A familiar voice on these airwaves is taking part in an event in Albany Wednesday for Hispanic Heritage Month. NPR reporter Jasmine Garsd will be at the Cultural Empowerment and Community Engagement Center for “American Migration: Words and Images from the Border and Beyond.”
The event at 5:30 is being cosponsored by Capital District Latinos, which has factored into Garsd’s recent reporting on the migrant influx being felt by New York and other Northeast states. Garsd, who is originally from Argentina, spoke with WAMC's Ian Pickus.
So I have a question for you about immigration and New York State. Does this moment in our country feel different to you than past moments?
Yes and no. That's a really great question. So I think it's definitely a very different moment. I mean, we're not used to seeing New York become kind of almost like a border state, right? I mean, New York has become this real flashpoint in the immigration debate. And that's really different that you're hearing this pushback in a state and a city that has always been very Democratic, and very immigrant and pro-immigrant. So I think that's something that's really different. I'm wary of using the term unprecedented because the truth is, the United States has had these enormous waves of migration, especially New York. Just a visit to Ellis Island, or to read about Ellis Island will really reveal that.
So on the one hand, I'm very careful in my work to not use the word unprecedented. But I do think the fact that it's being so hotly debated, and it's practically become a border state is really different.
What kind of effect is that political dynamic having on the people that you've met in your reporting, who have ended up in New York state but maybe they weren't planning to?
I mean, I think it's created an environment in which human beings are really being used a lot of times as political pawns. And I think the hostility is really tangible in some parts. You know, I'm presenting today with the amazing photographer Lexi Parra. And we traveled through several towns in upstate New York where people were being sent or there was an attempt to send my grants. And there was in some towns, like some pretty hostile, you know, a tangible hostile reception. And I've also been spending a lot of time, for example, in Staten Island. And that's like a very conservative part of New York City. And it's pretty hostile towards people that are being sent there.
Having said that, I talk every day to New Yorkers who are either unaffected by this or who are really trying to help out. So it's a mixed bag.
What kind of effect do you think the change in the status for temporary work authorization for people from Venezuela will have on all of this?
I think it's a really big deal. You know, I think one of the main issues that I have been encountering when I talk to people at shelters, and even when I speak to businesses is the labor issue. I mean, people want to work, people want to work and arriving here seeking asylum, and not being able to work is a really big problem. And it's also in the political sphere, I’m sorry to speak in a way that's very simplistic, but it's a problem that that is not just a problem for migrants. I've been speaking to business owners, who have been saying, ‘Well, there's a labor shortage. I can't find workers. So can we address this?’ So I think it's a really big deal. It will help people graduate from the shelter system quicker. I should say, as the name and indicates it's temporary. So you know, in the case for Venezuelans, it’s 18 months.
There's so many people who are arriving who are from Ecuador, which has been consumed by Narco violence lately. And so I guess it doesn't replace comprehensive immigration reform. That’s what I'm hearing from advocates; it's a temporary solution to a problem that needs to be addressed by Congress.
Are there any stories or individuals who stand out to you from your recent reporting? Because, you know, this gets talked about, obviously, in somewhat opaque terms, but these are people, of course. Does anything kind of stick out to you when you think about it?
I think something that really stands out is, you know, you saw all those images of people camped out outside the Roosevelt Hotel. And I spent some time there. And I think it was really stunning to talk to people. I met one woman who was a doctor in Chad. And she really wanted to be an OBGYN here. I met a man who was a pharmacist in Venezuela. I met people who very much, you know, were ready to come here and start working. I used to be a labor reporter. And it was interesting to hear people who had worked in professions that there's a pretty serious labor shortage here in the U.S. I mean, if you're a woman and you've tried to schedule a routine OBGYN appointment, you know, there's a labor shortage in terms of OBGYN doctors.
If you want an example from Albany, during my last trip to Albany with photographer Lexi Parra who I'm showing with today, I met three young Venezuelans. What really struck me was just how many times they had moved around. I mean, they had moved around many, many times to shelters in Boston and New York then Albany, and they just wanted stability. They just wanted to be in one place where they could sit down and work. And it was really, it was really something to talk to very, very young people who were just trying to stay still, so to speak.
You recently had a really wonderful ‘This American Life’ story about, I guess, your own acceptance of your identity as an American reporter who used to be from Argentina. But for people who haven't heard it yet, you kind of have reached a crossroads about whether you'll go back, it seems. How does your own background influenced the way that you look at reporting on immigration here in the States?
Yeah. I think on the one hand, I don't, I can't possibly understand what it's like to cross, you know, the Darien Gap by foot. There's a lot of like, a kaleidoscope of immigration experiences. And mine was not that. So I'm very careful to say something like, ‘Oh, I understand what it's like.’ I don't understand what that's like, to have to seek asylum in a country. But I do understand that it's very complicated. And I try to approach it with a lot of empathy. And I try to approach it with empathy towards all sides. We're living in a moment that is very vitriolic. And there's a lot of politicizing. And there's a lot of Boogeyman. There's just a lot going on. And so I try to always take a very human approach and sit down with someone and ask with the utmost compassion: What have you been through? And what are you scared of and what are you hoping for? And I think that's an approach that I don't think it's exclusive to any reporter who's been through immigration, but I definitely think my own experience helps me inform that.
Well, let's end on a lighter note, perhaps. As a radio producer I was feeling for you in the beginning of the World Cup when Argentina's first match didn't go to plan, but they did end up winning the World Cup and you were doing a special podcast series on the World Cup and Messi’s last stand. Are you still on a high from the championship?
Yes, I definitely rewatched the final between France and Argentina more times than I care to admit. It was just like a very magical and historic moment. It's funny also, because I don't know about you, but I don't really like listening to myself. And so the other day I listened to‘The Last Cup,’ the podcast. I listened to it in its entirety for the first time. It only took me like six months to come around. And I was like, that's pretty good. So, yeah, I'm gonna be on that high for a very long time, maybe forever.
