The team at American University's Immigration Lab, led by Dr. Ernesto Castañeda, help us make sense of recent developments, overlooked stories, and the newest research related to immigration policy and the experiences of immigrants worldwide.
Book Talk: Immigration and Urban Vitality - How Immigrants Shape Prosperous Cities
Cities need immigration to thrive. These newcomers allow for a mix of cultures and ideas that shapes innovation and economic growth. From New York to Paris to Mexico City and Washington, D.C., Dr. Castañeda’s new book, Immigration and Urban Vitality: How Newcomers Make Cities Strong, discusses the history and development of these cities, the important role immigrants have played, and the unique nature of city borders compared to states. In this episode, Dr. Ernesto Castañeda and Andrew Selee will dive into the new book, covering everything from its inspiration to the process and critical questions about immigration and cities today.
Ernesto Castañeda is the Director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and the Immigration Lab. He is a full Professor at the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Service at American University. Castañeda has published over a dozen books and articles, and his insights and commentary are frequently featured in public talks, policy discussions, and major media outlets, making him a prominent voice in public debates on immigration and Latino issues. His analyses have appeared in prominent news outlets such as The Washington Post, the BBC, NPR, and more.
Andrew Selee is President of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a global, nonpartisan public policy organization that seeks to advance immigration and integration approaches that are in the societal interest through evidence-based work. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches courses on global migration.
28 May 2026
Book Talk At Princeton - Leave If You Can: Migration and Violence in Bordered Worlds by Amelia Frank-Vitale
Hondurans have been at the heart of some of the most visible migration phenomena in the last few years, as well as the direct target of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy. In Leave If You Can, Amelia Frank-Vitale offers a detailed portrait of the Honduran exodus and what it reveals about the broader consequences of changing US border enforcement policies. She highlights the stories of those who are often presented as unsympathetic: deported young men implicitly associated with the very violence they are trying to flee. In the process, she challenges underlying assumptions frequently held by policy makers and humanitarian agencies. In this talk, Frank-Vitale gives an overview of the book and details the field work in Honduras and Mexico that helped informed her writing. This is followed by comments by Professor Ulla D. Berg of Rutgers University and Dr. Ernesto Castañeda of American University. We encourage students at American University to tune in, as our goal is to spark awareness, challenge assumptions, and promote a deeper understanding of this important topic.
Authors:
Amelia Frank-Vitale is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University and the author of Leave If You Can: Migration and Violence in Bordered Worlds. Frank-Vitale studies how people manage and make sense of an ever-expanding US border regime in the Americas. Her body of work connects regional immigration and security policies, organized crime, state violence, and strategic im/mobility as a survival strategy in Honduras and in migration.
Ulla D. Berg is an Associate Professor at the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies and the Department of Anthropology and former Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Rutgers (2015-2021). As a sociocultural and visual anthropologist specializing in Latin America and in Latino communities in the U.S., Prof. Berg's research focuses on historical and contemporary processes and experiences of migration and mobility within Latin America and between this region and the United States.
Ernesto Castañeda is the Director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and the Immigration Lab. He is a full Professor at the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Service at American University. Castañeda has published over a dozen books and articles and his insights and commentary are frequently featured in public talks, policy discussions, and major media outlets, making him a prominent voice in public debates on immigration and Latino issues. His analyses have appeared in prominent news outlets such as The Washington Post, the BBC, NPR and more.
24 Apr 2026
Inside USCIS: Immigration Policy from Biden to Trump — With Amanda Baran
This episode covers immigration policies under the Biden administration with Amanda Baran – the former Principal Director for Immigration Policy and Chief of Public Engagement at USCIS. Ms. Baran’s public service career spans over a decade at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where she held several leadership positions in which she advanced immigration, civil rights, and gender equity initiatives. In this conversation, Baran along with Dr. Ernesto Castañeda and Marshall Plane explore the work done by USCIS under President Biden, contrasting it with changes to the agency in Trump’s second term. We encourage students at American University to tune in, as our goal is to spark awareness, challenge assumptions, and promote a deeper understanding of this important topic.
Authors:
Amanda Baran is a research fellow at the Immigration Lab at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies. She served on the Biden-Harris Transition Team and subsequently held a senior political appointment in the Biden Administration as Chief of Policy and Strategy at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Ernesto Castañeda, PhD is the Director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and the Immigration Lab. He is a full Professor at the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Service at American University. Castañeda has published over a dozen books and articles and his insights and commentary are frequently featured in public talks, policy discussions, and major media outlets, making him a prominent voice in public debates on immigration and Latino issues. His analyses have appeared in prominent news outlets such as The Washington Post, the BBC, NPR and more.
Marshall Plane is a Research Coordinator at the Immigration Lab. His research focuses on immigration in urban areas, with on recent arrivals to New York City. Plane is a Co-author of the newly published book Global Pathways: To Becoming New Americans.
2 Apr 2026
Immigration Edition: Myths vs Facts
This podcast dives into the many narratives surrounding immigration, from widely believed myths to the truth backed by real facts. In our conversations, we explore how media often shapes and distorts public perception, while highlighting the lived realities of immigration that are often overlooked. We especially encourage students at American University to tune in, as our goal is to spark awareness, challenge assumptions, and promote a deeper understanding of this important topic.
Authors:
Jadie Bonilla is a Research Intern at the Immigration Lab and at the Center for Latin American & Latino Studies. She is in the Neuroscience program in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University.
Jackson Wu is a Research Intern at the Immigration Lab. His research focuses on the intersection of international migration, labor, and health.
6 Mar 2026
The Process of Belonging — with Sol Espinoza, Mission Asset Fund (MAF)
6 Mar 2026
H2A Visa: Behind the Headlines
In the current political climate, it may seem as though all migration to the United States is being prohibited; however some legal pathways to entry are actually being expanded and implemented. The H2A agricultural guestworker visa program allows farmers to sponsor migrant workers to enter the US legally, providing essential transportation and housing for the duration of their stay.
This program is growing rapidly as a response to the loss of undocumented labor due to detentions and deportations. While the visa offers clear benefits, it presents unique challenges—specifically the power dynamics created when an employee is legally tied to a single employer.
Professor Castañeda and Jesse Ontiveros discuss the rewards and risks of this system and its potential as a surprising pathway to residency.
Jesse Ontiveros is an artist, academic, and aspiring podcaster. After earning a BA in Anthropology from UCLA, he is currently pursuing an MA in Intercultural Relations and International Communication at American University.
15 Jan 2026
ICE In Your Community
19 Nov 2025
Immigration to the DMV after the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Ernesto Castaneda and colleagues Anjini Patel, Hannah Wingo, Amanda Vincent, Quinn Pierson, Olivia Salamone, Tabby Ford, Katheryn Olmos, and Caryalyn Jean present research on immigration to the DMV area following the COVID-19 pandemic at the 2025 AU Public Anthropology Conference.
19 Nov 2025
The Exclusion of LGBT+ Refugees in Kenya' Shikira Plan
Chris Belden examines the discriminatory exclusion of LGBT+ refugees within Kenya's Shikira Plan, highlighting critical protection gaps in immigration policy in an interview.
11 Nov 2025
Policy Shifts and the Power of Journalism
CNN correspondent Priscilla Álvarez analyzes recent immigration policy shifts and their effects on people, communities, and international relations, highlighting the crucial role of journalists in fact-based reporting in this interview.
5 Nov 2025
Understanding Immigration
Dr. Ernesto Castañeda addresses misconceptions surrounding migration trends, lifestyles, and integration in a talk followed by a Q&A with the American University community.
23 May 2025
Criminalized by Design: How U.S. Immigration Policy Hurts Families, Not Crime Rates
Charis Kubrin, Irene Vega, Beth Baker, and Ernesto Castaneda discuss the impact of U.S. immigration policies on families, crime rates, mental health, and the economy, moderated by Tanya Golash-Boza in an interview.
20 May 2025
The Effects of the Latest Immigration Policies - Immigration Realities Podcast S1E5 - May20-2025
In this episode, we listen to "Immigration In Focus: Insights from Policy Experts," an event that took place at American University on Thursday, April 24; though the negative effects of punitive immigration policies are always evergreen. This episode pairs well with this blogpost https://theimmigrationlab.org/blog/f/campaigning-against-immigrants-is-often-a-losing-proposition
Speakers include:
Amy Dacey, Director, AU’s Sine Institute of Policy & Politics
Jayesh Rathod, Director, Immigrant Justice Clinic in AU’s Washington College of Law Ernesto Castañeda, Director, AU’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, and the Immigration Lab
Alex Araya, Staff Attorney, Detained Adult Program, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights
Moderate by Julia Manchester from The Hill
Episode edited by Noah Green
22 Apr 2025
Asylum Seekers and New Arrivals in DC and NYC
In this podcast, the Immigration Lab researchers discuss some of the results of ongoing research on our over 200 in-depth interviews with new arrivals, including immigrants, asylum seekers, people with TPS, parole, and other humanitarian permits in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and New York City from Ecuador, Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, and Ukraine.
9 Apr 2025
The First 100 Days Immigration Policy 4-9-2025
This podcast is a recording of a live immigration policy panel that took place at American University on April 4, 2025. The first in a series of 2 podcasts. Interviewer Todd Zwillich, co-host of 1A on WAMU, DC's NPR station. Speakers include Kathleen Bush-Joseph, Migration Policy Institute; Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, American Immigration Council; and Ernesto Castaneda, The Immigration Lab, discuss the immigration policies of the current administration. Co-organized by The Center of Latin American and Latino Studies, The Immigration Lab, the Sine Institute, and the Environment, Development, and Health Department of the School of International Service at American University.
10 Mar 2025
Rhetoric vs. reality: the migrant "crisis" and the current response
Dr. Castañeda, Anthony Sandoval, Joseph Fournier, and Marshall Plane discuss the rhetoric about recent immigration and the Trump administration's current response. Topics include the recent congressional hearing with sanctuary city mayors; how we can counter the criminal steteotype of immigrants; Trump's recent proposals about using the military for deportations; and much more.
22 Feb 2025
Unpacking Trump's first month
Dr. Castañeda breaks down Trump's first month executive actions regarding immigration, putting his policies in legal and historical context.
Marshall Plane talks about his research on the economic integration of asylum seekers in New York City. His findings contradict the narrative that migrants are an economic burden on the city.
Katheryn Olmos talks us about the use of Guantanomo Bay to detain immigrants, including the stories of people who have been taken there without due process. She describes how this climate is impacting Latino communities in her native Florida.
Joseph Fournier talks about his current study of anti-immigrant rhetoric in close congressional races. Contrary to what many pundits say, Joseph's figures indicate that candidates who adopt this rhetoric have actually had lower success rates in recent cycles.
Who has been a guest on Immigration Realities
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Dr Ernesto Castaneda
Anjini Patel
Hannah Wingo
Amanda Vincent
Quinn Pierson
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