Roughly 40,000 people in Rhode Island have no health insurance. Of those, more than half are undocumented immigrants. As the number of coronavirus cases increases in the state, so, too, do the anxieties of undocumented people who fear accessing any government services could either jeopardize their chances at citizenship or lead to deportation.
Ana Gonzalez
Ana González is the host and producer of Mosaic. She's proudly Puerto Rican and Irish, and loves meeting new people almost as much as she loves meeting new dogs. Before coming to The Public's Radio in 2019, Ana worked with the WHYY Media Labs in Philadelphia and ran her own video production company, EARF. In 2017, she produced and directed a feature-length documentary about hip hop history in Rhode Island, Almost Dope. Ana is a 2015 graduate of Brown University.
If you have a story about immigration in Rhode Island, give her a shout at agonzalez@thepublicsradio.org.
Refugee Dream Center gives support to hundreds of Rhode Island’s refugees
Refugees living in Rhode Island already have difficulties getting the same resources as everybody else. In a time of global crisis, this vulnerability is amplified. In Providence, the Refugee Dream Center is working with 125 families new to this country who are now also struggling with the challenges of life during the coronavirus pandemic.
No Safety Net For RI Sex Workers In Pandemic
When Governor Raimondo announced a ban on public gatherings on March 16th, Rhode Island gentlemen’s clubs shut their doors. Dancers are out of work, but the sex industry in Rhode Island is far from closed. Clients are still calling, and the decision to work is in the hands of the sex workers themselves. If they can’t pay their bills or receive government assistance, they are going to have to rely on each other.
An Abrupt End To The Semester For Brown U Students
Undergraduate students at Brown University were left scrambling to move out of their on-campus housing, after the university announced that it would be transitioning to remote learning for the rest of the spring semester.
Brown Community Member Tests Positive For COVID-19, Pushing Move-Out Date To March 17
Brown University Provost Richard Locke announced in an email on Saturday night that a member of the Brown community has tested positive for COVID-19. The university is now taking steps to get students to leave campus.
Mosaic: Season One Is Over. What Stories About Immigration Are We Missing?
Come celebrate the first season of The Public’s Radio’s podcast on immigration, Mosaic, with music, dance and food from around the world, and help us answer a big question for season two: What does it take to be an immigrant in New England today?
Ep. 30: Immigration, Industrialization And The American Dream
Americans often look back on the Industrial Revolution as a time of opportunity, when immigrants came to America with nothing and quickly climbed the economic ladder. But the truth is the 19th and early 20th Centuries were a hard time for many immigrants who faced discrimination and, often, tough odds.
Ep. 29: The Last Jewish Bakery In Rhode Island
Murray Kaplan learned how to bake from his father, who learned how to bake from his father, who started the family bakery in 1917 after coming over from Russia. Now that he’s close to retirement, Murray faces a choice: continue the tradition of Jewish bakeries in Rhode Island, or hang up his apron strings for good.
Ep. 29: The Last Jewish Bakery In Rhode Island
Murray Kaplan learned how to bake from his father, who learned how to bake from his father, who started the family bakery in 1917 after coming over from Russia. Now that he’s close to retirement, Murray faces a choice: continue the tradition of Jewish bakeries in Rhode Island, or hang up his apron strings for good.
Ep. 28: The Big Immigration Story Behind A Small Berry
For generations, Cape Verdean-Americans have farmed on the cranberry bogs of Southeastern Massachusetts. Despite the challenges, one family in the town of Carver is keeping that tradition alive.

