The Digital Divide and Unequal Access to AI Technologies in Immigrant Communities

As AI reshapes access to employment, education, healthcare, and civic services, immigrant communities face systematic exclusion that deepens inequalities. This chapter examines how immigrants in New York State navigate barriers to AI technologies that exclude them from beneficial applications while subjecting them to disproportionate surveillance. Using intersectionality and technocolonialism frameworks, the author analyzes demographic data, policy documents, and community programs to reveal five critical dimensions of digital inequality. Foreign-born households lag by seven percentage points behind in broadband access, while 23% face English proficiency barriers with predominantly monolingual AI interfaces. The analysis exposes how AI hiring systems discriminate against immigrant workers while gig platforms exploit them. This chapter provides evidence-based recommendations for inclusive AI development, offering pathways toward technological futures that empower rather than marginalize immigrant communities