Immigration. It’s in the news, it’s in the headlines, it’s a political flashpoint. It generates a lot of sound and fury, a lot of strong ideas and raised voices. And for most of us, it can be hard to sort through all that noise and understand – what is actually going on? What’s legal for people to do, and what’s not? How do U.S. immigration rules affect people’s lives? What is it like to deal with the barriers – both seen and unseen – to people who want to stay in the U.S.?
On this podcast, we explore the world of U.S. immigration – from issues that come up in the news like the border, and separation of families, to things you may have heard less about, like the strange and secret world of the immigration courts – to uncover how all of it works, Along the way we talk with lots of people with stories to tell about how immigration has impacted their lives.
Hosts Lindsay Goldford Gray and Jennie Guilfoyle work together at a nonprofit called VECINA, that empowers immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.
Injustice Continues: The Border in a Post-COVID World
It’s June 2023, and the government just changed the rules again for asylum seekers at the southern border. So what is going on right now at the southern border? We have talked in previous episodes about Title 42, the public health law that was used as a pretext to block asylum seekers from entering the U.S. during the pandemic. On May 12, the administration ended Title 42 and rolled out a new set of policies aimed at reducing the number of asylum seekers who enter the U.S. every day, including requiring people to sign up for a limited number of daily appointments on a mobile phone app. So how is this all playing out for people?In this episode we talk with Laura Peña, Director of ProBar, which is part of the American Bar Association and provides legal services to immigrants in Harlingen, Texas. Harlingen is in the Rio Grande Valley, right across the border from Matamoros, Mexico. Laura is an immigration expert who has held many directing positions, including working at the Department of State under the Obama Administration, and leading the Beyond Borders program at the Texas Civil Rights Project.. Laura is from the Rio Grande Valley herself, and she also hosts her own podcast, Valle de Sueños. It’s the story of a 10-day journey by border advocates to shut down a refugee encampment in Matamoros, Mexico.
Music: Gymnopedie No. 3 - Wahneta Meixsell
25 May 2023
Death Penalty Court in a Traffic Court Setting
Having to appear in court is stressful for most people. But imagine having to appear in court in a country where you don’t speak the language, you don’t understand the rules, you don’t have a lawyer, there is a government prosecutor who is arguing that you should be deported, and there’s an immigration judge who uses lots of legal terms you don’t understand, and who also seems to want you to leave the country. And imagine you’re afraid to go back to your home country because you’re pretty sure you’ll be killed if you do – but no one in immigration court seems willing to listen to your story. That’s what U.S. immigration court is like for many non-citizens.In this episode, we’re going to do a deep dive into the world of immigration court. We’re joined today by Matthew Archambault, who has been practicing immigration law for over 20 years. Matthew specializes in representing asylum seekers in immigration court. He’s been a part of cases that have set precedent for the entire country. When he’s not representing clients, you can find him over at the podcast Redirect, a fellow immigration law show he co-hosts with his colleague, Stephen Robbins.
3 May 2023
Seeking Asylum: The Journey of a Documentary Film
In this episode of Inadmissible, we're joined by filmmakers Rae Cerreto and Kelly Scott, the creators of a new documentary called “Seeking Asylum.” The movie follows a Honduran woman, an asylum seeker named Kensy. Kensy made the incredibly hard decision to flee Honduras with her young children after relentless gang threats and violence made it clear that their lives were very much at risk in Honduras. When Rae and Kelly first met Kensy, she was living in a migrant camp on the U.S.-Mexico border with her children. She was trying to make it to the United States to seek asylum here..In this episode, Rae and Kelly join us to talk about their film “Seeking Asylum” and what they learned along the way about what it’s like to seek asylum in the U.S.
5 Apr 2023
Families Torn: Unpacking the United States' Detention of Immigrant Children
In this episode, we're joined by VECINA’s own Project Director, Molly Chew. Molly directs all of VECINA’s projects, but specializes in our ReUnite Project, where we work to assist family members and loved ones of detained unaccompanied immigrant children in the reunification process. Prior to coming on board with VECINA, Molly spent nearly seven years working with unaccompanied refugee children and their families in an array of Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) contracted programs. This included ORR shelters, foster care, and home study/post-release services. She previously worked as the Western Regional Supervisor for a program that made reunification recommendations for detained unaccompanied minors and connected these children and their families with community resources upon reunification. Molly is a DOJ Accredited Representative and is obtaining her Master’s Degree in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies from the University of London. Molly’s here to talk to us about a topic that has repeatedly been in the news: the experiences of unaccompanied immigrant children who are detained in the United States.
7 Mar 2023
Focus on Black Migration: A Conversation About Haitian Asylum Seekers
Vanessa Joseph is the daughter of immigrants, and an attorney at Catholic Charities Legal Services in Miami. In her work, Vanessa serves a wide variety of immigrants, including many black immigrants. She is also the City Clerk for the City of North Miami, and is the youngest as well as the first black female elected to the position. Vanessa joins us today for a focus on black migration, where we specifically dive into the many challenges faced by Haitian asylum seekers in the U.S.
27 Jan 2023
WTF (Was That Fact?): Why Did 20 Red States Sue The Biden Administration Challenging Its New Parole Program?
In our first episode of Season 2, we delved into the Biden Administration’s recent new immigration policies, which include “parole” programs for a limited number of people from 4 countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Last season we talked about the administration’s other specialized parole program for Ukrainians, as well as humanitarian parole for Afghan.
Since our last episode went live, a number of states filed a lawsuit taking aim at some of these parole programs. Here with us today to talk about the lawsuit is Victoria Neilson, Supervising Attorney at the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.
19 Jan 2023
New Year, New Asylum Limitations
It's a new year, and recently, the Biden Administration announced sweeping border policy changes, including an expansion of Title 42, new parole programs for people from certain countries, and an upcoming rule that would bar thousands fleeing persecution from seeking asylum in our country.
Joining us for this episode is Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Policy Director for the American Immigration Council.
22 Sept 2022
Walk a Thousand Miles in My Nicest Shoes: Migration and the War in Ukraine
In the early spring of 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and started a war. Thousands of Ukrainians fled their homes in search of safety. Most remain displaced, unsure of when they can go home, and if home will even be there when they return.
On today's episode, we are joined by Vita Zeltser, a Ukrainian-born, U.S.-licensed data privacy lawyer. Vita tells us about her journey to Poland to assist refugees, using her legal skills to help those resettling in the U.S., and the stories of those she's met along the way.
19 Aug 2022
WTF (Was That Fact?): Are Afghans Really Being Treated Differently Than Ukrainians?
We’ve talked on some episodes lately about how our immigration system often treats families and individuals seeking safety in our country differently based on where they are from. We spoke on our last episode, Left Behind, about how Afghans and Ukrainians seeking emergency entry into the U.S. have seen very different results. Since the publication of that episode, we have obtained even more information about the data behind those assertions. We now know that of all the requests filed by Ukrainians under a special U.S. program, about 70% of the applications have been approved. Compare that to requests by Afghans to urgently enter the U.S., where only .19% of applicants filed have been approved.
To help us parse through this, we're joined in this episode by Laila Ayub, an attorney with Project ANAR. Laila and her colleagues at Project ANAR engage in legal assistance and advocacy on behalf of the Afghan community seeking safety in the U.S.
Referenced links:
Toolkit (https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/17eD92Gew4oP0xQDPOvdcFUd4hHvIxASYyr0jMZX84Uc/edit?urp=gmail_link)
Petition (https://www.change.org/p/create-a-parole-program-for-afghans?recruiter=1273942405&recruited_by_id=d2a74180-1d71-11ed-beb0-bf1c789d5e88&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink)
8 Aug 2022
Left Behind: The Aftermath of the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Almost one year ago, the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan and the country fell to Taliban rule. While some were able to evacuate in the chaos, tens of thousands of Afghans remain in hiding, many of whom are specifically targeted due to the assistance they provided U.S. forces.
On this episode, we're joined by Afghan-American immigration lawyer Spojmie Nasiri. Over the last year, Spojmie has heard harrowing stories from many families seeking safety in the U.S. She talks about her work and experience after the fall of Kabul, and the policy choices our government has made along the way.
3 Aug 2022
Slamming the Door Shut: How the Government is Turning Away Asylum Seekers
In 2020, the Center for Disease Control relied on an obscure law from 1944 to close our southern borders to asylum seekers, under the guise of protecting the public from COVID-19. Why do we use the term "under the guise"? Because top public health experts believe turning away asylum seekers under this law doesn't actually protect us from COVID.
In this episode, we're joined by Nicole Ramos from Al Otro Lado. Nicole lives and works in Tijuana as a fearless advocate for thousands seeking asylum in the U.S. Nicole talks to us first-hand about the impact of this policy of on human lives.
1 Jul 2022
WTF (Was That Fact?): Will the Termination of the Migrant Protection Protocol Policy Cause Chaos at the Border?
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a decision that said that the Biden Administration's termination of MPP was lawful. VECINA's CEO Lindsay Gray and Board President Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch discuss what this means, how this might play out, and why it's a huge win that this policy is ending.
1 Jul 2022
"Good Refugees" and "Bad Refugees" - What's Different?
Throughout history and into today, our country has treated various groups of people fleeing violence, persecution, and death quite differently. But why?
In this episode, we travel back to the Vietnam War, in the wake of which the United States finally enacts a law granting protection to refugees. We talk with Julian Saporiti, a Vietnamese-American ethnomusicologist and scholar, about his mom's experience fleeing Vietnam, his music about another refugee's experience, and his studies of other groups of refugees who have also sought safety in the U.S.
28 Jun 2022
WTF (Was that Fact?): Are Biden's Immigration Policies Responsible for the Migrant Deaths in San Antonio?
Inadmissible podcast host Lindsay Goldford Gray and VECINA Board President Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch discuss the tragic events near San Antonio, where at least 50 migrants died and 16 more were transported to the hospital to treat heat-related illness. They fact check a tweet from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, attributing these deaths to "open border policies."
24 Jun 2022
Why We Have Asylum and Refugee Law and Policy
With all of the discussion today about what our asylum and refugee policies should be, it's important to remember: Why do we have asylum and refugee law and policy in our world?
To get our answers, we travel back to 1939, to the MS St. Louis, a ship bound for Cuba. We also sit down and talk with Gloria Goldman, who was born in Germany in the wake of the Holocaust to two survivors.
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