undocumented | Christina Felschen

Tough selection, soft landing: Is Canada’s immigration policy as good as its image?

Translation of my German-language radio documentary (19mn), broadcast by Deutschlandfunk (German public radio) on Nov 23, 2021 >>

Canada opened its borders to people of all nationalities in the 1960s, provided they had the right qualifications. The German government is discussing whether this could be a model for them. But critics say Canada’s often idealized immigration system is classist and encourages exploitation.

How Clearview is Helping the Trump Administration Target Undocumented Immigrants

published on the NUDGED blog, March 14, 2020 >>

A small US company sells an app that could end our ability to walk down the street anonymously. Its clients include authoritarian states and US immigration authorities. Jacinta Gonzalez, an organizer with the NGO Mijente, spoke with us about why this puts the 11 million undocumented people in the United States at even greater risk of deportation.

Fenced In, Fenced Out

German version (with photo essay) published February 14, 2017 by ZEIT ONLINE >>

In the US Mexican borderlands, even Trump voters oppose the president’s plan to build a border wall. They fear that even more immigrants will die in their backyard.

Undocumented – and indispensable

published in German by ZEIT ONLINE on February 28, 2017 >>

Harvest workers, nannies, craftspeople: Eleven million people live in the US without papers, nothing goes without them. Trump wants to deport them anyway. A life full of fear.

Invisible neighbors

Final report of my research on the situation of undocumented migrants in Arizona and California, supported by the American Council on Germany’s McCloy Fellowship in Journalism

Crossing – What if people die in your backyard

broadcasted on German public radio SWR on November 7 and 8, 2016, and again on August 14, 2018 >

Kat Rodriguez has one of the toughest jobs along the U.S.-Mexican border. She helps Central American families find relatives who have disappeared on their journey to the United States. All too often, their bodies are found in the Sonoran Desert behind Kat’s house. On her mission to stop the deaths, Kat crossed the desert on foot with 70 women, men, teenagers, and me. Join us in my radio feature.

Borderland – undocumented migrants in the United States

published in the newsletter of the American Coucil on Germany, read full text here >>

Eleven million people live as undocumented migrants in the United States, constantly afraid of deportation. By working off the books and off-hours, they allow the middle class to maintain their American way of life.