B‘deshi [Bideshi, means foreigners in Bengali] Bangladesh is one of the world‘s most densely populated countries, with its people crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal. Poverty is deep and widespread, and the political scene remains volatile. The major employer is agriculture, but it is unable to meet the demand for jobs, many Bangladeshis seek work abroad.

Immigration to the United States from Bangladesh grew exponentially in the 1990s and the 2000s when thousands of Bangladeshis were able to legally migrate to the United States through the Diversity Visa Program/ Lottery. The diversity immigrant category was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-649) to stimulate “new seed” immigration from parts of the world that are under-represented in the U.S. Many of these migrants settled in urban areas such as New York City. According the NYC Taxi and limousine commission statistics in 2014, 23.1% of New York City taxi drivers are Bangladeshi. Often highly educated they took jobs such as driving cabs in order to sustain their families. Proud to give their children every educational opportunity they are proud of the lives they have manifested in the United States chasing the elusive American dream. B’deshi is a portrait series of the Bangladeshi taxi drivers and their families.

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