COLORLINES - Seth Freed Wessler

Seth Freed Wessler

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.

The $50 Billion Dollar Question in Obama’s New Jobs Proposal

by Seth Freed Wessler on September 7 2010, 4:40PM

It’s unclear exactly how jobs will be created, what kind of jobs they’ll be and for who will get them.

Topics: Economy

Anti-Muslim Furor Spreads to College Reading Lists in Brooklyn

by Seth Freed Wessler on September 3 2010, 11:55AM

Brooklyn College is up in arms over a book that was published when many thought the worst parts of post-9/11 furor was behind us. Think again.

Topics: Schools & Youth

Iraq Vets Return to a Country Not Ready to Truly Support Them

by Seth Freed Wessler on September 1 2010, 10:23AM

The Iraq drawdown rearranges misguided priorities rather than creating new ones—like job creation, health care and family support.

Topics: Economy

Study: Immigration Drives Wages Up, Actually

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 31 2010, 4:15PM

The latest in a growing mound of evidence that immigration is a net economic gain.

Topics: Immigration

Obama Halts 17K Deportations, But Record Number Await Hearings

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 31 2010, 10:44AM

Nearly a quarter million immigrants still await a hearing in their deportation cases.

Topics: Immigration

Washington’s Whitewashed Social Security Review

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 30 2010, 12:46PM

Alan Simpson’s bizarre tirade should be expected from a commission stacked with old, white men.

Topics: Economy

American Families vs. Washington’s Misguided Deficit Hawks

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 25 2010, 3:15PM

A CBO study provides more proof that social programs help stimulate the economy, not tank it.

Topics: Economy

Will Social Security Be the Next Deficit Hawk Prey?

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 18 2010, 11:41AM

Social Security is 90 percent of income for a third of black and Latino seniors.

Topics: Economy

Congress Leaves Kids Hungry in Order to Feed Them

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 17 2010, 9:35AM

It’s been a summer of false choices in Washington—pitting one vital need for struggling families against another.

Topics: Economy

Green Jobs Are Getting Outsourced, Too

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 13 2010, 9:15AM

Another reason why relying only on the private sector to restart the labor market won’t work.

Topics: Economy

50,000 Deported From County Jails, And Counting

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 11 2010, 4:27PM

A new federal program expedites the process even for traffic violations.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Immigration

Congress Votes For School Funding, Cuts Food Stamps

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 10 2010, 4:01PM

Working families gear up for a fight.

Topics: Economy

House Democrats Vow to Restore Food Stamp Funding

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 9 2010, 3:58PM

How they’ll make good on that promise is anybody’s guess.

Topics: Economy

Senate Chops Last Lifeline For Struggling Families

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 6 2010, 3:17PM

Food stamps are all that’s left for many, but they too are sacrificed to the deficit demons.

Topics: Economy

Feds to Arpaio: Cooperate in Civil Rights Case or We’ll Sue

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 4 2010, 11:50AM

Justice officials tell the notorious sheriff he’s got until Aug. 17 to hand over documents.

Topics: Immigration, Joe Arpaio

Virginia Attorney General Issues His Own SB 1070

by Seth Freed Wessler on August 4 2010, 9:30AM

It’s the latest and loudest push by a well-established anti-immigrant movement in the state.

Topics: Immigration

Salvadoran Man Commits Suicide in Immigration Detention

by Seth Freed Wessler on July 21 2010, 5:27PM

Jose Nelson Reyes-Zelaya had been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for a day when he was found dead after what officials called “apparent asphyxiation.”

Topics: Immigration

How Republicans Blamed the Jobless for Being Out of Work

by Seth Freed Wessler on July 21 2010, 10:26AM

And the racial boogeyman that informs the fact-challenged argument.

Topics: Economy

Race and Recession: No Recovery for Communities of Color

by Seth Freed Wessler, Channing Kennedy, Hatty Lee on July 8 2010, 2:00PM

Our original report examined the racial inequity that helped create the recession—and that the crisis has in turn intensified. More than a year later, little has changed.

Topics: Economy, Jobs Crisis

Race and Recession: Foreclosure Losses Still Mounting

by Seth Freed Wessler on July 8 2010, 1:35PM

President Obama’s foreclosure prevention program has done little to slow the pace of loss in communities of color.

Topics:

Seth Freed Wessler

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