The Rational Middle

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.