In partnership with Report for America and La Noticia this year, our reporters worked to cover the immigrant communities across the Charlotte area and the issues important to them.
A day with a Charlotte immigration attorney inside one of the nation’s toughest courts
Reporter Laura Brache gave us an inside look at what many go through as they navigate the often cumbersome U.S. court system.
Brache spent a day with Charlotte immigration attorney Jordan Forsythe as she helped her client navigate one of the nation's toughest immigration courts. In Charlotte’s court, 80% of asylum cases end in deportation.
Puede leer esta historia en español en La Noticia.
North Carolina ranks last in the country for legal representation in immigration cases
Reporter Maria Ramirez Uribe looked into data from Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University that showed North Carolina ranked last in the country for the likelihood of having representation in immigration cases.
She spoke with attorney Rebecca O’Neill, the co-founder of the Carolina Migrant Network, about why North Carolina lags so far behind in representation.
Puede leer esta historia en español en La Noticia.
At least 4,000 Venezuelans in the Charlotte area are now eligible for temporary protected status
We looked into how the Biden administration’s announcement in March granted temporary protected status to Venezuelans living in the United States. Brache took us into José Miguel González’s family and their journey to Belmont from Venezuela.
Puede leer esta historia en español en La Noticia.
When staying home is not an option: Day laborers lean on nonprofits as work diminishes
Around 120,000 day laborers across the United States stand in groups each day waiting for employers to offer them a job. Most of the time they’re offered work for the day. Many day laborers already lived in poverty before the coronavirus pandemic hit and took most of their jobs.
Ramirez Uribe shared how day laborers in Charlotte weather the job uncertainty that has come with the pandemic.
Puede leer esta historia en español en La Noticia.
'It was my life or it was death': A Guatemalan woman escapes violence and seeks asylum in Charlotte
Mayda Vargas lost her partner after she says he was killed by gang members in Guatemala.
She then began seeking asylum in Charlotte — with one toughest immigration courts in the country — and trying to rebuild the life she left behind.
Ramirez Uribe carefully brought us Vargas’ story of resettling after fleeing her home.
Puede leer esta historia en español en La Noticia.
These are just some of the many stories our reporters have covered over the past year. You can read their full coverage here. You can help support our Race and Equity Team by donating today.
You can also subscribe to our upcoming race and equity newsletter EQUALibrium that will launch in 2022.