| It was turning out to be a
day like all the others. In spite of all the efforts of the agency
assisting her, the Eastern European single mother of three was still
unable to find a permanent place for herself and her family to live. In
addition to facing the reluctance many landlords have about renting to
families with children (see "Family Matters" in the Summer issue of
Insight), this woman was also experiencing discrimination on the
basis of her national origin.
The Fear Factor
Landlord after landlord voiced their
concerns to the agency assisting her: "Does she know the meaning of 'rent'
and 'security deposit'?" "If I let her move in, will I also be opening the
door to an enormous extended family?" "How can I rent to her if I can't
communicate with her? I just can't take that kind of chance." Fear and
misunderstanding of another culture or people who don't have English as
their first language all too often lead to the denial of housing and other
basic civil rights like education, and employment - things that most
Americans take for granted.
In order for this young mother to be
eligible for a training program that would lead to employment, she needed
to find daycare for her youngest child. She finally found daycare that was
affordable, close to her home, and provided the transportation she needed
since she could not yet afford a car. In an interview with the director of
the day care center, she explained her situation in her halting English.
When it became clear to the director that the three-year-old did not speak
English, she refused to enroll him.
A second family, attempting to register
their children for school was told that because their children did not
speak English or Spanish, they would be ineligible for the school's ESL
(English as a Second language) program. ESL programs are designed to
develop a facility in English regardless of the student's first language.
On the job, people who speak a second
language report being harassed or ostracized by their English-only
co-workers if they communicate with each other in their own language.
Co-workers have been offended and then offensive when a second language is
overheard. They often assume that the speakers a re saying bad things
about them. They may retaliate by imitating the speakers or pretending
that they aren't there. They may say, "Why don't they just learn to speak
English?" Like many other forms of discriminatory behavior, this may cause
the victims to isolate themselves (which in turn prolongs the process of
learning English.)
I don't understand
National origin discrimination, at least
in housing, is one of the least frequently reported forms of
discrimination for many reasons. Victims often do not understand their
rights. If victims of discrimination are not U.S. citizens, there may be
even more confusion about what rights they have. There are often perceived
language barriers to receiving needed assistance. Sometimes there is
reluctance on the part of individuals or the agencies assisting them to
"rock the boat." There is the perception that only a limited number of
housing providers will "accept" immigrants, so if those individuals
discriminate from time to time, reporting the behavior would eliminate a
housing choice for future clients.
In fact, the Federal Fair Housing Act
states that discrimination on the basis of national origin is prohibited
for all persons; it does not specify that the person be a citizen in order
to be protected. Additionally, most federally funded health and human
service agencies are required to ensure that limited English proficient
persons (LEP) have access to their services. (Additional information about
protections for LEP is available through the U.S. Department of Justice
and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)
A new kind of "passing"
National origin discrimination has been a
recurring problem in this country. Strangely enough in this country where
almost everyone came from another country originally, with each new wave
of immigration has come accompanying mistrust, fear, and prejudice against
the new group. But the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the
subsequent rise in nationalist sentiment has led to an increased fear of
foreigners. As a result there has been a dramatic increase in the number
and intensity of incidents of national origin discrimination. They range
from the "merely hurtful" and annoying to the dangerous and many of those
incidents are directed not at recent immigrants, but at second and
third-generation American citizens.
Signs and graffiti saying "foreigners go
home!" have appeared. Two car bombings - one in Black Rock, one on the
lower West Side have been reported. A house that stood next to a school
was "accidentally" destroyed when a bomb believed to be targeted on a
nearby Arab-run store exploded.
According to a staff member of the
International Institute, a landlord who has traditionally been very
helpful in providing apartments for immigrant families has reported
receiving threats from tenants in his apartment building in an effort to
prevent him from renting any of the units to "Arabs." When showing them
units for rent, therefore, he suggested to some Iraqi applicants that if
they ran into other tenants to "Just say you're Italian." When they passed
by current residents, the landlord began speaking to the confused
applicants loudly in Italian.
Because the landlord had been assisting
them, the agency did not wish to report the offensive, discriminatory, and
illegal behavior. However, it is not a practice HOME or the International
Institute would encourage other landlords to pursue. Landlords should know
that their right to comply with the fair housing act is protected by law;
if anyone tries to interfere with that right using threats, coercion, or
force, they can and should report the incident immediately. They should
not exacerbate the situation for themselves by encouraging people to try
to "pass" for something they are not.
Our county has long been known as the
"Nation of Immigrants" and "The Melting Pot." In these times of war,
terrorism, and economic hardship, it becomes especially important that we
remember the meaning of the Statue of Liberty and the words of welcome
inscribed on its base. It is time to truly become the land of opportunity
for everyone.
Mary Kay Jou is the School Liaison
for the International Institute |
