprehensive reform plan passed by the Senate.

GOP Congressman George Holding of Raleigh says the bill doesn't go far enough to protect the border today.  He also says he doesn't think it will be effective moving forward.