Bangladeshi Parking Police

What’s the best way for immigrants to make a living in New York City?  Well, if you are like hundreds of newcomers from Bangladesh, the answer is the NYPD, specifically, working in the parking enforcement division.

It stands to reason, in a city with millions of parked cars, many of them have to be parked illegally.  And someone has to give them tickets.

Although they make up less than 1% of New York’s population, Bangladeshis comprise more than 10% of the city’s 3000 parking officers. It turns out it’s a good job for someone with only a high school diploma, with a starting salary of $29k/year, generous pensions, and insurance benefits.

You might ask why so many Bangladeshis in the parking ticket business.  A lot has a lot to do with word of mouth, specifically Showkat Khan, a 53-year-old traffic agent who gives seminars to his countrymen and helps them prepare for the Civil Service exam required for the job.

If you get a ticket in the Big Apple, don’t bother yelling at the ticketing officer, “Go back to your country!”  That sort of thing does not bother veteran agent Jamil Sarwar, who just ignores them because he knows he’s just doing his job. Hey, he says, “I work for the city.”

According to the New York Times, about one-quarter of Bangladeshis who became parking agents have gone on to become police officers in the New York Police Department.  And in a city with such a diversity of citizens, it really makes sense to have officers who represent that same diversity.

Photo credit: New York Times

Immigration Reform Pushes Forward

On-camera:

Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate passed a compromise bill, S-744, the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act." There are a dozen areas targeted for change.  Let’s take a look at highlights of the 844-page bill. 

1.    H-1B specialty occupation work visas: Increase the visa quota to a minimum of 110,000 and a ceiling of 180,000, an increase in 2-3 times the current limits. 

2.   Legalization: Allow noncitizens who are unlawfully present and who entered the U.S. before December 31, 2011 to apply for Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status. Under this provision, applicants would be required to pay a penalty fee and back taxes.  Importantly, DREAMers would be eligible for citizenship immediately after obtaining green card status. 

3.   New Non-immigrant Invest Visas and Immigrant Visas (green cards):     Create a new visa category for certain qualified entrepreneurs who can meet certain strict investment, job creation, and revenue requirements.   

4.   E-Verify: Require all employers to be using the national E-Verify database in a five-year period.  

5.  Asylum: Eliminate the one-year filing deadline and authorize asylum officers to grant asylum during credible fear interviews.  

As of this recording, the U.S. government is in shutdown, but legislators are still hopeful that, before 2013 expires, the House of Representatives will pass an immigration bill for the President to sign into law. 

More information:

The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) gives permanent residency to children who were brought illegally into the U.S. when they were children. They would need to be immigrants of “good moral character” who graduated from U.S. high schools, and lived in the country continuously five years before the bill's enactment.

Associated Press Rejects the I-Word

Earlier this year, the Associated Press announced it will no longer recommend that journalists use the term “illegal immigrant” when referring to immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission.

Instead of using “illegal” to describe a person, it is telling users that “illegal” should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally.

The New York Times recently announced it will also be revising its usage of the term “illegal immigrant.”

For further details on this story, click here.