Advertise on podcast: Only in America with Ali Noorani

It’s our final episode! This week, we look back at our favorite memories, clips, and episodes from the podcast. Featured guests include  Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, Pati Jinich, Nafy Flatley and many others. We hope you enjoy this look back at a great pod. Thank you to all our guests and everyone who helped make this happen!   Please visit our Facebook and Twitter for more stories and information about the National Immigration Forum.  

It’s another virtual road trip – this week to Ithaca. And don't forget your mittens because it's cold out there! This week we are joined by Casey Verderosa from Ithaca Welcomes Refugees. She details their origin story, the organization’s current challenges, and what she hopes for Ithaca and IWR in the future.   Check out their page to learn more about how to help IWR and some great merch!  

President Biden inherited an emaciated resettlement and asylum program from former President Trump, whose administration enacted blatantly anti-immigrant, anti-refugee and anti-asylum policies throughout its four years. This week we look at the path forward for those affected by America’s archaic immigration system - and what you can do to help make changes for immigrants and their families in our communities.    We hear from Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Taif Jany Director of Policy and Practice at RCUSA, and Lacy Broemel, a Policy Analyst at the International Refugee Assistance Project.   If you liked what you heard here, please be sure to check out the full conversation on our Facebook page.

It’s President Biden’s one-year anniversary in the White House. This week we look at the progress for immigration advocacy and how that bodes for those still hoping for reforms now.   We speak with Kristie De Pena, Vice President for policy and director of immigration at the Niskanen Center, and Danilo Zak, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Forum.    Also be sure to check out the Forum’s recent white paper, One Year In: The Biden Administration’s Treatment of Vulnerable Migrants for a rundown of the progress we’ve seen – and the work that still has to be done.  

The supply chain has now become a big part of our national discussion. And a large, cheese-sized hunk of those goods are related to dairy farming. But without immigrant employees, like many agribusinesses, dairy farms across the country wouldn’t be able to function. This week, we take a look at America’s dairy farms and how they’re embracing their immigrant workforce. We speak with Ohio Dairy Farmer, Kathy Davis, and Mercedes Falk, the president of Puentes, a non-profit helping farmers and immigrant workers bridge cultural and language gaps.

The Olympics are a unique opportunity to celebrate both individual victories and our collective unity.  And this week we went for the gold! Ali speaks with former Olympian and refugee Makorobondo “Dee” Salukombo about learning to love running and his work starting Project Kirotshe a program that pays children in Congo’s school fees as they train and run races throughout Eastern Africa.   Check us out on Twitter and Facebook for more great stories from our podcast.  

We are back! Thank you for joining us after our brief break.   Not all heroes wear capes, but this one does wear a Captain America costume. Vishavjit Singh is a writer, artist, creator of Sikhtoons, and Sikh Captain America. He uses his powers of building bridges and storytelling to fight intolerance and have difficult conversations to create understanding. He tells us his origin story and about his new animated film, “American Sikh”, an animated short about seeking acceptance in an intolerant world.  You can donate to his Kickstarter here.  

  President Biden’s decision this week to raise the refugee ceiling to 62,500 came after a broad range of voices urged the administration to reconsider their initial decision to keep the ceiling at the historically low 15,000 set by President Trump.    Ali speaks with Edafe Okporo, a global gay rights activist and executive director of the RDJ Refugee Shelter in Harlem, New York, about his experience with the US  asylum system and how he is trying to help other asylees. We also hear from Jenny Yang, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief, about the growing need for refugee resettlement. 

For Luma Mufleh, soccer has always been a passion. This week we hear how she combined that love for the pitch with providing education to young refugees in Ohio and Georgia. We also hear from educators and students at Fugees Academy about why this school is so important for both its students and the refugee community at large. You can learn more about Fugee Academy at their website.

A record number of people have been attempting to cross the US-Mexico border this year, many of them children. There are reports of a backlog of thousands of people willing to take a chance. And those turned back usually wait a bit in Mexico and try again. So how does the number of people attempting to cross the border this year compare to previous years? What are these individuals and families facing? And what approaches can we take immediately to start addressing these issues? This week, an on-the-ground look at the U.S.-Mexico border as we speak with Joanna Williams, Executive Director of the Kino Border Initiative, Linda Chavez, a former Reagan White House official and Danilo Zak, Policy & Advocacy Associate at the Forum. Here’s Linda’s recent piece for The Bulwark, and our explainer on the border situation.

The new film “The Infiltrators” tells the true story of young immigrants who are detained by the Border Patrol and thrown into a shadowy for-profit detention center. This week we chatted with the filmmakers, Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra. Both received MacArthur fellowships and join us to talk about their story, the making of the film, and their future projects. 

It’s Part 2 of our visit to the Fugees Academy in Ohio. This week, we hear from students and faculty about what it was like at the school after the 2016 election, their advice for those new to the U.S., and what they look forward to for the future (spoiler: 9th grade is hopefully better than 8th).   Please visit their website to learn more about the Fugees Academy