On the 44th episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Claudia Yoli Ferla . Claudia is the Executive Director at MOVE Texas , a nonprofit organization working to build the social, cultural, and political power of young people in Texas. She is a dedicated community organizer born in Venezuela and raised in El Paso, Texas. A proud DACA recipient and community organizer, Claudia draws from her personal experiences to amplify the voices of young people and immigrants in Texas, a state at ...
Feb 20, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 44
On the 43rd episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Dr. Pierre R. Berastain. Dr. Pierre Berastaín is the Interim Executive Director of the Centre for Public Impact (CPI) . CPI was founded in 2015 as a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to improving the effectiveness of governments and public institutions worldwide. Dr. Berastaín joined the CPI team as Regional Director for North America in 2023. In 2024, he became the Interim Executive Director of the organization. He is also the ...
Jan 09, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 43
On the 42nd episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Jessica Lander. Jessica Lander is an award-winning teacher, author, and advocate. She is currently a teacher at Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts. She teaches history and civics to recent immigrant students and has won several teaching awards, including being named a Top 50 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2021, a 2023 MA Teacher of the Year Finalist, and the 2023 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year. She of...
Dec 12, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 42
On the 41st episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Antonio Arellano. Antonio Arellano is the VP of Communications at NextGen America , the nation’s largest youth voting organization which mobilizes millions of young voters every year. He is also a 1st generation immigrant and a former DACA recipient. He has been organizing communities of color in Texas for over a decade. Antonio has worked at some of the most notable newsrooms in America. While at the Houston Chronicle, Antonio ad...
Oct 31, 2024•38 min
On the 40th episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Dr. Jason De Leon. Dr. Jason De León is a professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies and director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also the Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project , a 501(c)(3) research, arts, and education collective that seeks to raise awareness about migration issues globally while also assisting families of missing migrants to reun...
Oct 04, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 40
On the 39th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Megan Thomas , president & CEO of Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties . Megan has a passion for helping people and she joined Catalyst because it sits at the intersection of philanthropy and social good. Catalyst is a network of a couple hundred funders and grant makers with a mission to help educate, lead and invest in environmental issues, food security, border issues and more, to promote social change. One of Catal...
May 14, 2024•42 min
On the 38th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Celia Valdez and Nora Phillips. Celia Valdez has been working in health outreach for over 25 years. As the Outreach and Education Director with Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA), she has worked diligently with local and state government groups ranging from community-based organizations to government agencies to improve access to free and low-cost health insurance programs. She has advocated on behalf of hundreds of clients, p...
Apr 24, 2024•50 min
On the 37th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Efrén C. Olivares, Director of Strategic Litigation at The Southern Poverty Law Center . Olivares is a civil rights lawyer who has represented clients before federal courts and international human rights bodies for over a decade. His work focuses on ending immigrant detention and providing pro bono legal representation to detained immigrants at immigration detention centers in the deep South. Efrén and his team also defend workers’...
Mar 26, 2024•34 min
On the 36th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Faisal Al-Juburi . Faisal is a strategic partnerships specialist with more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector. He currently serves as the Chief External Affairs Officer for RAICES, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency founded in 1986, and the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas. Faisal is the son of Iraqi immigrant parents. He was born in Cincinnati and grew up in Little Rock and D.C. His parents taught hi...
Feb 14, 2024•56 min
On the 35th episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Eliza Brennan, Senior Program Officer for Education and Migration at International Community Foundation (ICF). ICF is the nonprofit foundation of choice for U.S. donors who are passionate about protecting the environment and improving the quality of life in Baja California, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Eliza has been passionate about international work from a young age as her parents always fostered a life of community work. ...
Jan 22, 2024•41 min
Buses transporting asylum seekers have been arriving to Los Angeles for months. Non-profit organizations such as CHIRLA , ImmDef , CARECEN , Haitian Bridge Alliance among many others have quickly reacted and are attending to this emergency. On episode 34 of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Angelica Salas, the ED of The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) who gives us more details on this subject. Angelica Salas joined us on Immigration Today! in early 2021 where she spoke a...
Nov 27, 2023•39 min
On the 33rd episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Professor Bill Ong Hing. Bill Ong Hing is Professor of Law and Migration Studies at the University of San Francisco, and Professor of Law and Asian American Studies Emeritus, at UC Davis. Previously on the law faculties at Stanford University and Golden Gate University, he founded the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco and directs their Immigration & Deportation Defense Clinic. Professor Hing teaches Immigration...
Oct 23, 2023•37 min
On the 32nd episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Patrice Lawrence from the UndocuBlack Network. Black immigrants are often prone to higher rates of detention and deportation, have less access to legal representation, and are likely to be forgotten in the narrative of immigration in general. When entire communities are invisible in these narratives, they are also left out of conversations surrounding the protection and advocacy of their human rights. Listen as Patrice shares her...
Jul 19, 2023•45 min
On the 31st episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Carmen McDonald. Carmen McDonald is the new Executive Director for Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice (LACLJ) as of March 2023. LACLJ was founded in 1973 and has provided legal advocacy to low-income and primarily immigrant and Latino populations in Los Angeles for over 40 years. Their goal is to secure justice for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and empower them to create their own futures. Carmen was previ...
Jul 05, 2023•39 min
On the 30th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Keya Koul. Keya Koul is Business & Legal Affairs Counsel at Netflix. She serves as one of the co-leads of the Pro Bono Committee in the LA office and has been with Netflix for nearly four years. Keya currently holds an American Bar Association (ABA) Presidential Appointment to the Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI). Prior to working at Netflix, Keya served as the Director of Career Services at Univers...
May 31, 2023•56 min
On the 29th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Rae Ceretto and Kelly Scott. They are the co-founders of Honeypot Productions and creators of the film Seeking Asylum . Rae Ceretto is a director and cinematographer, and Kelly Scott is a producer. Honeypot Productions was founded in 2020 and is a female owned and operated production company specializing in documentary and nonfiction storytelling. They foster conversations of understanding, compassion, and growth in our world thr...
May 16, 2023•37 min
On the 28th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Erika Gonzalez. Erika Gonzalez is a Training and Technical Assistance Managing Attorney at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), in Los Angeles CA. Erika is a national expert in legal remedies access for survivors of all forms of human trafficking. She is proud to be the daughter of Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants whose work focuses on approaching the legal representation of trafficking survivors from a traum...
Apr 27, 2023•52 min
On the 27th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Amanda Schuft. Amanda Schuft is the Legal Services Director of Community Defense Programs at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. Immigrant Defenders Law Center is Southern California's largest deportation defense non-profit. They provide full‐scale deportation defense, legal representation, legal education, and connections to social services. Amanda has been a part of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center team for almost 8 years while ser...
Mar 28, 2023•53 min
On the 26th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Rev. Andrew (Andy) J. Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission. Union Rescue Mission (URM) is one of the largest missions of its kind — bringing help and hope to men, women, and children experiencing homelessness in Downtown Los Angeles. URM is an organization that was founded in 1891 which dedicates itself to helping men, women, and children escape the streets of Skid Row through food, shelter, education, counseling, and long-term...
Mar 08, 2023•51 min
On the 25th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Juliana Serrano from Planned Parenthood. Juliana Serrano is the Vice President of Advocacy & Equity at Planned Parenthood Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley (PPPSGV). In this role, Juliana works to advance their mission through the strategic implementation of electoral and advocacy activities that promote policies favorable to Planned Parenthood at all levels of government. She creates and leads the vision and strategy for communi...
Jan 12, 2023•48 min
On the 24th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Jessica Viramontes. Jessica is a proud daughter of Mexican immigrant parents. She taught Ethnic Studies & Global Leadership for 12 years before becoming an Immigration attorney. She's traveled to several countries all over the world meeting with different community groups around the issues of food justice, land rights, migration/refugees, climate justice, mass incarceration, and resistance. She has organized with immigrant comm...
Dec 06, 2022•32 min
On the 23rd episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Jenn Budd . Jenn Budd is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent turned immigrant-rights activist. Jenn was a former Senior Patrol agent and Intelligence agent with the U.S. Border Patrol but after many years of witnessing the cruelty and abuse of the agency towards migrants, she decided to denounce her position and speak out against the agency. Jenn is also the author of her memoir Against the Wall – My Journey from Border Patrol Agent ...
Nov 11, 2022•47 min
On the 22nd episode of Immigration Today! Angeline interviews Juan Escalante. Juan Escalante is a formerly undocumented nationally renowned digital strategist and widely recognized immigration advocate. Juan’s immigration story began when his parents fled Venezuela in the year 2000, with Juan and his two brothers, following the election of Hugo Chavez. In 2006, an immigration attorney mishandled the Escalante’s case, which led them to lose their immigration status despite “waiting in line” while...
Oct 27, 2022•48 min
On the 21st episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Shauna Siggelkow. Shauna Siggelkow is an experienced digital content producer and strategist, whose work focuses on the intersection of digital media and social justice. She is the Director of Digital Storytelling at Define American where she develops original research-based content strategies to combat xenophobia online. She is a film producer working in media production, research and advocacy, a former producer for MTV’s Emmy-Nom...
Sep 30, 2022•40 min
On the 20th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Dr. Tara Watson. Tara Watson is an economist who focuses on U.S. social policy, with interests in the safety net, health, and immigration. She is a Professor of Economics at Williams College since 2004, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and a Co-Editor of the Journal of Human Resources. In 2015-2016, Watson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Microeconomic Analysis in the U.S. Treasury De...
Jun 06, 2022•35 min
On the 19th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Ginger Cline. Ginger is a Staff Attorney Justice Fellow for Al Otro Lado's Tijuana office. Al Otro Lado is a bi-national advocacy and legal aid organization serving migrants, refugees and deportees in the United States and Mexico. Ginger’s focus is on supporting African and Haitian asylum seekers by advocating for their release from detention and assisting with their asylum applications. In addition, she advises individuals fightin...
May 05, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 19
On the 18th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen introduces us to Laura M. Vargas and Dr. Hannah Janeway from Refugee Health Alliance. Refugee Health Alliance is an organization that was established in 2018 in response to the increasing medical need at the US-Mexican border. They aim to provide ethical, holistic, and culturally-sensitive healthcare to vulnerable populations. Laura M. Vargas is one of the founders and co-directors of Refugee Health Alliance. She also works in Neurosurgery ...
Apr 18, 2022•44 min
On the 17th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Connie Chung Joe, the Chief Executive Officer of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles . They are the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Connie received her BA in Spanish and International Relations from USC and her JD from Georgetown University Law Center. She has worked alongside immigrant communities for many years and is the daughter of ...
Mar 29, 2022•46 min
On the 16th episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen interviews Shiu-Ming Cheer. Shiu-Ming is the Deputy Director of Programs and Campaigns at the California Immigrant Policy Center . They are a constituent-based, statewide immigrant rights organization that promotes and protects safety, health and public benefits and integration programs for immigrants. They are one of the few organizations that effectively combines legislative and policy advocacy, strategic communications, organizing and ca...
Mar 02, 2022•37 min
Welcome to the 15th episode of Immigration Today!. In this episode, Angeline Chen interviews Maru Mora-Villalpando. Maru is a long time immigrant activist and the founder of Latino Advocacy, LLC and co-founder of La Resistencia . La Resistencia is a grassroots organization working to end the detention of immigrants and stop deportations. Specifically, their goal is to shut down the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC), and to end all detention and deportation in Washington State. Latino Advocacy pr...
Feb 11, 2022•51 min
