CMSOnAir

This episode of CMSOnAir is a conversation on the ways in which Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego (CCDSD) is assisting migrants through vital welfare and legal services, recent threats and allegations against CCDSD staff for assisting migrants, and US border policies. Mario Russell, Executive Director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), and Vino Pajanor, Chief Executive Officer of CCDSD, sit down to address these topics. Born and raised in India, Vino grew up in a Catholic family and followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps by becoming a lawyer. A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, he began his career in a law firm, where he worked for 6 years. In 2006, he discovered his passion for nonprofit work and went on to co-found the Housing Opportunities Collaborative in San Diego to address the growing predatory lending practices and evolving housing crisis. Vino joined CCDSD in 2018, and has since run the agency "with a non-profit heart and a for-profit mind," ensuring that the agency lives out its calling through triple bottom line framework, SMAART goals, and organizational means. Learn more about Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego: https://ccdsd.org/ Learn more about the Center for Migration Studies of New York: www.cmsny.org/

This episode of CMSOnAir is a conversation on the role of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) in responding to the needs of and developing opportunities for migrants in New York City. Mario Russell, Executive Director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), and Commissioner Manuel Castro, MOIA, sit down to address this topic. MOIA's work recognizes that immigrant New Yorkers and their children make up a significant proportion of the City's population. Their charter-mandated responsibilities include advising and assisting the mayor, council, and other agencies on programs and policies related to and designed for immigrant New Yorkers; tracking state and federal policy and law that will impact immigrant New Yorkers; increasing access to city programs, benefits, and services by conducting outreach; and helping advise on the legal service needs of immigrants. Throughout his career, Commissioner Castro has strongly advocated for immigrant New Yorkers. Prior to joining MOIA, he served as the Executive Director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a Queens-based organization working to create a world where immigrants can live and work with justice, dignity, and respect. As Commissioner for MOIA, he is responsible for running a City agency dedicated to supporting over 3.2 million immigrant New Yorkers. Learn more about the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs here: https://www.nyc.gov/site/immigrants/index.page Learn more about the Center for Migration Studies of New York: www.cmsny.org/

This episode of CMSOnAir is a conversation on immigration detention in the United States: should it be used? And if so, how, when, and why? Mario Russell, Executive Director for the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), and Dr. Dora Schriro - a career public servant who has served as an executive level administrator, policymaker, and Homeland Security advisor - sat down to discuss insights into these issues. Dr. Schriro is a Principal at Dora B. Schriro Consulting Services LLC. She has led three state and two city criminal justice agencies and a federal office in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. She has earned a reputation for innovation, advocacy, and economy. Learn more about the Center for Migration Studies of New York: www.cmsny.org/

This episode of CMSOnAir is a conversation on current migration policy issues in the United States. Kevin Appleby, Interim Executive Director for the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), and Víctor Genina, Director of Development and Policy for the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN), sit down to discuss insights into these issues. SIMN is an umbrella organization established in 2007, and inspired by Saint John Baptist Scalabrini. SIMN encompasses more than 250 grassroots Scalabrini entities that serve and advocate for the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, internally displaced people, and seafarers around the world. Prior to joining SIMN in July 2021, Víctor served as an advisor on international migration and human rights issues to the Permanent Missions of Mexico to the United Nations, both in New York and Geneva, and as an advisor to the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico for Latin American Affairs. A specialist in international migration, Víctor holds degrees from El Colegio de México (COLMEX), The New School of Social Research, and the National University of Mexico (UNAM). Learn more about the Scalabrini International Migration Network: www.simn-global.org/ Learn more about the Center for Migration Studies of New York: www.cmsny.org/

In the United States, 9.6 million children are living in poverty. Federal and state tax credits are among the most effective policy tools for fighting child poverty. However, nearly 2 million children – 1.6 million US citizens and 270,000 non-citizens – are living in poverty and are ineligible for these poverty-fighting tax credits because they have at least one undocumented parent. In this episode of CMSOnAir, Roberto Suro explores this inequality and other findings from the paper, “Tax Equality for Immigrants: The Indispensable Ingredient for Remedying Child Poverty in the United States,” which he co-authored with Hannah Findling. At a moment when the Biden administration and Congressional Democrats are pursuing substantial expansions of tax credits for working-poor families, an important question remains: Who will be eligible? This episode of CMSOnAir is part of a series featuring academics, policymakers, and advocates who have written for CMS's Journal on Migration and Human Security (JMHS). READ AND DOWNLOAD THE JMHS REPORT: https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-suro-findling-090221/

This episode of CMSOnAir is the third in a series featuring academics, policymakers, and advocates who have written for the Center for Migration Studies' (CMS) Journal on Migration and Human Security (JMHS). In this interview, Dora Schriro speaks with Michele Pistone and Jack Hoeffner about family residential facilities and her 2017 paper, “Weeping in the Playtime of Others: The Obama Administration's Failed Reform of ICE Family Detention Practices.” During the Obama administration, Schriro served as senior advisor to US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and then as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) first director of the Office of Detention Policy and Planning. She later served as a subject matter expert on the DHS Advisory Committee on Family Residential Facility formed by Secretary Jeh Johnson. Schriro shares her insights on working to reform immigrant detention practices, the difference between criminal and civil detention, and the impact of family detention on parents. Schriro recommends a case management approach to the reception of families and suggests US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as the first point of contact. “Weeping in the Playtime of Others: The Obama Administration's Failed Reform of ICE Family Detention Practices.” https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/233150241700500212 Learn more about the Center for Migration Studies: https://cmsny.org/

This episode of CMSOnAir is the second in a series featuring academics, policymakers, and advocates who have written for the Center for Migration Studies’ (CMS) Journal on Migration and Human Security (JMHS). In this interview, Jennifer Podkul, the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), describes the United States’ recent history with respect to the humanitarian protection of children and offers an overview of the current situation at the US-Mexico border for child migrants. An international human rights lawyer and expert on child migration to the United States, Podkul recently testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security on the best practices for the care and protection of child migrants. Podkul’s 2016 JMHS paper, “The Impact of Externalization of the Migration Controls on the Rights of Asylum Seekers and Other Migrants,” examined how the United States, Australia, and the European Union sought to prevent migrants and refugees from arriving at their borders to seek protection. One example presented in the paper is the Obama administration’s response to the increase in unaccompanied children in 2014. Podkul describes what has changed since the Obama administration with respect to the deterrence of child migrants and offers policy recommendations for the care and reception of child migrants. Read the JMHS paper: https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-impact-of-externalization/

This episode of CMSOnAir is the first in a series featuring academics, policymakers, and advocates who have written for the Journal on Migration and Human Security (JMHS). Created by the Obama administration in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program offers certain young immigrants who came to the United States as children work authorization and a temporary reprieve from deportation. As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the Trump administration’s efforts to terminate the DACA program, CMS released a paper offering detailed estimates about DACA recipients, their economic contributions, and their deep ties to US communities. The paper found that: *83 percent of DACA recipients is in the labor force. From this pool, 95 percent is employed; *346,455 US-born children under the age of 18 have at least one DACA parent; and, *81 percent of DACA recipients has lived in the United States for more than 15 years. The paper, which also features testimonies of several DACA recipients, was subsequently published in the Journal on Migration and Human Security (JMHS), CMS’s peer-reviewed, public policy journal. In this episode, Daniela Alulema — author of the JMHS paper and herself a DACA recipient — describes the paper’s findings and shares the stories of the DACA recipients. She also outlines potential policy directions for the DACA program, given the Supreme Court’s decision that the way the Trump administration ended the program was unlawful and the Biden administration’s support for the program. Read the JMHS paper: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2331502419893674

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic organization with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, that they may heal, learn, and determine their own future. In this episode of CMSOnAir, Joan Rosenhauer, the Executive Director of JRS-USA, shares how JRS is adapting its advocacy for a new administration and transforming its programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also shares stories about the “proactive, resilient, hopeful” refugees she has met through her work with JRS. If you want to learn more about the Jesuit Refugee Service, please visit: jrsusa.org RELATED WORK FROM THE CENTER FOR MIGRATION STUDIES https://cmsny.org/publications/rebuilding-usrap/ https://cmsny.org/publications/biden-refugees-martin-021921/ https://cmsny.org/publications/biden-refugees-martin-021921/ https://cmsny.org/publications/us-refugee-resettlement-program/

This episode of CMSOnAir features four students at the University of Notre Dame who are doing research about international migration. Syeda (Fiana) Arbab, Sofia Piecuch, and Kara Venzian are graduate students pursuing their Masters in Global Affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough School. They partnered with Catholic Relief Services on a research project about how internally displaced persons and refugees describe and create home. Elsa Barron examined migrant integration, dialogue, and religious acceptance using the first mosque in Athens, Greece as a case study. An undergraduate student, Elsa conducted her research with support from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Here’s Elsa, Fiana, Sofia, and Kara describing the findings of their research at the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference.

Dominican University is unique among Catholic colleges for its commitment to immigrants. About 10 percent of the students at Dominican University are undocumented or have temporary legal status, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. This episode features an interview with Donna Carroll, president of Dominican University. She reflects on the challenges facing undocumented college students, including: lack of federal financial aid funding, the difficulty of career planning, and integrating into campus life. She also talks about the leadership of undocumented and “DACAmented” students and why the university adopted a Sanctuary Campus Covenant in 2017. Carroll describes the university’s efforts to support immigrant students during the “triple pandemics” of COVID-19, racism, and economic injustice — all of which have been exacerbated by restrictionist immigration policies.

In recent years, many Catholic grade schools have had to shut their doors due to funding issues. This trend has accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Partnership Schools, a network of nine elementary and middle schools in urban areas of New York and Cleveland, is trying to stem the tide of Catholic school closings. Their network is taking a unique approach to funding, relying heavily on philanthropic support and keeping costs down, while maintaining high-quality education. In this episode, we hear from Jill Kafka, the executive director of Partnerships Schools, and Abigail Akano, principal of Sacred Heart School in the Bronx, one of the schools in the Partnership network. They describe how the network works, how they seek to include immigrant students and their parents, and why they created an emergency COVID-19 assistance fund to support families in their network.

Sister Gabriela Ramírez, MGSpS, is the Director of Hispanic Catholic Social Services (or “La Casita” as it’s known to community members) in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. In “normal times,” La Casita provides low-cost immigration legal services, language assistance, adult education, and religious formation. Since the start of the pandemic, La Casita has shifted many of its regular services to remote platforms and sent food boxes to community members. Sr. Gabriela has also been instrumental in making COVID-19 testing available to immigrants at local parishes.

The mission of the Scalabrinian order is to accompany people on the move. In the COVID-19 era, it is harder than ever to live out that mission. In this episode, we hear from Rev. José Juan Cervantes González, c.s., a Scalabrini priest who runs the Casa Scalabrini – Centro de Pastoral Migratoria in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is working to get the permission of the Mexican government to reopen the organization’s shelter and has stepped up advocacy efforts on behalf of migrants during the pandemic. We’ll also hear from Rev. Peter Ciallella, a Scalabrini priest by training who has settled in the Diocese of Hamilton in Canada. He has found new ways to reach out to migrant farmworkers during the pandemic, and like Rev. José Juan, he has become a stronger advocate since the start of the pandemic. Despite the challenges of this moment, Rev. José Juan and Rev. Peter are finding new ways to strengthen their ministries and cooperating with health officials to ensure safety.

This episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with Anna Gallagher, the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC). She explains how CLINIC supports lawyers across the country as they adapt to the fast-paced policy changes of the current administration. She also discusses her concerns about access to asylum on the US-Mexico border and CLINIC’s Estamos Unidos Asylum Project in Ciudad Juarez — a response to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or “Remain in Mexico” program. *** Photo by Max Böhme on Unsplash

This episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with Josiah Heyman, Professor of Anthropology, Endowed Professor of Border Trade Issues, and Director of the University of Texas, El Paso’s Center for Interamerican and Border Studies. CMS’s communications coordinator Emma Winters asks Josiah Heyman about a CMS Essay he authored with Jeremy Slack and Daniel E. Martínez. The essay, titled “Why Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers Should Not Serve as Asylum Officers,” examines findings from the Migrant Border Crossing Survey and concludes that US Border Patrol agents and other CBP officers should not serve as asylum officers because they “abuse migrants, physically and verbally, with significant frequency.” In the episode, Josiah Heyman also presents a positive vision of the US-Mexico border and lifts up Annunciation House as an example of the openness and generosity of border communities. Related Publications: Why Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers Should Not Serve as Asylum Officers https://cmsny.org/publications/heyman-slack-martinez-062119/ A Voice of the US Southwestern Border: The 2012 “We the Border: Envisioning a Narrative for Our Future” Conference https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241300100201 Does the United States Need to Invest More in Border Enforcement? https://cmsny.org/publications/essay-kerwin-warren-051619/

This episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso Texas. CMS’s communications coordinator Emma Winters asks Bishop Seitz about his recent pastoral letter, “Night Will Be No More.” The letter, a direct response to the August 3 [2019] Walmart massacre, condemns racism and white supremacy, examines the legacy of hate in the borderlands, and says to all: “Tú vales, you count.” Bishop Seitz also discusses the 2019 Border Mass, the El Paso Diocese fund to aid asylum seekers stuck in Ciudad Juarez, and why families should be at the heart of our immigration system. For more information and a transcript of this episode, visit: https://cmsny.org/multimedia/bishop-seitz Further Reading Border Spirituality: ‘Tu eres mi otro yo’ https://cmsny.org/publications/tomasilecture2019/ A Catholic Reflection on Host Communities https://cmsny.org/publications/fernandez-reflection-host-communities/

This episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with David FitzGerald, Theodore E. Gildred Chair in US-Mexican Relations, Professor of Sociology, and Co-Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California, San Diego. CMS’s researcher Mike Nicholson asks FitzGerald about the concept of “remote controls,” new constraints on asylum seekers, and the impact of wealthy democracies closing their doors to migrants. FitzGerald’s book, Refuge Beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers, is now available from Oxford University Press. To keep up with FitzGerald’s work, you can follow him on Twitter, @FitzGeraldUCSD, or check out the website of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies. FURTHER READING Deterrence without Protection of Asylum Seekers https://cmsny.org/martin-7-24-19/ What’s Less Patriotic Than Abandonment of the US Refugee Protection Program? https://cmsny.org/publications/kerwin071919/ Refugees Have Few Options, We Have a Lot More https://cmsny.org/publications/al-muqdad-053019/ The Impact of Externalization of Migration Controls on the Rights of Asylum Seekers and Other Migrants https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-impact-of-externalization/ The End of the Deterrence Paradigm? Future Directions for Global Refugee Policy https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-sc-globalrefugee/

The Khmer Rouge led by Marxist leader Pol Pot came to power in Cambodia in 1975. For four years, the regime emptied cities and forced virtually all of Cambodia’s population into labor camps where people were starved, overworked, tortured, and executed. It is estimated that nearly two million people died. This two-part CMSOnAir series features an interview with author, chef, and manufacturer of Cambodian foods, Channy Chhi Laux. In her memoir, Short Hair Detention, Chhi Laux chronicles the suffering her and her family endured under the Khmer Rouge. Only 13 years old when the Communists took over, Chhi Laux was torn away from her family and forced to work in a remote labor camp. She and her family were eventually resettled in Lincoln, Nebraska. Despite not knowing a word of English when she arrived in the United States at the age of 17, Chhi Laux quickly flourished, graduating high school, obtaining undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and earning a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Santa Clara University. She worked in Silicon Valley as an engineer in the aerospace and biotech industries for 30 years before starting her own business, Angkor Cambodian Food, and publishing her memoir. In the first episode, Chhi Laux discusses her memoir and surviving under the Khmer Rouge. In the second episode, Chhi Laux shares her experiences of being resettled in Nebraska as a refugee and adjusting to life in the United States. For more information on Channy Chhi Laux visit her at channychhilaux.com. Chhi Laux’s memoir, Short Hair Detention, is available for purchase on Amazon. For more information on CMS's research, publications, and events, visit cmsny.org

The Khmer Rouge led by Marxist leader Pol Pot came to power in Cambodia in 1975. For four years, the regime emptied cities and forced virtually all of Cambodia’s population into labor camps where people were starved, overworked, tortured, and executed. It is estimated that nearly two million people died. This two-part CMSOnAir series features an interview with author, chef, and manufacturer of Cambodian foods, Channy Chhi Laux. In her memoir, Short Hair Detention, Chhi Laux chronicles the suffering her and her family endured under the Khmer Rouge. Only 13 years old when the Communists took over, Chhi Laux was torn away from her family and forced to work in a remote labor camp. She and her family were eventually resettled in Lincoln, Nebraska. Despite not knowing a word of English when she arrived in the United States at the age of 17, Chhi Laux quickly flourished, graduating high school, obtaining undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and earning a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Santa Clara University. She worked in Silicon Valley as an engineer in the aerospace and biotech industries for 30 years before starting her own business, Angkor Cambodian Food, and publishing her memoir. In the first episode, Chhi Laux discusses her memoir and surviving under the Khmer Rouge. In the second episode, Chhi Laux shares her experiences of being resettled in Nebraska as a refugee and adjusting to life in the United States. For more information on Channy Chhi Laux visit her at channychhilaux.com. Chhi Laux’s memoir, Short Hair Detention, is available for purchase on Amazon. For more information on CMS's research, publications, and events, visit cmsny.org

This episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with Joanna Williams, director of education and advocacy for the Kino Border Initiative (KBI). KBI is a bi-national organization based in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico that works to “affirm the dignity of the human person and a spirit of bi-national solidarity” through: Direct humanitarian assistance and accompaniment with migrant; Social and pastoral education with communities on both sides of the US-Mexico border; and Participation in collaborative networks that engage in research and advocacy to transform local, regional, and national immigration policies. Williams serves as the primary coordinator of the educational and advocacy programs offered by KBI in the United States. She also helps develop and realize the organization’s advocacy policy and plan. In this episode, Williams details KBI’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid, education, and advocacy to deportees from the United States, migrants who have crossed the border without authorization, and Central American asylum-seekers. She recounts the impact of various changes by the Trump administration on KBI’s work and migrant communities, including the elimination of prosecutorial discretion and the implementation of policies (such as the Migrant Protection Protocols/Remain in Mexico policy) that force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico. Williams also discusses the recent report, “Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences,” co-authored with CMS and the Jesuit Conference’s Office of Justice and Ecology. The study examines the characteristics of deportees and the effects of deportation, and places the findings in a broader policy context. Learn more about the Kino Border Initiative at www.kinoborderinitiative.org, and follow KBI on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. To download the Communities in Crisis report and get more information on CMS’s research, publications, and events, visit cmsny.org.

This CMSOnAir episode features an interview with Her Excellency Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, president of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly. President Espinosa Garcés speaks with Kevin Appleby, CMS’s senior director of international migration policy, on global migration issues in advance of the upcoming intergovernmental conference to adopt the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, which will be held in December 2018 in Marrakesh, Morocco.

This episode features a conversation with His Eminence Joseph William Cardinal Tobin, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Ordained in 1978, Cardinal Tobin served as a pastor in Holy Redeemer Parish in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan until 1990. He also served in a number of diocesan assignments within the Archdiocese of Detroit, including: Episcopal Vicar; member of the Presbyteral Council, and; official in the Metropolitan Tribunal. In addition, throughout much of his career, Cardinal Tobin served in a number of positions within the Redemptorist Congregation, including as the General Consultor of the Community in Rome from 1991 until 1997, and as Superior General of the Redemptorists in Rome from 1997 until 2009. On August 9, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Tobin to the Roman Curia post of Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSA), and titular Archbishop of Obba. On October 18, 2012, Pope Benedict appointed him to serve as the Sixth Archbishop of Indianapolis. In 2016, Pope Francis elevated him to the College of Cardinals and appointed him as the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark.

The Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay association, provides services to and advocates on behalf of underprivileged, disadvantaged, and low income social groups around the world. Started in Rome by Andrea Riccardi in 1968, the Community has grown to 60,000 members across more than 73 countries and four continents. In this episode, CMSOnAir speaks with Paola Piscitelli, president of the Community’s chapter in the United States, on one of the Community’s innovative programs – The Humanitarian Corridors Project. The project was launched on December 16, 2015 when the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Protestant Churches, and the Waldensian and Methodist Churches in Italy joined with the Italian Interior and Foreign Ministries to protect migrants and refugees making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. The Humanitarian Corridors Project aims to: • Prevent deaths at sea and exploitation by human traffickers; • Provide legal and safe entry to vulnerable people; • Plan reception and integration processes; and • Self-fund with no costs to the host country. Under the initiative, 1,000 of the most vulnerable refugees (e.g., women, children, the disabled, the sick, and the elderly) in Lebanon were allowed to travel to Italy over a two-year period with humanitarian visas. The success of the project has led to the opening of new humanitarian corridors agreements to allow 500 refugees from Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan in Ethiopia to resettle in Italy and 500 Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Lebanon to resettle in France. In this episode, Piscitelli describes the history of the Community of Sant-Egidio and explains its Humanitarian Corridors Project, including the process of identifying refugee beneficiaries and the communities to host them, the services and programs coordinated to welcome refugees, and the importance of ecumenical partnerships to serve people in need.

This episode features a conversation with the co-facilitators leading the development of the Global Compact on Migration – Ambassador Juan Jose Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations and Ambassador Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations. Among the issues discussed, Ambassador Gómez Camacho and Ambassador Lauber speak with Kevin Appleby, CMS’s senior policy director of international migration, on the challenges posed by rising xenophobia and hostile political climates and the role of civil society, particularly faith-based institutions, in informing and negotiating the final document.

CMSOnAir features an interview with Ron Nixon, a Washington correspondent for the New York Times who covers homeland security issues. Mr. Nixon has reported from Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Belgium, Mexico, Malaysia, Senegal, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also teaches investigative reporting and data journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Mr. Nixon is author of the book Selling Apartheid: Apartheid South Africa’s Global Propaganda War. Among other topics in this episode, Mr. Nixon and Donald Kerwin, CMS’s executive director, discuss Donald Trump’s executive orders, immigration enforcement at the US-Mexico border, and the Department of Homeland Security (which at the time of this interview was still headed by Secretary John Kelly who just this week replaced Reince Priebus as White House Chief of Staff).  To get more information on CMS’s research, publications and events, visit us at cmsny.org.

Fr. Thomas Reese, SJ discusses, “Barriers to Protection: The Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal,” a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Appointed to USCIRF in 2014, Fr. Reese now serves as chair of this independent, bipartisan US federal government commission that reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. Among his professional accomplishments, Fr. Reese served as editor-in-chief of America magazine, where he wrote on politics, economics and the Catholic Church. He is currently a senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter. In this podcast, Fr. Reese and Donald Kerwin, CMS’ executive director, discuss violations of law and legal procedures by border officials, CBP and USCIS’ reliance on virtual interviews, the importance of legal representation in asylum cases, and the detention of mothers and children. Fr. Reese also discusses the global crisis in refugee protection and the proposals to deny the admission of refugees based on religion and nationality.

Cecilia Muñoz, Assistant to President Barack Obama and Director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, joins CMSOnAir to reflect on the Administration’s efforts on immigration during the past eight years. She offers a candid assessment of the major immigration and refugee issues and challenges the Administration faced, from legislative reform to Executive action to immigration enforcement and national security. In this episode, Ms. Muñoz speaks with CMS's Executive Director Donald Kerwin on the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States, and the government’s response to the surge of Central American unaccompanied minors and families into the country.

In this episode of CMSOnAir, Linda Rabben, Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland discusses her work studying the history of sanctuary and sanctuary movements. Her research has just been published in a second edition of her book, Sanctuary and Asylum: A Social and Political History (University of Washington Press 2016).

A few days before the 15th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) is releasing a new in-depth report examining refugee protection and national security. The paper, titled “How Robust Refugee Protection Policies Can Strengthen Human and National Security,” is part of a special collection of CMS’s Journal on Migration and Human Security on "Rethinking the Global Refugee Protection System." In this episode, Rachel Reyes, CMS's Director of Communications speaks with with the paper’s author and CMS's executive director, Donald Kerwin. To download, "How Robust Refugee Protection Policies Can Strengthen Human and National Security," and get more information on CMS projects, publications and events, visit us at cmsny.org.

In this podcast, CMS’s Executive Director Donald Kerwin speaks with Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on the intersection between international migration, refugee protection and national security. Secretary Chertoff discusses the lessons learned from 9/11 terrorist attacks, the security of the US refugee resettlement and visa waiver programs, proposals to bar Muslim immigrants from admission and to build a fence the length of the US-Mexico border, and the need for broad immigration reform. Michael Chertoff served as DHS Secretary from 2005 until 2009. Appointed by President George W. Bush, he was instrumental in developing and implementing the administration’s homeland security and immigration enforcement priorities. He also played a lead role in advocating for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Prior to leading DHS, Secretary Chertoff served as a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2003 to 2005, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice from 2001 to 2003, and worked for more than a decade as a federal prosecutor. Upon retiring from public service, he co-founded the Chertoff Group, which provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Immigration Task Force.

Senator Charles E. Schumer is the Senior US Senator for the State of New York. Elected to the US Senate in 1998, Senator Schumer has been instrumental in furthering comprehensive immigration reform legislation. He was involved in the immigration reform debates in Congress in 2006 and 2007, and he currently sits on the Judiciary Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security. On April 16, 2013, Senator Schumer introduced into the US Senate the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (also known as S.744). The immigration reform bill was particularly notable because it had been written and negotiated by the “Gang of Eight” – a bipartisan group of US senators including Democratic senators Schumer, Bob Menendez, Michael Bennet and Richard Durbin and Republican senators Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Marco Rubio. Among S. 744’s original provisions, the bill would increase security measures along the border, establish a new visa program for lower-skilled workers, and provide a pathway to citizenship to undocumented immigrants living within the United States. Although the Senate passed the bill on June 27, 2013, the House of Representatives did not take the bill up to a vote and it died with the closing of the 113th Congress. Senator Schumer is now in line to become the Senate Minority leader in the next Congress. However, in the event the Democrats become the majority in the US Senate after the November 2016 elections, Senator Schumer would become the Senate majority leader. The Senate majority leader manages the legislative calendar for the U.S. Senate and can help ensure the consideration of specific legislation, such as immigration reform. In this special episode, Kevin Appleby, CMS’s Senior Director of International Migration Policy, speaks with Senator Schumer about the prospects for immigration reform in the next Congress and how immigration reform supporters might prepare for another immigration debate. Senator Schumer also gives his views on the presidential election season and how the focus on immigration might impact the election’s outcome and beyond.

In the second of the two-part CMSOnAir series, “Shaping a Nation: The Past and Present Struggles Over Immigration,” the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) speaks with Sara Campos, a writer and immigrant rights lawyer formerly with the Northern California Immigrant Rights Coalition. Ms. Campos is the author of “The Influence of Civil Society in US Immigrant Communities and the US Immigration Debate” in the 2014 book International Migration, US Immigration Law, and Civil Society published by CMS and the Scalabrini International Migration Network. In this interview, Ms. Campos discusses the historic role of civil society in influencing and shaping US immigration law and policy. She details past and present groups on both sides of the immigration debate, the significance of the DREAMer movement, and the importance of solidarity between Black Americans and immigrants.

Europe and the United States are increasingly experiencing anti-immigrant backlash. Some candidates for the US presidency, for example, are campaigning on platforms that would include severe restrictions on immigration to the United States as well as a complete ban of Muslim immigrants. In the first of a two-part CMSOnAir series, “Shaping a Nation: The Past and Present Struggles Over Immigration," the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) speaks with Charles Wheeler, Director of Training and Legal Support at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) where he manages support and advocacy work on immigration law and related issues affecting immigrants. Prior to CLINIC, Mr. Wheeler directed the National Immigration Law Center for more than ten years and practiced and taught immigration law for two decades. He has served on the boards of the National Immigration Forum, American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and other leading organizations. He is also the author of the chapter, “The Evolution of the United States Immigration Laws,” in the 2014 book International Migration, US Immigration Law, and Civil Society: From the Pre-Colonial Era to the 113th Congress published by CMS and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN). In this podcast, Mr. Wheeler discusses how the anti-immigrant sentiments and rhetoric of today compare with past times in US history.

On January 1, 2016, Kevin Appleby joined the Center for Migration Studies of New York and our umbrella organization, the Scalabrini International Migration Network, as Senior Director of International Migration Policy. In this episode, Rachel Reyes, CMS's Director of Communications, speaks with Kevin about his new role and some of the migration and refugee issues at the forefront in today's news.

On July 15, 2015, the Center for Migration Studies of New York hosted a nationwide teleconference and stakeholder roundtable with Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Maria M. Odom and Chief of Policy Elissa McGovern. In this episode, we share their presentation on the office’s 2015 annual report to Congress and their conversation with CMS Executive Director Donald Kerwin. For more information, visit http://cmsny.org/cmsonair-maria-odom.

Martin Xuereb and Rescuing Migrants in the Mediterranean by Center for Migration Studies of New York

Pelenise Alofa and Climate Change Migration by Center for Migration Studies of New York