NPR: Why Waukegan?

Why Waukegan?

So, if I told you we were going to do a piece about conflicts over immigration, would you think we'd go to...Waukegan, Illinois? Me neither.

That's why I love stories like this, because they help us understand the way America is changing, the places it's changing most and how those changes affect those who live there.

Waukegan is in the middle of a clash over illegal immigration -- but some would also say it's really about immigration, period. City Council members there want their police department to enforce immigration law in the case of "serious" crimes, but local Latino leaders think this is just an excuse for harassment and profiling. We hear from both sides...and both are Latino/Latina, which makes for another interesting dimension.

We have been following immigration closely because it is just one of the most compelling INTERNATIONAL dramas, let alone national ones. All over the world, people are on the move. Why are they leaving home, country, family, the familiar? Where they are going?...What's the reception they find when they get there? It is all interesting to us.

We want to hear more...

Is your city or town changing? How?
It doesn't all have to be about conflict -- although we don't mind conflict.

Who knows? A TMM team might just show up on your doorstep (preferably in a beach town, with excellent clam strips...kidding)

AND...it's still not too late to climb aboard the money train. If YOU are interested in advice on buying a home, reducing a debt or starting a small business...and you're willing to be profiled on Tell Me More...let us know. We plan to start in AUGUST, so the doors are closing.

Michel Martin

5:51 PM ET | 07-17-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Michel,

The Christian Science Monitor has an article today (July 17th) about how New Haven, Connecticut is issuing illegal immigrants IDs -- bucking the national trend of local communities using their resources to enforce federal immigration laws. The town is issuing official IDs that help the immigrants get services in hopes that they feel less afraid to report crime since the police won't try to deport them.

Sent by Steve Petersen | 10:09 PM ET | 07-17-2007

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"Nothing is assumed." That's the unofficial motto of Tell Me More, the new Monday-Friday talk show with host Michel Martin. Grounded in lively interviewing and compelling storytelling, the program seeks to present diverse new voices, cross borders, challenge conventional wisdom and discover how other people think.