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S2 Ep 7

Immigrant Labor

Aired: 19/01/2023

Reporter credits:

Cody Boston
D. Rashaan Gilmore
Vicky Diaz-Camacho
Mary Sanchez

1 minute read

Many jobs in our area are performed by folks who have immigrated to the US, but the complexities of our immigration system can make this labor easy to exploit. This month, the Flatland team looks at industries that survive on immigrant labor and what systemic barriers affect these workers.

Featured this month:

Vibrant Health
KCK Maintenance Solutions
KC Chamber of Commerce

A Solution for Economic Problems: Hire More Immigrants

One way to address worsening labor shortages and inflation is fairly simple: Hire more immigrants. Improving the immigration process is more complicated.

Flatland Follow-Up

Flatland journalists Mary Sanchez and D. Rashaan Gilmore discuss immigration on this inaugural Flatland Follow-up on IG Live.

Watch Now

Past Episodes

Healing Hate: Building Resilience Through Community

S3 Ep7 - 1 minute readIn collaboration with the Kansas City PBS special ‘Healing Hate‘, Flatland in Focus speaks with survivors of the 2014 shooting at the Overland Park Jewish Community Center to see how one act of hate has impacted their lives. […]

Stadium Subsidies and Community Impact

S3 Ep6 - 1 minute readThe Truman Sports Complex, home to KC’s Royals and Chiefs, opened to the public 50 years ago. Now the teams have a new vision for their future and voters must decide whether to support that vision with tax […]

Housing Along the KC Streetcar Line

S3 Ep5 - 1 minute readThe KC Streetcar expansion from Union Station to the Country Club Plaza will be running through midtown as early as 2025. But as ridership increases along this route, so may the cost of living for many the area, […]

Media Literacy

S3 Ep4 - 1 minute readAs media consumption continues to climb, media literacy and the ability to discern fact from fiction or opinion is more important than ever. How do we interact with the news? How do we evaluate what we share? And […]

The Future of the Country Club Plaza

S3 Ep. 3 - 1 minute readThe Kansas City PBS documentary “Nichols’ Folly: A Century of the Country Club Plaza” explores the complicated history behind the nation’s first planned suburban shopping center. This month, “Flatland in Focus” examines the future of the Country Club Plaza […]

East Side Development Sales Tax

S3 Ep 2 - 1 minute readIn 2017, voters approved a 1/8 cent sales tax with the goal of spurring economic development in disadvantaged neighborhoods of the city. So far, the Central City Economic Development (CCED) sales tax has awarded over $53 million and […]

Family Caregivers of Aging Adults

S3 Ep. 1 - 1 minute readD. Rashaan Gilmore hosts a thoughtful conversation about aging in place and the supports available for the increasing number of families who find themselves becoming caregivers as their loved ones age. This season premiere of Flatland in Focus […]

Reparations in KC

S2 Ep12 - 1 minute readKansas City is beginning a discussion about how it might make amends through reparations for inequities toward Black residents through reparations. Flatland In Focus will report on the deeply intentional work that’s already being done within the Black […]

See All Episodes

Flatland + KC Media Collective

Flatland and Kansas City PBS are proud to take part in the Kansas City Media Collective, a collaborative group of local, nonprofit media organizations dedicated to supporting local journalism.