Investigative Reporter
New York, NY
Seth Freed Wessler is a reporter in New York who currently writes for Colorlines.com. Seth has reported from across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean on immigration, the safety net, criminal justice, national security and the human fallout of the financial collapse.
Seth led a groundbreaking investigation that revealed the thousands of U.S. citizen children stuck in foster care whose parents have been detained or deported by federal immigration authorities. The investigation, for which Seth won a Hillman Prize and other honors, Along with Seth's series of follow-up stories, led to a direct response from the federal government, as well as the passage of state-level legislation. Seth worked until 2012 as a researcher for the Applied Research Center, where he authored research reports on racial inequality and the financial collapse, segregation in the restaurant industry and the corrosive effects of immigration policies on child welfare systems. Seth often discusses his reporting in national broadcast, and his stories and investigations for Colorlines have been cited by outlets including the Associated Press, the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and NPR. He has produced stories for GOOD Magazine, the Texas Observer, NPR’s LatinoUSA, The Huffington Post, The Root and other outlets. In addition to the Hillman Prize, Seth was a finalist for a Casey Medal and has won several Ippies Awards. He was the recipient of a reporting fellowship from USC Annenberg's Institute for Justice and Journalism.
Check out Seth's media appearances here.
Seth tweets at @sethfw.
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VideoHomeowners Protest At Justice Department: Hold Banks Accountable
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 20 2013, 3:46PM
Homeowners are protesting at the DOJ today to demand prosecutions of banks responsible for the foreclosure crisis and protections for homeowners with underwater mortgages.
Harvard Students Demand Investigation Into Heritage Researcher’s Immigrant IQ Dissertation
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 20 2013, 10:35AM
Jason Richwine’s dissertation claiming that immigrants of color have low IQs discredited his Heritage Foundation research on immigration reform. Now, Harvard students are asking why the thesis was ever approved.
Topics: Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
New York Attorney General Investigates Fast Food Wage Theft
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 16 2013, 4:42PM
New York State’s attorney general is investigating claims of widespread wage violations by NYC’s fast food restaurants.
Milwaukee Becomes Fifth City Where Fast Food Workers Strike
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 15 2013, 11:30AM
Hundreds fast food and retail workers are on strike in Milwaukee. The city was once a hub for black manufacturing jobs and now faces staggering racial disparities in employment.
Senate Amendment Limits Dangerous Deportation Practice
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 15 2013, 9:50AM
The Senate Juditiary Committee agreed to amend the immigration reform bill to limit practices that send deportees to dangerous spots on the border and separate family members who migrate together.
Topics: Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
Advocates To Obama: Stop Deporting Future Citizens
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 13 2013, 1:32PM
Immigration reform advocates are calling on President Obama to stop deportations of people who would become eligible for a path to citizenship under the Senate immigration bill.
Topics: Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
Detroit’s Fast Food Workers Strike As National Trend Grows
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 10 2013, 5:55PM
Detroit became the fourth city in recent weeks where fast food restaurant workers went on strike to demand higher wages.
Topics: /NOW Blog
Day One Of Immigration Amendments: Enforcement Is Never Enough For Republicans
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 10 2013, 9:54AM
As it’s amended the immigration reform bill will move to the right. How far is yet to be seen.
Topics: Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
St. Louis Fast Food Workers Latest To Go On Strike
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 9 2013, 11:50AM
Fast food workers in St. Louis went on strike today to demand raises and the right to organize. They join a national trend of low-wage and service sector workers demanding better jobs.
Topics: /NOW Blog
Senate Battle Lines Drawn on Immigration Bill
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 8 2013, 11:15AM
Senators in the Judiciary Committee introduced hundreds of amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill yesterday. They could dramatically alter the bill.
Topics: Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
New York Times Recycles Same ‘Racist Undertones’ It Covers
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 7 2013, 3:15PM
The paper of record’s A1 story could have been about how public policy pushes workers of color to the margins. Instead, it’s about an imagined battle between blacks and Latinos.
Topics: Economy, Immigration, Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
Report: Latinos Scared To Report Crime Because of Local Immigration Enforcement
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 7 2013, 2:36PM
A new poll finds that nearly half of Latinos and 70 percent of undocumented immigrants say they’re unlikely to call the cops if they’re the victim of a crime out of fear of immigration enforcement.
Topics: Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
Another Flat-Earth Argument About Immigration’s Economic Drain
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 7 2013, 9:00AM
The conservative think tank released a report yesterday to convince lawmakers that immigration reform costs too much. Its claims are mostly false, but they’ve worked before.
Topics: Economy, Immigration, Immigration Reform
How Public Policy Built The Racial Wealth Divide
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 3 2013, 11:55AM
Ta-Nehisi Coates writes on a foul 1950’s housing market practice that ropped black wealth and helped set the conditions for the current racial wealth gap.
Topics: /NOW Blog
More Dying Prisoners Could Be Released To End Life
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 2 2013, 12:39PM
A new report from the Justice Department reveals that federal prison authorities give no serious consideration to releasing dying prisoners even though the releases are legal. The report recommends expanding the compassionate release program.
Topics: Criminal Justice, /NOW Blog
Major Companies Rely On Underground Labor Brokers That Charge Workers High Fees
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 1 2013, 5:16PM
Some of the country’s biggest temp agencies and high profile companies regularly delegate hiring and employment services to a network of underground labor brokers that charge workers obligatory fees for rides to their jobs and to cash checks. The fees…
Is Facebook’s Push for Immigration Reform More Sinister Than It Seems?
by Seth Freed Wessler on May 1 2013, 2:11PM
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg recently started a group to back immigration reform. But his real goal may be to secure a source of low-wage workers for businesses like his.
Topics: Immigration Reform, /NOW Blog
Unregulated Lenders Now Target Pensioners
by Seth Freed Wessler on April 30 2013, 4:43PM
Predatory “pension advance” companies are hawking high interest loans to aging Americans. People of color are set up to take the worst hit.
The Tangled Meanings—and Misuses—of ‘Radicalization’
by Seth Freed Wessler on April 25 2013, 8:50AM
Everybody wants to know whether and how the Tsarnaev’s religious views radicalized them. But is that even the right question? And what are its implications?
Topics: Boston Bombing, National Security
Chicago Fast Food and Retail Workers Strike
by Seth Freed Wessler on April 24 2013, 9:29AM
Fast food and retail workers are striking in downtown Chicago. It’s the latest in a series of mass actions for higher wages and union rights by services sector employees.
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