Latest news with #immigrantcommunities
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
San Jose police chief uses AI to assure residents the department does not enforce immigration laws
San Jose's police chief released a video on Tuesday that uses artificial intelligence to convert his voice into Spanish in a message to residents that the department does not enforce immigration laws. In the video, Chief Paul Joseph emphasizes that San Jose police officers do not enforce federal immigration laws, will not ask about a person's immigration status, and that everyone can report crimes without fear of immigration consequences. Joseph said in a press conference on Tuesday that having AI translate his voice into Spanish was an idea the department's media relations unit came up with. They said, 'Hey, this may be a great way to communicate to our community in a manner that will make them receive the message more clearly and in a way that's more comfortable for them to hear,'" said Joseph. "So, it's an innovative use of AI technology and we're hopeful that it's well received." Some local law enforcement agencies and jurisdictions limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities to build trust with immigrant communities. Joseph said he believes some community members are afraid to report crime over concerns of immigration enforcement. He added that the department has seen a decrease in reports of domestic violence and sexual assault over the past six months, although the reasons are not clear. "It is concerning to us that if people are afraid that contacting the police when they are the victims of a crime could lead to them being deported, perhaps they would not," said Joseph. "We're never going to stop trying to build that trust and strengthen our relationship with the community, so if this helps people to feel that, when they need our help, they can call us, then it's all worth it, it's all worth the experiment." Some members of the community, like immigration organizer Laurie Valdez with Silicon Valley De-Bug, question why a native Spanish-speaking human within the department couldn't have delivered the same message. "If he couldn't speak it, he should have got one of his officers who can speak it, speak it, not use AI," said Valdez. "That's like, that's like a joke to me. That's just like a slap in the face for the Latino community." Valdez added that while the message matters more than ever, how it's delivered carries more weight. "You can't police community [that] you can't even communicate with," said Valdez. "And you can't say you care about them if you're using AI, and other things could come from that." Joseph said it was important that residents hear the message from the police chief directly, and that if the message is well received, future messages could be translated by AI into other languages. "This is exactly the kind of innovation we should be leading with," said Mayor Matt Mahan in a prepared statement. "Using AI to break down language barriers and connect directly with our residents is a smart, compassionate use of technology. I want to thank the San Jose Police Department for making sure every San José family, no matter what language they speak, knows they can trust and rely on their police department."
The Independent
29-07-2025
- The Independent
How New York's immigrant communities built a culinary capital, from Little Yemen in the Bronx to Chinatown's Asian-inspired ice cream
'Lower East Side food tour!' a man with a yellow umbrella called out, practically shoving a pamphlet into my face as I stumbled out of the subway at Houston Street on 2nd Avenue. The summer air was thick and humid. Crowds spilled out of bars and cafes, and the scents of pastrami, shawarma carts, and — oddly enough — charcoal wafted through the streets. It was my first evening in New York City after a turbulent 8-hour flight from London that had worsened both an emerging headache and hunger pangs, and I was ready to eat my body weight in anything within arm's reach. Most visitors to New York City think they know its food scene from films and television, and will find themselves grabbing questionable street cart hot dogs or one of the many dollar pizza slices scattered across the city. But the reality across NYC is far messier and more compelling. New York is where immigrant communities have shaped entire neighbourhoods through corner shops, cramped kitchens, and restaurants that serve as community centres as much as places to eat. For four centuries, this has been the city's defining pattern: each new wave of arrivals finding a place to live, building economic footholds through food, and gradually reshaping what it means to be a New Yorker. The Lower East Side, with its layers of Jewish, Latino, and Asian immigration, tells this story as clearly as anywhere — but it's a pattern repeated from Flushing to Brighton Beach to Queens. The aim of my trip was to explore New York City 's decades of immigration history, shaped through its food. And with the city having just reached its 400th birthday, it felt like the perfect time to pay homage to New York's culinary heritage. My first stop was Little Myanmar in the East Village, a restaurant specialising in Burmese cuisine, where I caught up with a local New Yorker friend. The place was stacked with rickety tables and mismatched chairs, and a curtain separated the kitchen from the rest of the restaurant. Despite its modest size, the place was packed, which I took as a good sign. I flipped through the menu, featuring a range of tea leaf salads, shrimp curries, and Burmese soups. We decided on two servings of ohn no khauk swe, a rich noodle soup made with chicken or vegetables and coconut, served with an optional egg or fish cake, and paired them with Yangon milk tea. A small community of Burmese immigrants arrived in the US in the 1960s and 70s, following the 1962 coup and the subsequent anti-Chinese riots. However, it wasn't until the mid-2000s, coinciding with the peak of resettlement efforts for Burmese refugees, that a significant influx of Burmese immigrants — particularly from the Karen ethnic group — began arriving in New York, many of them settling here and on the Lower East Side. They followed the same blueprint written by generations before them: find cheap rent, open a restaurant, serve your community first, and then introduce the broader city to your culinary world. The food at Little Myanmar may be Burmese, but it's served in American portions. Our soup arrived in large bowls, with optional red chillies on the side. I twirled my fork into the noodles, coconut, and vegetable broth, took a generous bite, and was instantly transported to Karachi, my ancestral homeland. There, South Asians who had moved to Burma soon after Partition had brought back their own version of ohn no khauk swe, or khow suey, to Pakistan. The milk tea wasn't overly sweet nor bitter and surprisingly complemented the savoury food perfectly. With hunger pangs now satiated, we next headed to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for dessert, a 20-minute walk from the East Village. Ice cream's origins can be traced back to around 200BC during the Tang Dynasty, though whether ancient China, Persia, or the Middle East invented it remains a subject of intense debate. Inspired by this history, Philip Seid, a Chinese immigrant originally from the city of Taishan, sought to introduce Asian-inspired ice cream flavours to New Yorkers. He opened the original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory branch in 1978, which now offers 30-plus rotating in-house flavours, including pandan, red bean, ube, and durian. The shop was a long corridor with the counter on one side and a single slab for perching with our ice creams on the other. I ordered a don tot, a light and creamy Chinese egg custard, while my friend opted for a Thai iced tea-flavoured ice cream. At $8.50 a scoop, these weren't cheap treats – but they were worth the price. Outside, Chinatown and Little Italy were buzzing with people enjoying the long summer evening. On one side, restaurants serving soup dumplings lined the street, while trattorias filled the other. If I hadn't known any better, the Chinese and Italian flags hanging overhead would have convinced me I was in either, or perhaps both, countries. The next morning, my food exploration took me an hour outside of Manhattan to the Bronx, home of the New York Yankees. Not far from Yankee Stadium, the New York Botanical Garden offers a stunning greenhouse with rainforest and cactus displays. While these may be the area's most famous attractions, the Bronx is also home to Little Yemen, an ethnic enclave in the borough's eastern half. Recent migrations to the Bronx, largely driven by the North Yemen Civil War (1962-1970) and the ongoing Yemeni Civil War (2014-present), have led to a significant growth in the Yemeni community. Today, over 500 Yemeni-owned businesses, primarily delicatessens and grocery stores, thrive within a one-mile radius. I made my way to Azal Restaurant and Hall on Morris Park Avenue, known for its traditional Yemeni lamb dishes. However, the restaurant also offers a vegetarian menu at a fraction of the price of its Manhattan counterparts. Chairs were draped in bright red cloth, each with a glittery golden bow, while a hookah sat beside each table. I flipped through the breakfast section of the menu and ordered fatta with gashta and honey — toast served with honey and mustard seeds as an appetiser, followed by fasoolia Yemeni — white kidney beans with onions, tomatoes, minced scallions, garlic, and cumin, served with warm clay oven bread as my main course. "Happiness on a plate" might be a clichéd expression for some, but it's definitely how I'd describe my experience at Azal. It was a Saturday, and by the time I left, people were rolling in for brunch and lunch as servers brought out heaps of bread and cups of qahwa (Arabic coffee). Outside, the streets were alive with storefronts showcasing Middle Eastern clothing, jewellery, and Bint al-Sahn, the traditional Yemeni honey cake. Even though I felt full to bursting, no food-related experience in NYC is complete without a detour to Jackson Heights. After nearly an hour on the subway, I arrived at Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in the world and the gateway to Jackson Heights. With over 180,000 residents and more than 160 languages spoken, Roosevelt Avenue is a slice of the human experience within a 20 block radius. From Little Colombia to Little India, hawkers sold spices, the scent of fresh naan drifted through the air, and stalls were piled high with exotic fruits from every corner of the world. I headed for a late lunch to meet more local friends at Nepali Bhanchha Ghar located on Jackson Heights' 'Nepali Junction', a Nepalese restaurant famed for its momos. Known as the Momo Queen of Queens, it has proudly won the Jackson Heights Momo Crawl for three consecutive years. South Asians began arriving in Jackson Heights following the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which opened the door for increased immigration from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan. Today, there are more than 20 Nepalese restaurants, along with Nepalese-run boutiques, beauty salons, clothing stores, and other businesses in the area. Literally translated as 'Nepali home cooking,' Nepali Bhanchha Ghar was lined with framed photos of famous diners, Kathmandu, and Mount Everest. Today, the menu has expanded beyond the beloved momos to include barbecue, thalis, samay baji (Nepalese bento boxes), and a wide variety of chowmein. My friends and I ordered a mix of potato and vegetable momos, sukuti samay baji (homemade beef or goat jerky), chicken and vegetarian chowmein, and bhatmas sadeko, a marinated soybean salad. Struggling to maintain a coherent conversation between mouthfuls of what was probably the best vegetarian chowmein of my life, I reflected on how in less than 24 hours I had travelled between four countries and regions in NYC. As a Londoner, I'm no stranger to multiculturalism, but in New York, it's different. Here, entire neighbourhoods are built around the traditions of specific communities who have truly made them their home. The pattern I had traced from the Lower East Side to Queens wasn't just about food, but instead was about how a city gets built by its residents. These areas are not just places to eat; they are living testimonies to how food in NYC embodies the stories, struggles, and histories of immigrant communities, shaping and constantly redefining the city's identity. After four centuries, New York remains what it has always been: not just a melting pot, but a vast network of kitchens where everyone is contributing to one shared cookbook, one recipe at a time.
Irish Times
18-06-2025
- Irish Times
Belgian police face backlash after 11-year-old on e-scooter killed in chase through park
The printed-out photo of 11-year-old Fabian has been put into plastic to keep it safe from the rain. The photo is resting among bouquets of flowers, teddy bears and lit candles at the spot where the child was run down by a police car in a Brussels park 2½ weeks ago. The boy had been riding an electric scooter, a fact that triggered a pursuit when he failed to stop for police. The chase ended fatally in a clearing in Elisabeth Park, just a short distance from the child's home. The death of Fabian, whose family is originally from Moldova , has stirred up fresh anger over the policing of immigrant communities in the Belgian capital. Initial inquiries suggest the police car pursuing the boy was travelling at more than 40km/h, through the public park, without its sirens on. It has not been established whether Fabian was hit by the car while riding the scooter, or if he first fell and was then run over. The police officer driving the vehicle was arrested several days later. READ MORE Young friends have left drawings and letters in among the wide circle of flowers that has built up in the park. One child has drawn a picture of rain clouds above a tree. 'For Fabian, love you,' the writing reads. Other items set down beside the flowers tell a story of a typical 11-year-old boy. There were several footballs, packets of M&Ms and other sweets, a toy car, and some bottles of Fanta, presumably his favourite fizzy drink. Flowers, teddy bears and pictures left at the spot Fabian (11) was run down by a pursuing police car in Brussels. Photograph: Jack Power The family were tending to the temporary memorial in the park when I visited earlier this week. They walked around the ring of flowers, carefully picking up and removing some of the wilted bouquets that had lost their colour. More flowers will be left in their place. Fabian's mother was too upset to talk about what happened. 'She's burning inside,' says a Romanian man visiting the memorial at the same time, who has spoken to the family since the child's death. The fact the fatal police pursuit started because Fabian was under the legal age to ride an electric scooter in Brussels – 16 years old – has incensed many in the local community as a wildly disproportionate response. More broadly, the police force has been accused of applying a heavier hand to boys and teenagers from immigrant backgrounds. The northwest suburb of the city where Fabian lived has a large immigrant community, who have rallied around the family since the boy's death at the start of June. Several hundred police officers attended a demonstration outside the Palace of Justice courthouse late last week, to show support for their colleague who has been arrested in the case. The investigation into Fabian's death is being led by Belgium's federal police ombudsman. The police officer involved has been placed under house arrest, with a further court hearing expected in the next fortnight. 'Let it be clear that there is no question of the police officer having intended to kill the victim,' public prosecutor Julien Moinil told a recent press conference. 'There was an intention to prevent the driver of the scooter from continuing his journey,' he said, according to reports in the Belgian media. The tragic death of the child should not become a 'trial' of the police in Brussels, he said. The prosecutor said there had been 'contradictions' between some of the initial statements taken from the officers involved in the collision, and the early findings of inquiries in the case. A full investigation into what had happened is continuing, Moinil said. [ Everyone's friend: How Mongolia stays on good terms with Russia, China and western powers Opens in new window ] Silke van Herrewegen, a mother of three who lives near Elisabeth Park, says it felt like the whole neighbourhood was in a state of 'collective mourning'. The injustice of Fabian's death is enormous and the grief so shattering for the family, she says. 'I'm white, my children are white, I view the world through a white lens. I don't get asked for my ID every day. That's something the teens in the park who are of colour deal with,' she says. The fault for any rising tension between the police and immigrant communities lay with the police, due to the 'aggressive' way they went about their routine patrols, she says. Children who heard what happened to Fabian had lots of questions for parents in the days afterwards. 'Do you always die if you are taken away in an ambulance?' was one question Van Herrewegen says stood out for her. 'Our kids all play in the park,' she says. 'This shouldn't have happened.'
CBS News
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Global Fest celebrates immigrants who call Aurora home
For Aurora, Saturday was a day to celebrate the richness of its many immigrant communities. The 12th annual Global Fest drew thousands of people to the Municipal Center. CBS In a city where more than 160 languages are spoken, the event's annual Parade of Nations is a moment to share a little bit of one's origin story. One in five residents of Aurora is foreign born. Festival goers will tell you how joyful they feel here. Glory Ozor was preparing to put on traditional dress from her native Nigeria and said, "African food, international food, American food, everything is here. It's a fun day for me. I always come here every year." There are traditional dances, music and colorful clothing. Amazing food. CBS And the opportunity to learn something you might not know about neighbors. Ivan Castro loved bringing his kids and he says this year was especially meaningful to be here. "Now times are a little hard so it's a good time everybody comes together and get to know their cultures and get to know other cultures, see how much immigrants give back to the U.S," said Castro. Global Fest is a reminder that everyone has a story. And has a reason they've come to live in a country seeking something better. CBS Invested in what they're building here, but never forgetting where they've come from. Anita Schumann was performing with the Hora Romaneasca Folk Dance group, and said, "My mom grew up under Communists, my Dad grew up under the Nazis and they always have taught me to be grateful for this country and for the freedoms and the beauty that is here. 'This is the greatest country in the world', it's one of my favorite quotes from my dad." Global Fest included a tribute concert by Aurora's Mayra Alejandra to the late Tejano music icon Selena, and a Selena look-alike contest.
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump's travel ban fuels despair and disgust with politics among Arab Americans in Michigan
The ban on travel from certain countries that took effect Monday — reminiscent of President Donald Trump's first-term restrictions that became known to many as the "Muslim ban" — is once again souring relationships among Arab American voters in the key battleground state of Michigan, a group that Trump sought to make inroads with during the 2024 election. It came as a particular shock to many Yemeni Americans in the Dearborn area, who were surprised to find their country on Trump's new list banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 different countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East. "This is the reward to the community that defied everybody else?" asked Wali Altahif, a local activist who advocates for Yemeni and other immigrant communities. "That said, 'No, we're going to support you, we going to vote for you'?" The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. While it may not elicit the same protests as 2017, many Yemeni and Arab Americans in the all important battleground state see it as yet another offense contributing to enormous dissatisfaction with both major political parties in the U.S. The aim of the new ban, the Trump administration said, is to "protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes." Altahif described it as "selective discrimination" and "collective punishment." Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the U.S., largely concentrated in the Detroit metropolitan area. The state was an epicenter of anger at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the administration's support of Israel's offensive in Gaza, which has resulted in a worsening humanitarian crisis and sparked a historic shift away from the Democratic Party. With Trump's history of policy and rhetoric, including the restriction on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries during his first term, the new restrictions and anger over the toll on Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war have left many Arab American voters feeling that both major political parties have failed to deliver for them. In the November election, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Dearborn, America's largest Arab-majority city, since 2000. Harris lost 15,000 of Democratic votes compared to Biden's 2020 win after Trump visited the area days before the election, campaigned in a local cafe and said he'd bring peace to the Middle East. The shift was muted but real. Trump picked up 3,000 votes in the city and third-party candidate votes swelled to 20% of the overall vote. Many did not vote for a candidate at all. Trump won Michigan — and the presidency — for the second time in three attempts. In Dearborn, nearly half of its 110,000 residents are of Arab descent and the largest Arab nationalities represented are from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. Many Yemeni Americans in the metro Detroit area voted for Trump in the 2024 election after his vows for peace, which came at a time of widespread conflict and instability in the Middle East, Altahif said. In Yemen, a near decade-long civil war has pushed its population to the brink of famine. In Trump's first months in office, the U.S. bombed Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in a two-month long campaign that ended with a ceasefire agreement in May. "Every single family of Yemeni descendant is affected by the war in Yemen," Altahif said. "And we were hopeful based on Trump's promise that he was going to end the war." Rasheed Alnozili, publisher of the Dearborn-based online and print news services the Yemeni American News, said the travel ban will only stigmatize Yemeni and Arab communities in America and fuel Islamophobia, not counter terrorism. "They are part of the society, they are raising their kids," he said of Yemeni communities. There are exceptions to the ban. They include green-card holders and people with U.S. family members who apply for visas in connection to their spouses, children or parents. Altahif expects the ban to make it much harder for families separated by the distance to reunite. He said it took his wife from Yemen five years to get a visa approved before coming to live in the U.S. in 2024. Many in the community are reluctant to talk openly about the new travel restrictions for fear of retaliation, even if they are U.S. citizens or green-card holders. Others are reluctant to leave the country for fear of being held up by border agents when returning home, something Arab and Muslim Americans already report dealing with at airports. Amir Makled, a Dearborn-based civil rights attorney, said the restrictions have been "similarly chilling" for Muslim travelers compared to the 2017 policy. He's received several calls from people worried about being detained when traveling back to the U.S., even if they are citizens or lawful residents. One person of Yemeni descent ultimately canceled travel for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, a pillar of Islamic faith, Makled said. "People overall are opting not to travel, even when they have a legal right to do so," he said. Both major political parties will have to appeal to the Arab and Muslim communities in the Detroit area in key upcoming races in 2026. With open races for the governor's office and a U.S. Senate seat, a few thousand votes could tip the balance of power in Lansing and in Congress. "Where these voters land is going to, I think, make a difference in terms of who ends up in those seats," said Peter Trumbore, chair of the department of political science at Oakland University. The war in Gaza drove Yemeni Americans away from the Democratic Party, Altahif said, and Trump has not made good on his promise to quickly bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war which has resulted in the deaths of more than 55,000 Palestinians. Altahif noted state Democrats who have vocally opposed the travel ban, but said he has not seen Republicans do the same. Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, said candidates from both parties who are running for governor and the U.S. Senate have met with him in recent months as the 2026 midterm races start. He also met with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat who is running as an independent for the governor's office. Siblani called the travel ban a "racist" executive action that does nothing to help people in war-torn Yemen and Sudan, nations where many metro Detroit residents have relatives. But their disappointment in both Democrats and Republicans may leave them looking for a third option. "I can see that there is an appetite in our community or a need in our communities to vote for an independent," Siblani said.
