Sunset Park

Forum focuses on future of Mexicans in NYC

Sunset Park group looks at immigration issues

December 3, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
A panel of immigration experts discussed the future of Mexicans and Latinos at a recent forum. Photo courtesy Mixteca Organization Inc.
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New York City is home to large numbers of immigrants and a Sunset Park organization decided to take a closer look at the issues facing one particular group of foreign-born residents.

Mixteca Organization Inc., an immigrant service center based on 23rd Street in Sunset Park, co-sponsored a recent forum on Mexican immigrants with the Jaime Lucero Mexican Studies Institute at the City University of New York (CUNY).

The forum, which took place at the CUNY Graduate Center on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan on Nov.19, brought together experts in immigration law and advocates for immigration reform to discuss the future of Mexicans and Latinos in New York.

Mexicans are expected to become the largest group of Latinos in New York City by the year 2020, according to Mixteca Organization Inc.

Issues such as health care, employment and education were among the hot topics under discussion.

Two weeks ago, President Barack Obama announced a series of executive actions he said he will take to grant up to 5 million undocumented immigrants currently living illegally in the U.S. protection from deportation.

Council member Carlos Menchaca (D-Sunset Park-Red Hook), who is the son of a legal Mexican immigrant, called the forum a valuable tool in understanding the complex issues surrounding immigrants.

“The panel discussion hosted by community groups in Sunset Park is the kind of programming essential to educating residents about what their new opportunities are, and are not. My work in the City Council has been focused on building bridges over the gaps that have historically kept government and community disconnected,” Menchaca said.

The panel discussion was moderated by Karla Palomo, anchor of El Financiero on Bloomberg Television.

Dr. Laird Bergad, director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, and keynote speaker at the event, said that research he conducted into immigration patterns turned up some surprising results. Bergad noted that there “has been a decrease in the Mexican population from 2010 to 2013.”

There are more than one million undocumented Mexican immigrants in the tri-state area, according to Mixteca Organization Inc.

Representing the Mexican government at the forum, Consul General Sandra Fuentes-Berian called for increased efforts to help immigrants gain access to health care and education so that advocates can achieve “the integration and empowerment of the Mexican community in New York”.

Rodrigo Camarena, chairman of the Mixteca Organization Inc., said non-profits have played an important role in assisting immigrants.

“Mexicans have one of the highest labor participation rates in our city yet one third live in poverty and nearly two-thirds lack access to primary care. As New York’s immigrant population grows and ages we must work to ensure that they have access to services that will promote their long term well-being,” he said.

Mixteca Organization Inc., which operates out of an office at 245 23rd St., offers a variety of programs for recently arrived immigrant families. The group’s goal is to build a supportive environment for the Mexican and Latin-American immigrant community.

 

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