ABOUT THIS REPORTING
It’s practically gospel in Nebraska that our smaller communities are declining, continuing a population slide that began long ago and will continue forevermore.
But many Nebraskans don’t realize that conventional wisdom is being upended, altered by a force powerful enough to turn the tide on decades of decline and offer some communities the chance to chart a new path forward.
In a word: Immigration.
A FFP series, “Nebraska Evolving” dug deep into several smaller Nebraska cities and small towns – places like Wakefield, the star of the first story, and also Columbus, Madison, North Platte, South Sioux City and Schuyler. How and why are they evolving? And how is it impacting their Main Streets, schools and local governments, affecting families who have lived in these towns for generations and also new residents who just arrived?
Marco’s journey: As others sleep, a Nebraska high schooler survives the graveyard shift
Marco Gutiérrez, recent immigrant from Guatemala, is one of dozens – maybe hundreds – of Schuyler Central High School students who work overnight full-time jobs and then head to first period. They continue to do so as the threat of a crackdown looms.
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Spinning rides, swirling rumors: Talk of ICE raid mars county fair’s attempt to showcase Mexican band
Chase County sheriff says he called ICE fearing lack of law enforcement resources, not because of Mexican band. Many immigrants stayed home.
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Desperate for teachers, Nebraska schools turn to the faraway Philippines
SCHUYLER — In a classroom 7,903 miles from home, Dorina Ramos counts down from five. “Five,” Ramos says in her clear and practiced English, as a teenager passing…
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‘Like a threat’: Mass email urging immigrants to self-deport sows fear, confusion in Nebraska
These immigrants, many here legally, are being urged by lawyers not to follow the directives in the mass email. Immigration hardliners say it's a needed remedy for previous administrations allowing a much larger side door into U.S.
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Split apart: New ban leaves family half in Nebraska, half stuck in Middle East
They'd secured their visas, bought their plane tickets, sold their belongings. But a new Trump administration refugee ban means a war-torn Syrian family can't reunite with their loved ones, or the Omahans working to get them here.
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No raids, many rumors: In Nebraska immigrant communities, fear and lack of ICE info fuel fake news
Nebraska immigration detentions appear to be up slightly. But advocates for immigrants and law enforcement officials alike say the rumors are far outpacing the reality.
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Nebraska companies, strapped for workers, face ‘mild concern to abject terror’ as immigration crackdown begins
An unlikely coalition of pro-business groups and activists see a solution to Nebraska's workforce shortage: More immigration. Now they're watching the crackdown, wondering how it will impact foreign-born workers and their employers.
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Coming crackdown? Nebraska schools, churches, immigrants brace for Trump-promised historic deportation
Confusion reigns in "every pocket" of state as school leaders worry about kids separated from parents, attorneys prep for workplace raids and everyone wonders — will this time be different?
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Nebraska Evolving: Somalis band together to aid new refugees in South Sioux, a ‘place of opportunity’
The African immigrant population in South Sioux City has nearly tripled in the past decade as immigrants and refugees find manufacturing work and community. Statewide, the number of African immigrants is still tiny but quickly growing.
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Grand Island program gives immigrants ‘crash course,’ nudges them to run on Election Day
In Grand Island, nearly 1 in 5 residents are foreign-born and 36% are people of color. An new program aims to help more immigrants plug into the city's civic life, whether they have lived here for months or for decades. And leaders hope that some participants end up running for political office.
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Marco’s journey: As others sleep, a Nebraska high schooler survives the graveyard shift
Marco Gutiérrez, recent immigrant from Guatemala, is one of dozens – maybe hundreds – of Schuyler Central High School students who work overnight full-time jobs and then head to first period. They continue to do so as the threat of a crackdown looms.
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Nebraska Evolving: Immigration is changing, and maybe saving, some small Nebraska communities
A new FFP series, “Nebraska Evolving” will dig deep into several smaller Nebraska cities and small towns – places like Wakefield, the star of the first story, and also Columbus, Madison, North Platte, South Sioux City and Schuyler.