Amy Bracken

Amy Bracken is a Boston-based independent reporter and radio producer. She mostly covers migration and all things Haitian but has also reported on religion and human rights, and she likes exploring the history behind current events. She is a graduate of Columbia School of Journalism and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Recent Stories

Conflict

Fear, not 'laziness', is one reason some immigrants haven't applied for DACA

PRI's The World

February 07, 2018

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Tuesday suggested that young immigrants who have not applied for legal status are either afraid or "too lazy to get off their asses." Immigrants, advocates and Democrats have called Kelly's words offensive and wrong.

Economics

A year after the Italy-Libya migrant deal: Fewer deaths at sea but persistent abuse on land

PRI's The World

February 06, 2018

In February 2017, Italy and Libya signed an agreement to try to slow the arrival of migrants across the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe, with Italy giving logistical and financial support to Libya's coast guard. Since then, migrant sea arrivals in Europe have declined, and so have drownings, but many migrants returned to Libya face abusive detention.

Sexuality

Why it's gotten harder for LGBT people in Haiti since the earthquake

PRI's The World

February 06, 2018

Last summer, Haiti’s senate passed legislation that would further curb LGBT rights. It was just the latest in a series of incidents that LGBT Haitians say shows an increasingly hostile attitude toward their community.

Conflict

A Syrian with Temporary Protected Status says it's a matter of life or death

PRI's The World

February 01, 2018

The Trump Administration announced Wednesday that Temporary Protected Status for Syrians will be extended for 18 months beyond its expiration date in March. TPS has enabled a young Syrian man named Amr Sinna to live, work, study and buy property in the US. He's been anxiously awaiting yesterday's announcement, along with almost 7,000 other Syrians living in the US with TPS.

Business

Eight years after the earthquake, a different taste of Haiti

PRI's The World

January 12, 2018

After the 2010 earthquake devasted Haiti, there was an outpouring of international support. Eight years later, most of those who rushed in to help are long gone. But many of those who remain are people with ties to Haiti, and ome of them started businesses that are getting some traction.

Economics

Haiti has a chicken-and-egg problem

PRI's The World

January 08, 2018

Haiti’s egg problem is a stark symptom — and a symbol — of the cycle of poverty in which the country has been stuck for decades, if not centuries.

Jobs

For businesses that boom in the summer, Trump’s H-2B visa expansion is too little too late

PRI's The World

July 19, 2017

Summer is high season in places like Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. But this year, many businesses there haven't been able to get the H-2B visas they need for their international workers.