Defying Discrimination in America: A Haitian Struggle in Modern NYC

By in Immigrant NYC

What is an American? “An independent person, who has freedoms, who can follow their dreams, who can live freely without fears of social unrest…I do feel that I am an American.” -Jean Michelle Mitch Jean Michelle Mitch is a twenty-year-old student at St.John’s University in Queens. In 2003, when he was 10 years old, his family immigrated from Haiti to the United States after life-threatening situations were encountered: “My mother… she encountered threatening situations a few times; she got held at gunpoint by somebody.” Mitch and his family were fortunate to obtain a lawyer in America, and they are currently obtain asylum status while waiting for citizenship…other Haitian immigrants are not as lucky. Haitians in New York  Almost 25% of the population living in Rockland County’s Spring Valley Villages (in NY) is Haitian–that’s the...