Immigrants shipped back to their country, and no, they are not in trouble with the law. That was the story making headlines in the July 29th, 2009 edition of The New York Times. I was initially drawn to this story because it is very interesting how people who are homeless and immigrants can be shipped back to their country and the city is paying for it. Basically it is a one-way ticket paid by the City of New York to that familyâÂÂs homeland or home state if they are enrolled in a city shelter. This option is presented to them if they no longer want to stay in the city. The city sees this as an alternative because city shelters are sometimes too expensive to enroll one family. The way it works is the family is asked if the person has someone to stay with in another place. If that person agrees, the social worker investigates the information, and then ships them off. This project has been going on since 2007. Personally, I think itâÂÂs a good idea because thereâÂÂs a lot of people whose main reason for coming to New York City is in search of a new life and new experiences, and if it is not being offered of course they might just want to go back. If it is not happening here and they donâÂÂt have the cash to go back to their country, this program can definitely help. I think it would be more useful and effective now that lots of people are losing their jobs and if youâÂÂre an immigrant and donâÂÂt have enough money and end up homeless you have an option. Those who donâÂÂt have family somewhere else? YouâÂÂre kind of screwed for now.
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