Immigration Today!

Clark Hill

Join Clark Hill’s Angeline Chen, a leading immigration attorney, in discussing the impacts of US immigration law and policy. On Immigration Today, Angeline interviews leaders, experts, advocates and volunteers in immigration and immigrant rights on the issues, their experiences and their advice on how YOU can make a difference.

  1. 20 FEB

    44. How a DACA Organizer Became a Leading Activist For Immigration Rights in El Paso – Claudia Yoli Ferla, Executive Director at MOVE Texas

    On the 44th episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Claudia Yoli Ferla. Claudia is the Executive Director at MOVE Texas, a nonprofit organization working to build the social, cultural, and political power of young people in Texas. She is a dedicated community organizer born in Venezuela and raised in El Paso, Texas. A proud DACA recipient and community organizer, Claudia draws from her personal experiences to amplify the voices of young people and immigrants in Texas, a state at the epicenter of the national immigration debate. Under her leadership, MOVE Texas is driving the fight for a more just and inclusive future at the Texas State Capitol. Claudia is proud to be part of the generation of young people who won the protections of the DACA program and who unapologetically continue to tell the world that immigrant stories do not belong in the shadows. Immigration issues are deeply personal to Claudia, as she is a DACA and TPS recipient still waiting for her opportunity to become a US citizen. Throughout her youth, she directly faced the complications of what it meant to have her future at the discretion of an immigration system that didn’t favor her. During and after college she became connected with organizations that did direct policy work in D.C., later with communities that implemented social change in El Paso, and eventually became inspired by the youth that she worked amongst to lead an organization like MOVE Texas who is founded by young people for young people with a mission to increase political participation. You can keep up with MOVE Texas work via their website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. Follow Claudia on LinkedIn. Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter to stay up to date with any new episodes! DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    41 min

  2. 9 JAN

    43. Storytelling as a Tool for Social Change – Dr. Pierre R. Berastain, Interim Executive Director at Centre for Public Impact

    On the 43rd episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Dr. Pierre R. Berastain. Dr. Pierre Berastaín is the Interim Executive Director of the Centre for Public Impact (CPI). CPI was founded in 2015 as a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to improving the effectiveness of governments and public institutions worldwide. Dr. Berastaín joined the CPI team as Regional Director for North America in 2023. In 2024, he became the Interim Executive Director of the organization. He is also the Co-Founder at Caminar Latino – Latinos United for Peace and Equity, a culturally specific, national organization dedicated to working with Latino families affected by domestic violence. Previously, he was the Chief Strategy & Operations Officer for the District Alliance for Safe Housing, the DC’s largest housing provider for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. His work has appeared in national and international publications and books. From 2015–2018, he served on the board of MERGE for Equality, which works to engage men around violence prevention. He is one of the founders of Latinos United for Peace and Equity; and served on the Board of Directors for Transition House, a domestic violence shelter and social justice organization in Cambridge, MA. He currently serves on the board for ImmSchools, an organization that focuses on supporting immigrant students by ensuring schools are safe environments.  In 2019, Dr. Berastaín was named Top 25 Most Influential LGBTQ People of Color in Boston. Originally from Peru, he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1998 and remained an undocumented immigrant until he received DACA in 2012 and later became a lawful permanent resident. He holds a B.A. in Social Anthropology from Harvard College, a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, and a doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From his former work advocating for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, Pierre now focuses on impacting systems and Federal government entities through the lens of communities directly affected by government inefficiency.  Dr. Berastain describes his path to doing this work and the importance of using storytelling in making social change.  CPI’s work creates system change by centering the most marginalized, such as low income, LGBTQ and immigrant communities.  You can keep up with CPI’s work via their website, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter/X. Follow Dr. Berastain on LinkedIn and Twitter/X. Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter to stay up to date with any new episodes! DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    39 min

  3. 12/12/2024

    42. How Newly Arrived Immigrants are Adjusting to America Via the Classroom – Jessica Lander, Teacher at Lowell High School and Author of Making Americans

    On the 42nd episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Jessica Lander. Jessica Lander is an award-winning teacher, author, and advocate. She is currently a teacher at Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts. She teaches history and civics to recent immigrant students and has won several teaching awards, including being named a Top 50 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2021, a 2023 MA Teacher of the Year Finalist, and the 2023 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year. She offers a unique perspective on the role that public schools have in helping newcomer immigrant students succeed in America. Previously, she has taught students in middle school, high school, and universities in the United States, Thailand, and Cambodia. Jessica is an advocate serving as a district-wide family engagement coach, mentor teacher, and education consultant for national and state education policy organizations. She is also the author of Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education, a comprehensive book that looks at immigrant education as told through key historical moments and court decisions, a book that shares current experiments to improve immigrant education and profiles of immigrant youth and schools across the country. She is also the winner of the 2024 George Orwell Awardee for Making Americans, which was presented by the National Council of the Teachers of English to, "writers who have made outstanding contributions to the critical analysis of public discourse". In this episode, Jessica shares her journey in writing Making Americans. Jessica was able to take a year to step out of the classroom to delve into the research for writing this book. First, she tells us about stories from the past with cases such as Mendez v. Westminster School District and Plyler v. Doe, landmark cases for what immigrant education is today. She also talks to us about the present through examples of classrooms like her own or Las Americas in Texas which have taken the experiences of students and their varying backgrounds to build innovative and transformative education for their students. Jessica also delves into personal stories of students and educators in order to reimagine what the future of American education might look like. Keep up with Jessica via their website, LinkedIn, and Twitter. You can purchase a copy of Making Americans on Barnes and Noble, Harvard Bookstore, Amazon, or your preferred retailer. Immigration Today! is always releasing new content.  Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter to stay up to date with any new episodes.  DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    36 min

  4. 31/10/2024

    41. Getting Out the Vote! - Antonio Arellano VP of Communications at NextGen America

    On the 41st episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Antonio Arellano. Antonio Arellano is the VP of Communications at NextGen America, the nation’s largest youth voting organization which mobilizes millions of young voters every year. He is also a 1st generation immigrant and a former DACA recipient. He has been organizing communities of color in Texas for over a decade. Antonio has worked at some of the most notable newsrooms in America. While at the Houston Chronicle, Antonio advanced digital coverage of a variety of issues impacting one of the most diverse markets in the nation. In 2016, Antonio was offered the opportunity to join ABC News as a social media contributor, where he was instrumental in developing an innovative approach to news dissemination using social media to engage and educate a younger audience. In September 2018, Antonio joined Jolt Initiative, the largest Latino civic engagement organization in Texas, and served as Communications Director. Today, Antonio serves as the Vice President of Communications at NextGen America where he oversees the implementation of a national strategy to increase the progressive power of young Americans and advances economic equity, racial and climate justice as well as efforts to safeguard our democracy. In 2022, Antonio helped NextGen America secure the second-largest youth voter turnout in history. Antonio represents a new era of bold and fearless leadership, emerging from a social climate that is actively demanding fresh perspectives on key issues. His innovative use of digital media and narrative shift work has quickly catapulted Antonio into one of the leading progressive voices in the United States. His work has been mentioned in Time Magazine, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Telemundo, and Univision, among others. With the upcoming election only a week away, Antonio encourages every single young voter to come out to the polls. In this election, nearly 1/3 of the 36 million Latinos eligible to vote, are between the ages of 18 to 29. So exercising the vote is not just important for the individual, but also important because it plays a huge impact on the policies that affect low income and disenfranchised communities which are often immigrant communities. Voting plays a huge factor in securing protections for DACA individuals who are still battling an uncertain future, it plays a factor in access to reproductive health for migrant communities and much more. Young voters have the power to determine the future of America in this election! You can follow Antonio’s work via their website, Instagram, Linked in and Twitter. Immigration Today! is always releasing new content.  Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter to stay up to date with any new episodes.  DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    38 min

  5. 04/10/2024

    40. Dr. Jason De Leon, Anthropologist and Author of Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling

    On the 40th episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Dr. Jason De Leon. Dr. Jason De León is a professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies and director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also the Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a 501(c)(3) research, arts, and education collective that seeks to raise awareness about migration issues globally while also assisting families of missing migrants to reunite with their loved ones. Since 2009, the UMP has been studying clandestine migration between Latin America and the United States using a combination of ethnographic, visual, archaeological, and forensic approaches to understand this violent social process. Dr. De León has published numerous academic articles and his work with the UMP has been featured in a variety of popular media outlets. He is a 2017 MacArthur Foundation Fellow and author of the award-winning book The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Dr. De Leon’s latest work is a new book titled Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling, which is an in-depth look at the daily lives of smugglers moving migrants across the length of Mexico.  In this interview, Angeline Chen deep dives into De Leon’s work. For much of his career, Dr. De Leon had focused on the archeological fieldwork of countries like Mexico. He would often work in communities that had high migration rates which eventually led him to grow an interest in the journeys people take to their destination while immigrating. He realized that human migration left an archeological footprint worth discovering. His first book, Land of Open Graves was a combination of archaeology, forensic science, and ethnographic works meant to shed light on the experiences of border crossers. Eventually, his involvement with immigration issues led him to take an interest in the stories of smugglers. Soldiers and Kings was a 7-year-long project that led him from Guatemala to Mexico and back to follow the stories of smugglers and learn about the way organized crime, drug cartels, and transnational gangs have shaped the migration process. Dr. De Leon gives us a new perspective: Are smugglers all “bad”?  You can follow Dr. Jason De Leon's work via their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Purchase your copy of Soldiers and Kings from your favorite retailer today! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Undocumented Migration Project via this link. Immigration Today! is always releasing new content.  Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    36 min

  6. 14/05/2024

    39. Leading a World of Social Change through Philanthropy – Megan Thomas from Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties

    On the 39th  episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Megan Thomas,  president & CEO of Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties.  Megan has a passion for helping people and she joined Catalyst because it sits at the intersection of philanthropy and social good. Catalyst is a network of a couple hundred funders and grant makers with a mission to help educate, lead and invest in environmental issues, food security, border issues and more, to promote social change. One of Catalyst's focuses is in border work as the community they serve in San Diego and Imperial County has a strong border identity. They work with many grassroots organizations who are the first point of contact for many immigrants entering the United States or who reside in Tijuana. There has been attention to border issues on the philanthropy side during Trump’s family separations and the current arrival of asylum seekers. Catalyst continues to do great work and hopes to continue building an equitable, impactful, and effective social change ecosystem. As CEO, Megan provides strategic leadership and partnership to the entire Catalyst staff, board, members, and community partners. She oversees Catalyst’s facilitation of collaborative efforts among its funder members and other stakeholders; leads the production of philanthropy and impact investing skills-building and issue based learning; and spearheads Catalyst’s work related to championing equity and opportunity. She strengthens Imperial and San Diego County communities through shared learning and pooled and aligned funding strategies, and initiatives fiscally sponsored by Catalyst.  You can follow Catalyst via their website, Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube. If you want to become a member, sign up here or consider donating. Immigration Today! is always releasing new content.  Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter to stay up to date with any new episodes. DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    42 min

  7. 24/04/2024

    38. The Fear of Access to Public Benefits for Undocumented Immigrants with Celia Valdez from Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA) and Immigration Attorney Nora Phillips

    On the 38th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Celia Valdez and Nora Phillips. Celia Valdez has been working in health outreach for over 25 years. As the Outreach and Education Director with Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA), she has worked diligently with local and state government groups ranging from community-based organizations to government agencies to improve access to free and low-cost health insurance programs. She has advocated on behalf of hundreds of clients, provided testimony on their behalf before government boards, and has made numerous health policy recommendations at state and local levels.  MCHA (MCHA) improves the health of low-income women and families through advocacy, education, training, and direct services. Nora Phillips is the founder of the Law Office of Nora E. Phillips, APC, in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. She has been practicing immigration law since 2007, with a focus on immigration remedies for survivors of violence, disabled immigrants, and individuals who have been deported from the U.S. She co-founded Al Otro Lado (AOL), a binational legal services organization, in 2011. While at AOL, she ran the Deportee Program the Healthcare-Legal Partnership while co-supervising the Case Management Program for holistic client advocacy. Prior to that, Nora co-founded Phillips & Urias, LLP, a community immigration law firm in East Los Angeles. Prior to Phillips & Urias, LLP, Nora was a Staff Attorney at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) in Los Angeles.  Celia became passionate about public benefits while in college when she heard a presentation about prenatal healthcare access for immigrant women. She found a job opening at MCHA and has been there for 27 years since! On the other hand, Nora moved to New York in her early 20’s and started becoming involved in civil rights work involving Muslim populations after the 911 attacks. Eventually Nora landed in Chicago and went to law school and has been doing immigration work since. Celia and Nora work together as they both sit at the intersection of public benefits and immigration work. Whether its sending VAWA approved or U Visa approved cases to access public service benefits at MCHA or Celia sending over immigrant populations to seek legal services back to Nora, they both share a passion in making sure everyone is educated about the resources they can access so that no one falls through the cracks. MCHA has training available for people that want to know the in and outs of public benefits in LA county. You can access those trainings here. They are always in need of donations. Please consider donating via this link. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with their work! Immigration Today! is always releasing new content.  Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter to stay up to date with any new episodes. DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    50 min

  8. 26/03/2024

    37. Efrén C. Olivares, Immigration Attorney and Author of My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines

    On the 37th  episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Efrén C. Olivares, Director of Strategic Litigation at The Southern Poverty Law Center.  Olivares is a civil rights lawyer who has represented clients before federal courts and international human rights bodies for over a decade. His work focuses on ending immigrant detention and providing pro bono legal representation to detained immigrants at immigration detention centers in the deep South. Efrén and his team also defend workers’ rights, ensure local policing is not entangled with immigration enforcement, seek family reunification, and protect the rights of asylum seekers. In this interview, Efrén tells us about his upbringing and how that influenced the work he does today as an immigration attorney and fearless advocate for civil rights.    Author of My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines, which was published in 2022, Efrén recounts his own immigration journey as young teenager arriving in the U.S. His work has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN and many other outlets. Efrén's grandfather was born in the U.S. to farmworker parents who would travel in between Mexico and Texas for work which eventually lead to his family establishing roots in Texas when he moved to the U.S at the age of 13. In his book he recounts what life was like assimilating into the U.S. and how his own experiences allowed him to see immigration work through a personal lens. You can keep up with Efrén on Twitter/X @efrencolivares and on IG @e.olivares.a. Purchase his book via Amazon , Barnes and Noble, Target or any other outlet found on his website. Consider donating to the amazing work done at The Southern Poverty Law Center here. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram as well. Immigration Today! is always releasing new content.  Please subscribe to our immigration newsletter to stay up to date with any new episodes.  DISCLAIMER – This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this podcast is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Listeners should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent those of the individual speaker only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC.

    34 min
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About

Join Clark Hill’s Angeline Chen, a leading immigration attorney, in discussing the impacts of US immigration law and policy. On Immigration Today, Angeline interviews leaders, experts, advocates and volunteers in immigration and immigrant rights on the issues, their experiences and their advice on how YOU can make a difference.

Information

  • Creator
    Clark Hill
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Immigration Today!
  • Show Website
    Immigration Today!

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