Editor’s Note: We have moved our Immigration Hangouts archive page. You can now access our entire library of Immigration Live talk shows and hangouts here:
Episodes 1 – 5 can also be found via the links below.
Immigration LIVE, Episode 5: Joel Smith On Migrants In The Desert
The ordeal of migrants from Central and South America is a dangerous journey.
Yet, thousands make this trip every year, often with limited, if any food, clothes, money, or water.
Few really understand the ordeals they face like Joel Smith, Director of Operations at Human Borders, a Tucson, Arizona non- profit organization dedicated to taking death out of the immigration border equation.
Meet Joel, who works closely with property owners to provide emergency water stations throughout desert regions, tracks migrants travel patterns, monitors vigilante groups like the Minutemen, and identifies individuals who have died in the desert in the hopes of finding their family members.
Immigration LIVE, Episode 4: Ellin Jimmerson On NAFTA
One of the toughest issues to understand is why would millions of Latin Americans leave their homes families to make an illegal, expensive, dangerous and sometimes deadly journey to the United States?
To the extent this issue is discussed in the public arena, it is usually explored at a surface level, without a deep exploration of the causes or consequences of such migration.
This lack of truth and honesty prompted Ellin Jimmerson, a minister and civil rights activist, with a Ph.D in History, to produce “The Second Cooler,” an award-winning documentary on the immigration problems caused by NAFTA.
In this live chat, Ellin lays out the impact of the North American Free Trade Act on current U.S, immigration and border affairs policies – outcomes which were understood at the time the law was signed by then president Bill Clinton.
Immigration Live Episode 3: Bob Drews On U.S. Border Policy
Open any newspaper, listen to any talk show, or watch any television show on immigration, and you’ll hear about immigrants crossing the border from Mexico to enter the United States.
The American public rarely, if ever, hears about U.S. citizens crossing the border to live in Mexico. However, our immigration live hangout special guest today provides that perspective for you.
This is why in this Immigration Hangout, we would like to introduce Bob Drews, one of the most prolific immigration commentators on the internet, who shares his misgivings with the U.S. media or the U.S. government for providing inaccurate and incomplete information about Southwest border issues.
Immigration LIVE, Episode 2: Deborah Santos On Immigration Policy Victims
When President Obama was elected to his first term, immigrant communities felt reform was just around the corner. Instead, his administration has deported nearly 200,000 individuals per year.
Many of these deportees have deep family roots and community ties. Over 85% lack any serious or violent criminal convictions. The combination of these factors has led to widespread dissent about our nation’s detention and deportation policies.
The more immigration law enforcement agencies have pushed to remove immigrants from their families, the more they have created a new wave of immigration reform activists – citizen activists who refuse to sit idly while the rights of their friends and neighbors are trampled upon by agents claiming to be acting under authority of law.
It was this type of government abuse which prompted Deborah Sherman De Santos to start questioning immigration officials. That was several years ago. She is still seeking answers today.
Immigration LIVE, Episode 1: Chasity Alvarez On Family Unity
There is little doubt that keeping mixed status families together is one of the most pressing issues facing immigration reform advocates today.
This is why we invited Chasity Brewster Alvarez, founder of Fair Unity, to be our first guest on Batara Immigration Live.
Over the course of a few months, Chasity went from being a spouse of an undocumented immigrant with no knowledge about immigration issues to the leader of one of the internet’s largest immigrant family support groups.
In this Immigration Hangout, Chasity shares her experiences, in the hopes spouses of immigrants, like her, gain valuable tips, strategies, and insights for their personal journey to permanent residency and U.S. citizenship.
