A View From The Road: Immigration Then & Now

Immigration has been in the news quite a bit lately, from the plight of mothers and children held at detention centers, to the deportation or lack thereof of illegal immigrants who commit crimes, immigration is the hot topic du jour. Candidates for president are bringing this issue to the forefront and it really made me reflect on what I saw on our last trip (trip #16) when we visited Ellis Island-the now closed … [Read more...]

Brighton Beach (New York City-Brooklyn)

What I love about America is there are so many places where you can go and feel like you are in another whole country. Brooklyn is no exception.  There are many immigrant communities here but one of the most famous is Brighton Beach which can feel to the average American like a trip to Russia. Take a walk under the subway bridge a block from the beach and every sign will be in Russian, the language you hear on the … [Read more...]

Ellis Island (Jersey City)

There were many things I was excited to learn more about on our road trip to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but by far the one of the things I was most looking forward to was a visit to Ellis Island. So many of us from immigrant stock (myself included) can trace our ancestors first stop here on their way to their new life in America. Although no longer in use as an immigrant processing facility a total of 12 … [Read more...]