The podcast “Im/migrant Lives” seeks to inform the public about current issues affecting im/migrant communities, drawing on both cutting-edge research and grassroots activities to inform listeners’ understandings of the challenges affecting im/migrant well-being and ways in which public policies and community organizations can solve the most pressing problems facing these groups.
Crisis migrants are individuals and families who are forced to leave their homes due to circumstances beyond their control, such as natural disasters, armed conflict, or extreme economic crises or a breakdown in local infrastructure and public safety systems. Their migrations are often sudden, and they arrive to reception countries with critical physical, psychological, and financial needs unmet. This episode examines some examples of crisis migrants in the United States and the social challenges they face upon relocation. It concludes with some news about Season 4 of the podcast.
27 May 2026
Enforcement’s Generational Effects on U.S.-Citizen Young Adults
Immigration enforcement activities have seen a dramatic increase in the last year, due to the current presidential administration’s policy changes. However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency that has been responsible for removals and deportations inside the country, has been in operation since 2003. U.S.-citizen children who witnessed enforcement episodes in their families during the Bush and Obama administrations are now young adults. What are the long-lasting, generational effects of ICE’s actions on these U.S. citizens?
28 Apr 2026
How Do Restrictive Immigration Policies Affect Children's Development and Education?
Latino children, the majority of which have at least one immigrant parent, face challenges when it comes to education. Lower parental education, limited income, and for Latino immigrant families, learning a new language and understanding how the U.S. education system works, present additional obstacles to educational attainment. In response, Early Childhood Education programs help to shrink gaps in immigrant Latino children’s education. This episode discusses how immigration policies affect access to these programs and to education generally.
25 Mar 2026
The Effects of 2025’s Executive Orders on Im/migrant Families in Florida
The year 2025 saw the passing of dozens of executive orders related to immigration. Among them were mandates to increase the detention and deportation of immigrants through increased agreements between local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (known as 287 (g) agreements) and increasing the presence of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the interior of the country. How has ramped up immigration enforcement affected the lives of mixed-status families in Florida? In this episode, we discuss the research findings of a study that examined the effects of recent enforcement activity on immigrant parents and their U.S.-born children.
24 Jul 2025
How does detention affect immigrants’ lives?
With increasing numbers of immigrants being detained or removed from their communities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), what are the effects of detaining them on their well-being? In this episode, we discuss the current issues facing detained immigrants and what the research says about immigrant well-being in detention centers.
25 Jun 2025
How do immigrants who legally came to the United States navigate the loss of their legal status?
This episode explores how immigrants who legally entered the United States navigate the precariousness of their legal status and the impact of political uncertainty on their lives.
27 May 2025
How do partnerships between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police, known as 287(g) agreements, affect immigrant communities?
This episode examines the significant increase in 287(g) agreements between ICE and local law enforcement and explores the resulting impact on immigrant communities.
27 Mar 2025
The President’s Executive Orders and Implications for Im/migrant Well-Being
Since President Trump took office earlier this year, he has signed many immigration-related Executive Orders that contain dozens of policy changes. In this episode, we provide an overview of these Executive Orders, their current status, and the implications of these actions for im/migrant well-being.
24 Jan 2025
Immigration Enforcement’s Effects on Children’s Well-Being
As we stare down the prospect of mass deportation in the coming years, questions arise as to what will happen to the immigrant and U.S.-born children of those who are deported from the United States. In this episode, we examine how immigration enforcement efforts, such as deportations and workplace raids, affect not just the children of those who are targeted, but all children who are members of the communities that experience these immigration enforcement measures.
13 Dec 2024
Im/migrant Well-Being During Disasters
Im/migrant Lives host Dr. Nadia Brown and Dr. Sarah Horton explore disaster relief access and recovery barriers for immigrant communities in the face of increasing natural hazards.
22 Oct 2024
The 2024 Presidential Candidates’ Immigration Policies and Their Impact on Im/migrant Well-Being
Immigration has been a central issue in the 2024 presidential race, with candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties proposing immigration policies that will inevitably affect im/migrant well-being. In this episode, we discuss some of the central pillars of both candidates’ proposed policies and based on past research, we analyze how these policies may impact im/migrant well-being.
18 Sept 2024
“Immigrants and the Right to Legal Representation”
In contrast to the criminal justice system, immigrants who come before a judge in civil immigration court are not guaranteed the right to legal representation should they be unable to afford it, yet in some cases they face consequences as severe as those applied in criminal cases. In this episode, we discuss whether immigrants facing detention and deportation should have access to the right to counsel by evaluating some of the research on the consequences of lacking legal representation and potential policy solutions.
14 Aug 2024
Florida’s SB 1718: One Year Later
Florida’s SB 1718, a law that criminalized many aspects of life as an immigrant, passed in the Florida legislature and was signed into law in 2023. One year later, how have immigrants responded to this law, and what are the effects and implications for the state of Florida? In this episode, we will discuss SB 1718’s effects on immigrants’ lives and in their communities.
29 May 2024
Unpacking the relationship between immigration and crime
Opponents of immigration often link immigration to crime, and rhetoric in the media has casted immigrants as criminals, leading some public officials to propose greater immigration control as a mechanism to reduce crime. This episode examines the relationship between immigration and crime to debunk the many myths circulating in the media about immigrants to the U.S.
25 Mar 2024
Security at the Border and Racial Profiling
In recent decades security at the US Southern border has increased to stop the arrivals of immigrants and refugees. This episode examines how border security, specifically the presence of the border wall in Arizona communities and Customs and Border Patrol’s practice of screening residents at border checkpoints, affects the Latino/a/x population of young adults in the region. We will discuss racial profiling practices, how they impact human rights, and how they erode residents’—including US citizens’—sense of belonging to the nation.
24 Jan 2024
Revamping Asylum
How can we revamp asylum policies to ensure that a humanitarian approach guides US practices toward asylum seekers?
The right to seek asylum is protected under US federal law and the right to seek safety from persecution is backed by international law. Despite this, as immigrants and asylum seekers cross into the United States along the US-Mexico border, Congressional Representatives are negotiating changes to the US asylum system to slow the number of migrants into the US. In this episode, we discuss the impact of various proposals and how the US asylum system could be revamped to ensure that a humanitarian approach guides changes to this system.
30 Nov 2023
Impact of Detention and Electronic Monitoring on Immigrant Children’s Well-Being
As immigrants cross into the United States, or in cases where local law enforcement agencies have agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigrants are often imprisoned in detention facilities until their immigration court cases can be heard. When they are released, some are subjected to state monitoring through GPS tracking devices. Often neglected in these accounts are what happens to detained immigrants’ children and how they respond to their parents’ detention and their tracking through such devices. In this episode, we will be discussing the impact of immigrant detention and alternatives to detention on children’s well-being.
12 Oct 2023
Effects of SB 1718 on Florida’s Im/migrant Communities
The Spring 2023 session of the Florida Legislature saw the passage of SB 1718, a law that criminalizes many aspects of immigrant lives in the name of curbing undocumented migration. In this episode, we will be discussing the law’s effects on immigrants and their communities.
Episode 1 features:
Dr. Elizabeth Aranda
Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Im/migrant Well-Being Research Center, University of South Florida
Nanci Palacios
Deputy Director of Faith in Florida
Dr. Heide Castañeda
Professor of Anthropology, University of South Florida
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 13 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
3
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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