REDIRECT: Immigration Law and Perspectives

  In this (one-off?) special reunion episode, the hosts and attorneys Stephen Robbins (@yakimaabogado.bsky.social‬) and Matthew Archambeaut discuss the term 'criminal alien.' 

Matthew and I have decided to hang up the headphones and wanted to shove off with one final show. Thanks to all the listeners and patrons who supported us along the way. We truly appreciate it.  I wish I had more time to dedicate to this space, but unfortunately we're both so busy and frankly feeling pretty burned out with work and life stuff. There are lots of good immigration podcasts out there, so give them a listen. 

This week on Redirect Matthew and I are joined by Professor Michael Kagan (@MichaelGKagan) from UNLV about pleadings in immigration court. It has become accepted as part of immigration law "culture" that allegations are admitted to at the beginning of removal proceedings in order to move things along and maintain cordial relations with immigration judges and ICE prosecutors, but is this always best practice? Should practitioners approach these matters more carefully? (Spoiler alert, yes)  Help keep the show alive by becoming a patron at patreon.com/redirect. Give us a follow on Twitter (@yakimaabogado, @MattArchambeau1) and tell your friends about the show.   

This week Matthew and I discuss the recent State of the Union address. Republicans scare monger about fetanyl and house prices. Blaming your troubles on immigrants is as American as apple pie, but the rhetoric does seem to be ramping up. Is it worse than in years past, or are we suffering from recency bias?  Support the show by becoming a Patron at patreon.com/redirect  Leave us a review on itunes Or check out the merch at redirect.threadless.com

This week Matthew and I talk about a a recent announcement by the Biden administration that they will provide certain relief to immigrants who are exploited in the work place. The announcement can be found here.  We share stories from our clients about their deplorable working conditions, and discuss the current state of T and U visas, which can be certified by the Department of Labor.  Also, what song will be playing when we die and go to hell.  Support the show by becoming a patron at patreon.com/redirect Grab yourself a Redirect t-shirt, sticker, and/or leggings at https://redirect.threadless.com

This week Matthew and I showed up and recorded something. We broke up the band and got back together in the same episode. We talked about the current state of immigration lawyering. It turns out we're both feeling a bit burned out and exhausted. However, we've decided to dust off our gym shoes and get back to it with some new years resolutions. This includes regularly scheduled shows, you know, actual content. It's a revolutionary idea.  We're also joined by friend of the show Austin Kocher to talk about his work at TRAC, the surveillance state, how numbers at the border are crunched, and more.  Support the show by becoming a patron at patreon.com/redirect Grab yourself a Redirect t-shirt, sticker, and/or leggings at https://redirect.threadless.com Follow Austin's work over at https://substack.com/profile/14591254-austin-kocher You can learn more about TRAC here: https://trac.syr.edu

After the midterms democrats in the senate have vowed to take up the DREAM Act. It doesn't seem like they have the votes, which is depressing. Opposition to the DREAM Act is often wrapped up in "concerns" about "floodgates," or "border security," but these are simply ways to offuscate and avoid a serious conversation about how to help people and fix our immigration system. Give this episode a listen. 

Democrats don't carrot all and the republicans want to stick them in camps. This week Matthew and I talk about HSI and marriage fraud, "United for Venezuela" and the expansion of Title 42. A series of unforced errors! 

This week we're joined by fellow immigration attorney Matt Cameron (@matt_cam) to discuss the fall out of the Ron Desantis Martha's Vineyard "stunt." Deterrence policy is always cruel, and this was no exception. Like most rightwing jokes, it was also extraordinarily stupid.  We also took a crack at the congressional republican's "Commitment to America" and it's extremely detailed four point immigration plan. Big brained ideas galore! 

This week Matthew and I are joined by fellow immigration attorney Taylor Levy to talk about the situation on the border. Taylor is one of the most knowledgable attorneys when it comes to what is actually happening on the U.S./Mexico border.  We also asked about the recent series of bussing/private-jetting stunts carried about by republican governors. Just this week Florida Governor Ron Desantis appears to have lured a group of about 50 Venezuelan immigrants to Martha's Vineyard in an effort to own the libs. Very serious policy work!  This is a great episode for understanding the basics of what's going on at the border and what we need to do to fix it. If you enjoy the episode, consider sending a couple dollars to Taylor, who is great:  Venmo: @taylorklevy (#9700), CashApp: $taylorklevy PayPal/QuickPay/Zelle/Mentoring: [email protected]