Hyphenated America

Stephen Miller, the architect behind many Trump-era immigration policies, recently established America First Legal, a conservative organization aimed at "resisting the radical left's agenda." This week, we break down who Miller is, the policies he enacted, and how he came into power. Later on in the episode, we spoke with journalist and author of Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda about what contributes to Miller's worldview, and why immigration was the most logical vehicle for him to advance white nationalist talking points.

Jean Guerrero is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda. Her first book, Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir, won a PEN Literary Award. Her writing is featured in Vanity Fair, Politico, The Nation, Wired, the New York Times, The Washington Post, Best American Essays 2019 by Rebecca Solnit and more. She is an Emmy-winning border reporter, contributing to NPR, the PBS NewsHour and more. 

This week, Sophia and Maria consider what Title 42, a little-known provision of U.S. health law which the former Trump administration invoked to achieve its long-desired goal of shutting the border, is and how it has been carried out since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later on in the episode, Wall Street Journal reporter Michelle Hackman joins them to discuss her observations on the policy, and how the immigration space has changed over the last 5 years.

Michelle Hackman is a reporter in The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau, where she covers immigration policy and the Department of Homeland Security. Previously, she wrote about health and education policy. Michelle first joined the Journal in 2016 and is a graduate of Yale University.

For our first episode under a new Biden administration, Sophia and Maria reflect on one of the most impactful aspect of Trump’s time in office: his dehumanizing rhetoric toward immigrants. Later on in the episode, journalist Julio Ricardo Varela joins them to discuss how this dehumanizing rhetoric is not new at all in the immigration space and recalls the criminalization of immigrant communities that he witnesses first hand that resulted in large part because of Reagan and Clinton’s criminal justice platforms. 

Sophia and Maria introduce Hyphenated Cities, a new series where they explore U.S. cities by discussing how national and local immigration policies have impacted the city’s resident immigrant populations and speak to local leaders on the topic. This week's episode kicks off this new series by focusing on New York City! Later on in the episode, they spoke with NYS Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa about the NYS Dream Act, her experience running for office as a Dominican American woman,  #FundExcludedWorkers, and her plans to serve immigrants in her community. 

NYS Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa is a career public servant and a resident of Inwood in Northern Manhattan, who is deeply committed to serving her community. She was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to the Inwood section of New York City as a young child. In November 2016, Carmen was elected to the NYS Assembly, becoming the second woman to ever represent the 72nd Assembly District. She is currently running for NYC City Council-District 10. 

This week, Sophia and Maria consider the history of family separation and what the policy actually is. Later on in the episode, Sophia spoke with historian Nara Milanich and discussed analogous family separation policies throughout history, and the future of the policy during President-elect Biden's administration. 

Nara Milanich is a historian at Barnard College specializing in Latin America and the comparative histories of family, childhood, gender, and reproduction. She is the author of Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father, published by Harvard University Press. 

For this week’s podcast, we dive into different forms of immigration advocacy such as legal aid, detention oversight, and community based organizations. Later on in the episode, Maria spoke to Reyna Montoya, the founder and CEO of Aliento, a community organization that is DACA, undocumented, and youth-led. They are directly impacted people and allies who are invested in the well being, emotional healing, and leadership development of those impacted by the inequalities of lacking an immigration status.

This week, Sophia and Maria highlight a number of stories that demonstrate the ways in which injustices within the immigration space are manifested in matters of sexual assault, the COVID-19 pandemic, the prison-industrial complex, big tech, and access to government assistance. 

Sophia and Maria consider what detention centers are, the conditions of such facilities before the coronavirus pandemic, and their current state of affairs. Maria spoke with reporter María Méndez of Texas Public Radio to discuss the outbreaks in detention centers along the border, the dynamic between local health officials and the private operators, and how we can spread awareness and help those in detention. 

Sophia and Maria break down what asylum is, who is eligible to apply for it, and the challenges associated. They are then joined by immigration attorney Ava Benach and discuss the future of asylum in light of recent rulings, barriers to work authorization eligibility for asylum seekers, and her work with pro bono transgender asylum seekers.

The immigration system, its associated laws and policy are confusing. Hosted by two college students raised by families of immigrants, Hyphenated America explores anything and everything immigration by talking to experts, lawyers, politicians, and more!