Muddy Cup: A Dominican Family Comes of Age in a New America

In 1985, the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued more immigrant visas to citizens of the Dominican Republic than to any other group of foreigners settling in New York City. Because of this and the fact that Dominicans maintained a lower profile than other Hispanics, Fischkin's assignment from Newsday was to spend a year with a Dominican family for a weekly feature on their lives, from visa application to settlement in the U.S. The saga of the Almonte family that resulted is as rich as a novel and its characters as full-bodied. Their woes and joys in the struggle first to emigrate, then to adapt to life in New York City could set an example for other immigrants. And for Fischkin, the Almontes mirror her own eastern European parents' experiences, which she interweaves here. Although her story focuses on a single family, it reflects the human toll of U.S. immigration policy, which in its effort to limit visas to those who won't become a burden on the welfare system can separate families, as it did the Almontes. Eventually reunited, the family members find housing and work and learn English, and the children quickly become Americanized. This is an affecting portrait of a valiant and determined family. (Aug.)