Poverty in America: Nouveau Poor—Immigrant Poverty

T.N. Mohan's documentary, part of the Poverty in America series, takes a look at a grim side of the immigrant experience. While many people still come to the U.S. with dreams of achieving economic success, the odds are against them if they arrive without a white-collar skill-set. Many work excessively long hours for poor pay, and find themselves crowded into substandard housing in areas where generational poverty has taken root. Because many send the bulk of their earnings to families back in their native countries, they wind up contributing very little to the American economy. A number of immigrants speak at length here; most are from Latin America, detailing their problems without rancor or ruefulness over their situation. Several academic experts, along with the late David Broder of the Washington Post, also offer observations, although practical solutions for alleviating the financial misery remain elusive. Unfortunately, the film tends to blur the very clear differences between legal and illegal immigrants; Mohan also repeats the argument that these individuals absorb the jobs that Americans will not do, ignoring the fact that many Americans would do the work if employers paid job-appropriate salaries with benefits. Still, the issues raised here are important, and Nouveau Poor deserves praise for spurring discussion of a complex problem. Other titles in the series include Born with a Wooden Spoon: Welcome to Poverty U.S.A. (VL-1/08), The 51st State: America's Working Poor, and Obvious Poverty: America's Homeless. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)