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 Immigration speaks 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.
