The Rational Middle: Recent Episodes
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In these divided times, a number of important challenges are facing our nation. One of the largest is immigration reform. Histrionics have ruled the day and started a firestorm of debate on the issue. Rational Middle is working to change that by providing a holistic view through conversations with thought leaders, legislators, business owners, and citizens which can help us find common ground in the larger debate surrounding comprehensive reform.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council, speaks with host Omar Gallaga about the growing challenge of migrant child labor violations in the United States.
Randel Johnson, the former Senior Vice President of the Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits Division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joins us today. Randy has over four decades of experience in shaping immigration policy, advocating for business interests, and collaborating with policymakers and stakeholders to address the complex challenges of the U.S. immigration system. Randy is currently a visiting scholar at Cornell Law School.
Randy joins host Carter Carroll to share his insights and perspectives on American immigration, including his experiences at the Chamber of Commerce and his vision for the future of immigration policy in the United States.
Dr. Ahmed K. Ali is an associate professor of Architecture at Texas A&M. He is also the Director of the Resource-Based Design Research Lab at TAMU. This week, he joins host Loren Steffy to discuss his immigration story, his work in academia, and his observations on immigration in America.
This week, we are joined once again by Theresa Cardinal Brown. Theresa Cardinal Brown is the Bipartisan Policy Center's Senior Advisor for Immigration and Border Policy. Brown joins host Gregory Kallenberg to discuss how the BPC finds ways to be bipartisan, updates on her work at the BPC, and more.
David J. Bier is the associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. He is an expert on legal immigration, border security, and interior enforcement. He recently testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security, on immigration policy issues. He was invited to discuss how the border crisis is affecting Americans. However, the committee did not let him speak to the extent that he had hoped to, often interrupting Bier while questioning him. Host Chris Lyon catches up with David on his testimony and the things he wanted to get across to the committee.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin is an American economist. He was formerly Director of the Congressional Budget Office and chief economic policy adviser to Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Holtz-Eakin is the president of the American Action Forum, a conservative policy institute.
Douglas joins host Omar Gallaga to discuss how we can reframe the thinking around immigrants and their economic impact in America.
Ahilan Arulanantham is a human rights lawyer and Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law. He's also the faculty co-director of the school's Center for Immigration Law and Policy. Ahilan has dedicated his career to defending the rights of immigrants, and his work has earned him numerous awards and accolades. He was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship and recently received the ACLU of Southern California's Bill of Rights Award for his tireless advocacy on behalf of marginalized communities.
Ahilan joins host Carter Carroll to talk about the work he is doing, TPS challenges, and more.
DW Gibson is an American journalist, author, radio host, and cultural critic. He is also the author of the 2020 book, 14 Miles: Building the Border Wall, about the border wall that Former President Trump was building, and its impact on the lives of local residents. DW joins host Loren Steffy to discuss updates on the border wall and other movements that are gaining traction in the immigration policy reform space.
Amy Nice is a Distinguished Immigration Fellow and Visiting Scholar at Cornell University. She's had a long and storied career in immigration, but most recently spent 18 months at the White House at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she worked on immigration issues primarily focused on STEM. She joins host Chris Lyon to discuss the importance of foreign-born STEM workers on the American economy.
We have two guests on the podcast this week! Homero López is the legal director at Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy (ISLA) in Louisiana. ISLA is the primary legal services provider for detention centers across Louisiana. We also have Mary Yanik. Mary is the director of the Tulane Immigrant Rights Clinic. She specializes in assisting immigrant workers including victims of labor trafficking and in defending the constitutional rights of immigrants.
Homero and Mary join new host Omar Gallaga to discuss the Biden administration's supposed consideration of reinstating detaining of migrant families, the current conditions of detention centers, and the treatment of said detainees.
Zachary (Zak) Manfredi is the Litigation and Advocacy Director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP). Zak oversees ASAP’s litigation matters and policy advocacy, and he often represents ASAP in strategic partnerships and coalitions. Zak joins host Chris Lyon to discuss ASAP's work and what asylum seekers want to see change about the system.
Dr. Hasia Diner and Dr. Carl Bon Tempo are our guests this week. Dr. Diner is the Paul and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History at NYU, and Dr. Bon Tempo is an associate professor at the University at Albany. Their new book, Immigration: An American History, came out last year via Yale Press. The book covers stories of immigrants throughout American history. The pair join host Carter Carroll to discuss the book.
Charles Kamasaki is the Senior Cabinet Advisor of UnidosUS, (formerly the National Council of La Raza), the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. He is also the author of Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die. Charles joins host Loren Steffy to discuss the book and the findings therein.
Shahid Haque is an immigration attorney based out of Helena, Montana. He runs a law firm called Border Crossing Law, and he recently launched an app to automate immigration consultations. The app, named Open Borders, seeks to help those seeking citizenship and other avenues of entering the US by giving them the information they need to be able to enter. Haque joins host Carter Carroll to talk about his career, immigration in Montana, and the new app.
Gaurav Khanna is a respected scholar whose research focuses on development economics, labor economics and applied econometrics. He is an assistant professor of economics at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at USC San Diego and a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development.
Khanna joins host Loren Steffy to discuss recent tech layoff trends, the issues that H1-B Visa holders are facing, and how these visa holders have impacted American economics over the last 20 years.
Tony Payan is the Director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. Payan joins host Chris Lyon to discuss Biden's recent trip to Mexico and El Paso, Texas. What does this trip mean for immigration policy, and are the outcomes going to be effective?
Charles Foster is an immigration attorney and chairman of Foster LLP in Houston. His work includes being a Senior Immigration Policy Advisor for George W. Bush, an immigration policy advisor on the 2008 Obama campaign, and many others. His work in immigration law has made him one of the foremost experts in the field.
Foster joins host Loren Steffy to discuss the new Congress, what needs to happen to come to rational immigration policy changes, and much more.
The end of Title 42 is looming. What comes next? And what exactly is Title 8?
Jeremy McKinney is the American Immigration Lawyer Association (AILA) President and an immigration and naturalization lawyer in North Carolina. AILA has recommendations for Congress on how to handle the transition to Title 8 and beyond. McKinney joins host Chris Lyon to discuss these issues and more on this week's episode.
Rajika Bhandari is an international higher education expert, writer and speaker. She came to America, from India, to further her education. Her award-winning Memoir, America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility, came out 2021. Bhandari joins host Chris Lyon to discuss the experiences of many international students here in America, and the issues that they face.
Glenn Altschuler is an American writer, as well as a professor and administrator at Cornell University. Altshuler joins host Melissa Brannan to discuss his recent op-ed and common misconspectiosn about immigration in America.
Hosts Chris Lyon, Loren Steffy and Melissa Brannan join new host Carter Carroll to look back at the first 150 episodes of the podcast. The crew discusses favorite past episodes, recent immigration news, and the future of the podcast.
Marshall Fitz is the Managing Director of Immigration of the Emerson Collective. The Emerson Collective "develop(s) strategies to remove barriers to opportunity, and work with community partners to advance common sense solutions to systemic problems." Marshall joins host Chris Lyon to discuss the Emerson Collective's work in immigration, as well as the Title 42 challenges that many immigrants are facing in America.
Douglas Rivlin is the Director of Communication for America’s Voice and America’s Voice Education Fund. The mission of America’s Voice and America’s Voice Education Fund is to build the public support and the political will needed to enact policy changes that secure freedom and opportunity for immigrants in America. Rivlin joins host Loren Steffy to discuss the recent mid-term elections and how American voters are pushing for immigration reform.
Mariko Hirose is the U.S. Litigation Director at International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP.) Mariko joins host Loren Steffy to discuss IRAP's work in aiding refugee's worldwide and here in America. They also discuss IRAP's recent letter of recommendation to the US government on how to help refugee's trying to make it to America.
Tran Dang is the founder and executive director fo the Rhizome Center for Migrants. Their mission is to support and defend forcibly displaced persons and uprooted people at risk around the world. Dang joins host Melissa Brannan to discuss the work of the center, as well as the problems facing bi-national families at the border between the US and Mexico.
On the last of our Midterms Vault Episodes, we revist the first of our Mythbusting series. Consulting psychologist Karl Krumm kicks off the series with a provocative discussion of confirmation bias and other traps to watch out for when trying to talk—productively—about contentious issues.
As we near the midterm elections, we are re-visiting our interview with Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center to discuss why we fear immigrants, particularly undocumented ones, and what the realistic solutions might be.
As we near the midterm elections, we are re-visiting our interview with Chief Andy Harvey, Chief of Police in Pharr, Texas, as well as its newly-appointed City Manager, joins Melissa Brannan to discuss some of the components of life in a border town: the blockade at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, Operation Lone Star, what it's like being on the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force, and more.
Angelica Razo is the Texas State Director for Mi Familia Vota, an organization dedicated to building up the political power and representation of Latinos in the United States. Razo joins host Loren Steffy to discuss the recent work of the organization, including a memo calling for Democrats to fight harder for immigrants.
Eunice Cho is a staff attorney for the ACLU National Prison Project, a project that is working for prison reform and the rights of prisoners around the country. Cho joins host Melissa Brannan to discuss her work with the National Prison Project, as well as how ICE Detention Centers are growing in America.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, Professor of Immigration Law at Cornell Law School, joins host Chris Lyon this week. They discuss Yale’Loehr’s work in immigration law and research on refugees in America.
The Rational Middle host team gets together to round out the summer, discuss the upcoming midterm elections, how both sides are (or are not) using immigration to push political agendas, and future podcast episodes.
The Rational Middle host team gets together to round out the summer, discuss the upcoming midterm elections, how both sides are (or are not) using immigration to push political agendas, and future podcast episodes.
Leah Boustan and Ran Abramitzky join host Loren Steffy to discuss their new book, "Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success." The writers discuss the success and economic impacts of immigrants in the United States.
Ian Kysel is the Assistant Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School where he has helped shape the Iternational Migrants’ Bill of Rights (IMBR)Initiative. Host Melissa Brannan and Mr. Kysel explore the purpose and need for the IMBR in today's world of migration.
Betsy Cohen, Executive Director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project and author of "Welcome To the U.S.A. - You're Hired!" speaks with host Chris Lyon about the Gateway City's goal of becoming the fastest growing city in America for foreign born people.
Shoba Wadhia, Director of the Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Law Professor sits down with host Loren Steffy for a conversation about a Texas Federal Court's pushback against restrictions on deportation implemented by the Biden Administration.
Joara Jimenez, coordinator of the Dream Center at California State University Chico, talks with host Melissa Brannan about
Denise Gilman, Director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law shares an update on the U.S.-Mexico Border, Operation Lone Star, and the politicization of the border.
German photographer Stefan Falke was born in Germany, but has been living in New York for 20 years. His long-running project, "La Frontera", documents artists working along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Linda Lorelle, 17-year news veteran of Houston's NBC affiliate KPRC, has started her own company, Lorelle Media, and begun an effort to share the opportunities that immigrants offer our country.
Executive Producer Loren Steffy speaks with former Dallas journalist and two-time Peabody Award winner Byron Harris about his new podcast "When I Got Here".
Talia Inlender, Deputy Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA, joins us to discuss their recent report on the Biden administration's dedicated asylum docket, and why it's rife with "miscarriages of justice."
With the traumatic deaths of 53 migrants in San Antonio weighing on our hearts and minds, we sat down to chat with Luz Garcini, Nonresident Scholar at Baker University's the Center for the United States and Mexico specializing in the study of trauma, loss and grief among Latinx immigrants, to help us understand the tragedy in the context of the continuous chain of traumas that shadow all stages of the migration process.
Frances Kelley, Shreveport Coordinator for the Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention (LA-AID), tells us more about LA-AID, the services it provides, and the importance of taking a long view of immigration in the U.S. Part two of a two-episode special.
Frances Kelley, Shreveport Coordinator for the Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention (LA-AID), dissects the stunning problem of immigrant detention in the U.S., the lesser-known problem of the chaotic detainee release process, and where an all-volunteer community organization fits in. Part one of a two-episode conversation.
As DACA reaches its first decade, we hear from Andrea Tecpoyotl, a young DACA activist, about what it's like to live with the program: its promise as well as its frustrations.
Austin Kocher, Research Assistant Professor with the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, takes us inside the Clearinghouse's use of the Freedom of Information Act to access federal datasets, and what such data can tell us about the state of immigration.
Valerie Lacarte, Senior Policy Analyst with the Migration Policy Institute's Human Services Initiative, takes us inside her research on trends in Black immigration to the U.S.—and the lessons it holds for all of us.
The team gets together to celebrate the new Rational Middle of Immigration video episodes, puzzle over Title 42, and consider the marvel that is DACA. Plus the perennial question of what it takes to be optimistic about immigration reform.
Perla Trevizo, an award-wining journalist with the ProPublica/Texas Tribune Investigative Unit, takes us inside her reporting on the long history of Texas's border spending; outputs vs. outcomes when it comes to judging efficacy; and the architecture of Texas's relation to its Southern border.
Sandra Sanchez, an award-winning journalist covering the Southern border at Border Report, speaks with Loren Steffy about her two-part deep dive into the ramifying effects of the Migrant Protection Protocols—also known as Remain in Mexico—on the lives of countless asylum-seekers.
Chief Andy Harvey, Chief of Police in Pharr, Texas, as well as its newly-appointed City Manager, joins Melissa Brannan to discuss some of the components of life in a border town: the blockade at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, Operation Lone Star, what it's like being on the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force, and more.
Athulya Rajakumar, a Documented Dreamer who recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety, takes us through the unique struggle of Documented Dreamers and the legislation that can make it better.
In Part Two of his exploration of immigration surveillance in the U.S., Asad L. Asad (Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stanford University), reflects on the unique effects of "everyday surveillance" on immigrants specifically, and how we might go about changing the system of immigrant detention.
Asad L. Asad, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, takes us on a two-part exploration of immigration surveillance in the U.S.
Elizabeth Trovall, immigration reporter at the Houston Chronicle, takes us behind the scenes of her story on the Haitian migrant camp at Del Rio, and all the other stories that lay just out of sight.
Adam Estle, Vice President of Field & Constituencies at the National Immigration Forum, discusses his work with the Bibles, Badges and Business for Immigration Reform network, grasstops vs. grassroots advocacy, and the key to more robust conversations on immigration.
Stephen Klineberg, Founding Director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, takes us inside the Houston Area Survey—now in it's 40th year—and Houstonians evolving attitudes towards immigration.
Pamela Lizette Cruz, Research Analyst at the Baker Institute's Center for the United States and Mexico, gives us a deeper look into the Center's research on America's radical demographic shifts—and where immigration enters the picture.
Muzaffar Chishti, Senior Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and Director of the MPI office at the NYU School of Law, looks back at Biden's first year in office and sees the glass half full—and unpacks why public perception of the administration's response on immigration says otherwise.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum, takes us through the ambition of the America Competes Act, how it hopes to sharpen America's competitiveness, and its implications for immigration.
Miriam Feldblum, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, joins host Loren Steffy to discuss the burden of a broken immigration system on our schools and colleges, why access to higher education is a must, and some possible state-level solutions in the face of a federal impasse.
Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), discusses the U.S's competing narratives of the Southern border, their real effects on how Americans perceive migrants, and how the ideal of asylum is atrophying in the process.
Elena Marks, President and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, returns to the Rational Middle for a close look at America's public health care system, how it fails the undocumented, and why this hurts all of us—with an eye-opening example of "the story of dialysis" among the undocumented.
Jeremy Robbins, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council, joins host Gregory Kallenberg to discuss the organization's recent merger with the New American Economy—and how such synergies allow advocates to better pursue immigration's deepest questions: "Who are we? What are we doing together?"
Denise Gilman, Director of the Immigration Clinic at UT Austin, discusses Texas's unique position in the immigration landscape and how persistent rhetorics of "immigrants as threat, fraud, danger" lead to policies such as Gov. Abbott's Operation Lone Star — a joint mission between the Texas Department of Public Safety and National Guard that arrests migrants on criminal trespassing charges.
Keegan Warren-Clem, Director of Medical-Legal Partnerships at the People's Community Clinic in Austin TX, walks us through the human costs of America's denial of healthcare to the undocumented, what we can be doing better, and why it's a good idea to have lawyers in healthcare settings.
Nobel prize-winning economist David Card joins host Melissa Brannan to talk labor, immigration, and how it is that outmoded economic ideas that have fallen out of favor in other areas of social life continue to find traction when it comes to immigration.
Ring out the old! Ring in the new! In our last episode of 2021, Rational Middle Podcast hosts Gregory Kallenberg, Loren Steffy, Chris Lyon, and Melissa Brannan reflect on the year (almost) behind us, the year (nearly) upon us, and what it will take to remain optimistic about immigration reform.
Julia Gelatt, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, sits down with host Chris Lyon for a conversation about the economic effects and social causes of America's demographic shifts, as well as the historic entanglement between immigration and anxieties about the make-up of the nation.
Julie Sugarman, Senior Policy Analyst for PreK-12 Education at the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, takes us through the ins and outs of immigrant children's rights to education, the legal frameworks that enshrine these rights, and what challenges still exist.
Joy Olson, former Executive Director of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), returns to the Rational Middle—this time to discuss the under-represented phenomenon of migrant kidnappings: what it is, how it works, and the policies that make it worse.
What is it about immigration that attracts extremist speech? What even is extremism? Mark Potok, seasoned expert on the American radical right, takes us on a tour of nativism and the roots of immigration misinformation in this wide-ranging conversation with host Loren Steffy.
The team sits down for an almost-teary reflection on 100 episodes of The Rational Middle Podcast: highlights, lowlights (there were none), what Gregory and Chris are upto in DC, and a few predictions about what the future of immigration reform might have in store.
Jennifer Mercieca, award-winning historian and analyst of American political rhetoric, speaks with host Loren Steffy about the rhetorical strategies demagogues use to elicit supporters' emotions, and what this means for our public sphere. You don't want to miss this eye-opening (and amygdala-freeing) episode.
Dane Stangler, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Bipartisan Policy Center and also Senior Advisor at the Global Entrepreneurship Network, joins host Loren Steffy over the airwaves to discuss the sometimes neglected role of immigrants as entrepreneurs and how the U.S. immigration system could better welcome their contributions.
What is the immigration court system, how does it work, and what makes it different from regular courts? Immigration attorney Elizabeth Mendoza sheds light on this vital topic with host Loren Steffy.
"Immigration is a Black issue," says Allen Orr, President of The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Listen in as we resume our regular podcast programming with Allen Orr and host Melissa Brannan unpacking the specificity and oft-neglected reality of Black immigrant experiences, recently brought to the fore with the Haitian crisis.
Mo Kantner (Director of State & Local Initiatives at New American Economy) and Rational Middle's very own Gregory Kallenberg wrap the Immigration Mythbusting limited series with a close look at why the myth that immigrants don’t want to integrate, learn English, or participate in American culture continues to persist in the minds of many.
Chief Art Acevedo, Chief of Police for the Miami Police Department, joins host Loren Steffy to break open the harmful myth that immigrants and crime go hand in hand, and that this situation can be improved with greater involvement from local law enforcement.
Carola Suárez-Orozco (Distinguished Professor of Counseling and School Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, as well as co-founder of Reimagining Migration) sits down with host Melissa Brannan to dissect the enduring myth that immigrant children represent a drain on the American education system.
Elena Marks (President and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, as well as Nonresident Fellow in Health Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy) and Loren Steffy discuss the common myth that immigrants burden the American healthcare system.
In this bonus episode of the Rational Middle Podcast, Jina Krause-Vilmar (President and CEO of Upwardly Global, a group that works to eliminate employment barriers for immigrant and refugee professionals) sits down with host Loren Steffy to shine a light on the unique challenges facing Afghan refugees, and some of the ways that U.S. hiring practices can be more responsive to the situation.
Ruth Milkman, Sociologist of labor and labor movements at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, sits down with host Chris Lyon to discuss the pervasive myth that immigrants steal Americans' jobs and steal drive down wages.
Consulting psychologist Karl Krumm kicks off our limited-series special, "Rational Middle Podcast: Mythbusting Edition," with a provocative discussion of confirmation bias and other traps to watch out for when trying to talk—productively—about contentious issues.
Guests Laura Goldberg (Center for Houston's Future) and Pamela Lizette Cruz (Baker Institute's Center for the United States and Mexico) unpack the published report on the results of a workshop on U.S. immigration policy held by the two Centers, in a conversation moderated by Loren Steffy (who was a workshop participant!)
Hosts Gregory Kallenberg and Chris Lyon give you the rundown on today's Solutions Summit, "Immigration Mythbusting." Join us and learn all about productive ways to bust immigration myths!
John Medeiros, corporate immigration lawyer and Vice Chair of the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of AILA, sits down with host Chris Lyon to dive into the "alphabet soup" of US visa types, the problems with the current system of categorization and adjudication, and some creative ways we might begin to fix it.
Daniel Tichenor, professor of Political Science and director of the Wayne Morse Center’s Program for Democratic Governance at the University of Oregon, pops the hood on President Biden's apparent logjam on immigration reform—taking us on a tour of what such reform has looked like in decades prior in the process.
Writer and activist Jessica Goudeau sits down with host Loren Steffy to discuss her book, "After The Last Border," and the consequences, implications, and emotions of America's changing attitude towards refugees.
Chief Andy Harvey, newly-elected police chief for Pharr, TX, sits down with host Gregory Kallenberg for a frank discussion of his experience working in embattled immigrant communities and the importance of community policing.
Join host Melissa Brannan as she sits down with Mauricio Zuñiga to listen to his incredible story — a story of deportation, resilience, and a family-run coffee company.
Rational Middle hosts Chris Lyon, Gregory Kallenberg, and Loren Steffy unveil a "fun" new summit, and consider the implications of VP Harris's much-discussed border visits.
Picking up where we left off last week, Aviva Chomsky leads us through the legacy of 20th-Century revolutionary movements in Central America and what it means for immigration policy today.
Activist and historian Aviva Chomsky takes us on a deep dive into the many factors that make foreign-aid-as-immigration-policy a contentious issue. Join host Chris Lyon as he and Chomsky discuss the 19th-century economic, social, and political mechanisms of U.S. interference in Central American countries in this week's episode.
Catherine Glazer, immigration attorney with experience practicing in Canada as well as the U.S., sits down with host Melissa Brannan. to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities for immigration reform in both countries.
Jennifer Minear, outgoing president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, gives host Melissa Brannan the lowdown on the strategies, challenges, and hopes facing immigration lawyers as a result of the Trump administration.
Holly Kuzmich, Executive Director of the George W. Bush Center, speaks with host Chris Lyon about the Center's bipartisan approach to immigration advocacy, including their open letter to Congress stressing the need for holistic immigration reform.
Sociologist Ruth Milkman, editor most recently of Immigration Matters: Movements, Visions, and Strategies for a Progressive Future (with Deepak Bhargava and Penny Lewis), joins host Chris Lyon in thinking through the reasons behind the common depiction of immigrant labor as the robbing of American jobs.
Xiao Wang is an immigrant and Co-Founder and CEO of Boundless Immigration, a team made up of immigrants and experts who assist those who are seeking green cards and citizenship in finding resources and information to make their journey less daunting.
On this week's episode is Justin Gest, author and Associate Professor of Policy and Government, George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government. Justin and a team of demographers and economists have released a study on GDP growth scenarios based on immigration policy. We also discuss one of the principle approaches to addressing immigration hesitancy of Americans and how advocates can better explain the opportunities to those who oppose immigration based on personal economic fears.
Join three hosts from The Rational Middle — Chris Lyon, Gregory Kallenberg, and Loren Steffy — as they announce an event aimed at finding actionable solutions to the challenges of border security and access to American citizenship. Learn more about the summit at rationalmiddle.com/summit
Joy Olson, the former Executive Director of The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) talks with host Loren Steffy about the current challenges at the border and how the public perception on the benefits and purpose of immigration can be shifted.
Dr. Bob Sanborn and Yael Ross return to The Rational Middle podcast to discuss the seasonal influx of unaccompanied minors coming across the U.S.-Mexico border and how the dismantling of the system by Trump has exacerbated the challenge.
Join us for a conversation with Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. He is an attorney with 40 years of experience practicing labor and civil rights law. We discuss agriculture, global markets, and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
Host Loren Steffy interviews Rick Taft, the founder and president of Ideaspace Project, a website aimed at helping those interested in immigration reform track the most prominent voices and exploring ideas for how to impact change.
Lucas Guttentag — a professor of the practice of law at Stanford law school, senior research scholar at Yale Law school, distinguished immigration litigator, and former Obama administration official — shares the story of the Immigration Policy Tracking Project which catalogued over 1,000 Trump immigration policy changes in order to make undoing them easier for the Biden administration.
This week, newly-minted Rational Middle host Melissa Brannan chats with award-winning author Ernesto Cisneros about his book Efrén Divided, the story of a Mexican-American boy whose mother is deported during an ICE raid.
Hosts Chris Lyon, Gregory Kallenberg, and Loren Steffy talk about next steps on immigration. Will Congress take a piecemeal approach or swing for the fences on comprehensive reform now that the American Rescue Plan is assured passage in Congress.
Dree Collopy, partner of Benach Collopy LLP and author of the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) Asylum Primer, gives us an update on where asylum stands in the United States as Biden concludes his first month in office.
Jacob Monty, Trump 2016 campaign advisor and Managing Partner of the labor and employment law firm Monty & Ramirez LLP, has left the Republican party as it departs from the big tent strategy and becomes the party of Donald Trump.
Laura Collins, Director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative shares her insights on the current status of immigration reform in Congress and with the American people. She explores why she thinks Congressional gridlock exists and how we can break the stasis and create meaningful change to the American immigration system.
Steven Scarborough, Strategic Initiatives Manager at the Center for Houston's Future, shares an update to the Center's report on how immigration will shape the region's impact over the next several decades.
Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, weighs in on Biden's latest round of executive orders which seek to assess the damage done by Trump's anti-immigration policies and lay the groundwork for rebuilding a broken immigration system.
Join hosts Chris Lyon, Gregory Kallenberg, and Loren Steffy for a round table discussion of everything from the Biden/Harris inauguration, executive orders, and the administration's comprehensive immigration reform proposal.
This week, we speak with Sanaa Abrar, Advocacy Director for United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led network in the United States. She discusses the hopes that many immigrants in America have regarding a new administration and Congress. These two branches of government may soon have the opportunity to help Dreamers and the 11 million undocumented come out of the shadows and get right with the law so that they can be more fully productive members of society.
We kick off 2021 with a renewed discussion about Congress, common sense, and the issues that divide us. With the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden just one week away, Jorge Lima of Americans for Prosperity discusses what changes the new year brings to the challenge of immigration, economy, coronavirus, and civility with our fellow Americans following the insurrection at the Capitol.
Join hosts Gregory Kallenberg, Chris Lyon, and Loren Steffy for a recap of the year with The Rational Middle, the state of division in the United States, the election, the pandemic, and where we're going in 2021.
Now that the electoral college has voted, we talk with political analyst Scott Braddock about what can both parties learn from their experiences from the 2020 election, and how can those lessons be leveraged going forward.
Linda Chavez, senior fellow at the National Immigration Forum and author of "Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation" discusses the continued shift of the Latino vote that stumped Democrats during the 2020 election as well as a potential path to bipartisan action on immigration reform in Congress.
Donald Trump may have lost re-election, but that's not stopping him from using his final weeks to further restrict legal immigration and make it harder on President Elect Joe Biden and a new Congress to change to a broken immigration system. We discuss this and other issues facing the new administration with David Bier, Immigration Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center examines the process of repairing damage to the immigration system and the hope for a renewal of bipartisanship in Congress and among Americans.
Now that President Elect Joe Biden is hammering out his cabinet and agenda, Stan Marek, business owner and Rational Middle benefactor lays out his hopes on immigration reform leadership from the new administration.
Join co-hosts Gregory Kallenberg, Chris Lyon, and Loren Steffy as they discuss the outcome of the election and the precarious path forward for a Biden transition team and eventual administration. They also discuss the divide in our country that persists post-election and explore the prioritization of the administrative and legislative agendas for both the President Elect and Congress.
Join host Gregory Kallenberg and guest Tony Payan of the Mexico Center at Rice University's James A. Baker, III Institute for Public Policy as they discuss the legislative and administrative ramifications immigration policy for a Trump re-election or a Biden election.
In the second episode of this two-part series, host Chris Lyon continues the conversation with immigrant and employer Rodrigo Mondragon of Shreveport, Louisiana about his experience coming to the United States and finding his path to the American Dream.
Rodrigo Mondragon and his family came to the United States in the new millennium seeking a better life. He was reluctant to leave his home in Mexico, but what transpired in America would bring the two worlds together in unexpected ways, resulting in one of the most celebrated Mexican restaurants in the South.
Benjamin F. Jones, Faculty Director at Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (KIEI), speaks with host Loren Steffy about his new study on the relationship between immigration and the job market.
Jeremy Robbins, executive director of New American Economy (NAE), joins host Loren Steffy to explore how communities can create a more welcoming community through services and infrastructure like Offices of New Americans — and why doing so will help struggling communities grow again.
Join the hosts for a 2020 roundup during the 50th episode. We look back at the first 50 episodes of The Rational Middle Podcast, kicking off season 2 of The Rational Middle Documentary Series, the pandemic, the election, and immigration's intersectionality.
Loren C. Steffy, an author and the executive producer of The Rational Middle of Immigration documentary series, speaks with host Chris Lyon about the release of his new book "Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades" which intertwines construction industry leader Stan Marek’s family history, the timeline of the Marek family of companies, and the history of immigration.
Dr. Ruth Ellen Wasem has just completed a major study of Trump's asylum policies. In her findings, she breaks down the kinds of actions his administration takes into three distinct categories which help provide historical and global geopolitical context for America's changing immigration system.
Children are the future of our country and our world. How we welcome immigrant children and children of immigrant parents will define the course our nation takes. Dr. Robert Sanborn, President and CEO of Children at Risk, a research and advocacy organization, talks about their data-driven approach to changing policy in Texas.
This morning we are announcing the premiere episode of season 2 of our documentary video series on immigration in association with Children at Risk, an organization which serves as a catalyst for change to improve the quality of life for children through strategic research, public policy analysis, education, collaboration, and advocacy.
Dr. Linda Lopez, former Chief of the Office of Immigrant Affairs in Los Angeles under Mayor Eric Garcetti. She talks about her experience in cultivating a more welcoming community through creation of services which extended economic and social opportunities to new Americans, and how those concepts could translate to cities across America.
It is often easy to forget how integrated into American society undocumented immigrants are, but Carlos Aguilar's journey is proof positive that they can have a positive economic and cultural impact on the United States, despite the challenges they face.
As the administration continues to push hard against immigration, esteemed professor Dr. Michael E. Webber of the University of Texas at Austin recounts his experience with immigrants in academia and why he believes that continuing to welcome immigrant students, researchers, and professors is key to American prosperity.
Randy Capps is Director of Research for U.S. Programs at the Migration Policy Institute and he sits down with us to discuss the varying perspectives on costs of the undocumented population in America and what those differing perspectives might bring to finding a solution that works for everyone.
Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) talks with Rational Middle's Gregory Kallenberg about the opportunity that immigration brings to our country and how that aligns with core values across the American experience.
Today we talk about the wall on the southern border of the United States — its efficacy and impact — with Dr. Luz Maria Garcini, a scholar at the Center for the United States and Mexico and an Assistant Professor at the Center for Research to Advance Community Health.
Mark Erlich, former union leader for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters and now a Wertheim Fellow of Research on Misclassification and the Underground Economy at the Harvard Law School, discusses the challenges and impacts of misclassification of workers and the influence of this practice on immigrant laborers, the undocumented, and American-born workers.
Ken Janda, Adjunct Professor in Healthcare Management at the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, discusses the challenges that we face as a country regarding uninsured Americans, the undocumented, COVID-19, and the cost of healthcare.
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, assistant dean for civic engagement and a lecturer at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, shares the history of the undocumented and their struggle to forge avenues to legal status in America — including DACA recipients find themselves today and what they might expect in the future.
Iliana Perez, Director of Research & Entrepreneurship at Immigrants Rising, shares her thoughts on the DACA Supreme Court decision, her personal story as a Dreamer, and how that has driven her work in providing resources to immigrants — from legal assistance, work opportunities, small business investment, and access to mental healthcare — regardless of status.
Tom Jawetz, Vice President of Immigration Policy at Center for American Progress, speaks on his experience with getting legislation across the finish line and what it takes to build bipartisan bills in Congress as well as how to bring about change at the state and local level.
This special edition of the Rational Middle podcast was recorded this morning as the decision on DACA was handed down by the Supreme Court. Charles Foster is Chairman at Foster, LLP, one of the larger immigration law firms in the country. He is the past national president AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association), and senior immigration policy advisor to George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He discusses the challenge DACA faced in the courts and reacts in real time to the decision to strike down Trump's recension of the program.
Steven Scarborough, Strategic Initiatives Manager at Center for Houston’s Future, discusses the latest research on the impact on immigrants working on all levels of healthcare to fight against the coronavirus.
Tony Payan & Pamela Lizette Cruz of the James A. Baker, III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University discuss ways to solve the challenges associated with the undocumented population through the concepts of identification and taxation which must form the basis of any pathway to legal status.
Pat Kiley, a founding principal of Kiley Advisors LLC, a consulting firm that advises CEO’s and Senior Executives on matters of Leadership and Strategy, talks with host Loren Steffy about the history of immigration and the construction industry and the need for comprehensive reform.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, explains the challenges of attaining bipartisan change in Washington, D.C. on issues, including immigration.
Jorge Lima, Senior VP of Policy at Americans for Prosperity shares a vision for immigration in America which turns the narrative of the conservative approach to immigration reform on its head.
Daniel Okrent, the first public editor of The New York Times newspaper and an writer, discusses the inspiration for and resulting research of his book "The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America"
National Immigration Forum executive director Ali Noorani sits down with host Chris Lyon to discuss how the administration has changed the implementation of the asylum system to make it harder to make an effective claim and how political rhetoric contributed to the creation of the caravans that have flooded the system.
Wendy Cervantes is director of immigration and immigrant families at the Center for Law and Social Policy where she works to develop and advocate for policies that support low-income immigrants and their families. Host Gregory Kallenberg sat down with Wendy to discuss the rights that these children have and what gaps, risks, and trauma exist due to their status or the status of their family members.
Andrew Lim, Director of Quantitative Research at New American Economy, shares data with host Loren Steffy about how immigrant workers — both documented and undocumented — are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and New York Times Bestselling author of the book Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigrationspeaks with host Loren Steffy about the divisive concept of open borders.
Jim Baron is a 25-year veteran of the restaurant industry and CEO of Mesa SW Restaurants based in Dallas. He is a member of the Texans for Economic Growth Coalition which is committed to promoting common-sense immigration reforms that strengthen the economy.
Chelsie is an organizer and coalition builder for New American Economy, which mobilizes and engages business leaders and community leaders on immigration issues through the lens of the positive economic impact immigrants have on the economy. We discuss what that new economy looks like and how we can ensure that immigrants, regardless of their current status, can participate to the fullest.
Host Loren Steffy and Stephen Klineberg, founding director of The Kinder Institute for Urban Research, explore the changing demographic trends in Houston and what America can learn from the challenges and opportunities present in the country’s fastest growing city.
Chief Acevedo is well known for being outspoken about his opinions on a number of topics. Today, Rational Middle host Loren Steffy sits down with him to discuss his opinions on how undocumented immigration affects public safety and what his priorities are in America's fastest growing city with over 700,000 undocumented immigrants.
Hosts Chris Lyon and Loren Steffy — with the help of immigration attorneys Charles Foster and Jacob Monty — dive into America’s troubled history of employment verification, workforce recruiting, education, misclassification, and the subsequent impacts on our workforce. They also discuss potential pathways to a solution.
Rational Middle executive producer and author Loren Steffy talks about his recently completed book, "Deconstructed", which chronicles the history of an immigrant family that would eventually lead to the creation of an American business.
Oscar Hernandez, an organizer at United We Dream Houston, shares his experience as an undocumented immigrant, as a recipient of DACA, and the role of foreign policy and racism on American border security.
Texas finds itself on the front lines of immigration debate. From sanctuary cities to trade and trafficking, former Texas State Representative Byron Cook weighs in on his time in office and the work left to future legislatures.
The southern border of the United States has been impacted throughout the last century both by the changing of political winds and real-world challenges we face in securing our border. David V. Aguilar talks with us about his time at CBP and the guiding principles he believes the agency and the country should use when addressing immigration.
In the second part of this two part episode, filmmaker and educator Wendell Riley explains the trials and tribulations of trying to move from a student visa to a green card - but there are problems that arise that put his journey at risk.
Wendell Riley is a filmmaker, an educator, and an immigrant. In the first part of a two part episode, he shares his experience on why he chose to come to America and what made him want to stay.
Jill Campbell is the the managing immigration attorney at BakerRipley, a community center and home base for New Americans in Houston, Texas. She shares her knowledge of what it takes to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States and what options exist for those who have entered without inspection or overstayed a lawful visa.
Gregory, Chris, and Loren recap the first season of the documentary film series Rational Middle of Immigration, how it changed their perspective on an incredibly important and consequential topic, and what the hopes and dreams are for 2020.
American economist and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, explains the impact of undocumented immigrants on the budgets of both the federal and local governments. Doug served served as a Senior Staff Economist on President George H.W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers and chief economic policy adviser to Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. He is currently president of the American Action Forum policy institute, a conservative think tank.
Stationed at the Center for Houston's Future, Steven has been focused on the impact of immigration in Houston since 2016. He has studied the demographic trends to extrapolate what the city's economic policy needs are to accommodate and welcome immigrants heading into the city's 200th anniversary in 2036.
Rice University may be home to one of immigration's most interesting thought leaders in Dr. Tony Payan. We discuss the rights and privileges different kinds of immigrants have in the United States and where those rights begin and end.
Take a trip down memory lane to the beginnings of this decade-long experiment called the Rational Middle, which was founded to create meaningful dialogues around contentious issues, and how immigration was selected as our second intensive topic.
On this week's episode, Loren sits down with Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center to discuss why we fear immigrants, particularly undocumented ones, and what the realistic solutions might be.
Known for his hardline stances, Republican Congressman and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw sits down with us to discuss his perspective on how to address the challenge of illegal border crossings, asylum cases, the long lines for legal immigration, and how politics contributes to stasis on these issues.
Yael Ross is a Center Director at Children at Risk, a Texas-based research and advocacy group that aims to use data to make the case for investment in and preservation of rights for New American Children - both documented and undocumented.
Stan Marek, an influential voice in the Houston business community, discusses his trials and tribulations in building a company, finding laborers, following the law, and what he thinks what we could do better as a country to make it easier to fill job vacancies and grow the American economy.
We sit down with David Bier, immigration and policy analyst with the Cato Institute to discuss the origins of the modern immigration system and misconceptions about how and why immigrants come to America.
Following Hurricane Harvey in September 2017, Houston found itself in the grips of a crisis. Even before the storm caused $9 billion in housing damage, the city was struggling through a workforce shortage in the construction industry. One solution: Allow Houston’s 500,000 undocumented workers come out of the shadows to help rebuild the community, together. We look back at the creation of this episode and where Houston stands today.