© 2026 WGLT
A public service of Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Cotija And New Rochelle

In the second of two reports on Mexican immigrants, NPR's David Welna visits New Rochelle, a wealthy suburb of New York City which has became a favorite destination of young men from the poor town of Cotija (coh-TEE-ha) in central Mexico. A few thousand Mexicans--legal and illegal--live in New Rochelle. They're part of an eastward drift among growing numbers of Mexican immigrants attracted by good wages and little fear of immigration raids. Swamped by the massive illegal population in the southwest, the immigration service doesn't have the resources to focus on places like New Rochelle.

Copyright 1996 NPR