CMSOnAir

In this podcast, CMS’s Executive Director Donald Kerwin speaks with Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on the intersection between international migration, refugee protection and national security. Secretary Chertoff discusses the lessons learned from 9/11 terrorist attacks, the security of the US refugee resettlement and visa waiver programs, proposals to bar Muslim immigrants from admission and to build a fence the length of the US-Mexico border, and the need for broad immigration reform.

Michael Chertoff served as DHS Secretary from 2005 until 2009. Appointed by President George W. Bush, he was instrumental in developing and implementing the administration’s homeland security and immigration enforcement priorities. He also played a lead role in advocating for comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Prior to leading DHS, Secretary Chertoff served as a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2003 to 2005, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice from 2001 to 2003, and worked for more than a decade as a federal prosecutor. Upon retiring from public service, he co-founded the Chertoff Group, which provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Immigration Task Force.

Senator Charles E. Schumer is the Senior US Senator for the State of New York. Elected to the US Senate in 1998, Senator Schumer has been instrumental in furthering comprehensive immigration reform legislation. He was involved in the immigration reform debates in Congress in 2006 and 2007, and he currently sits on the Judiciary Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security.

On April 16, 2013, Senator Schumer introduced into the US Senate the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (also known as S.744). The immigration reform bill was particularly notable because it had been written and negotiated by the “Gang of Eight” – a bipartisan group of US senators including Democratic senators Schumer, Bob Menendez, Michael Bennet and Richard Durbin and Republican senators Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Marco Rubio. Among S. 744’s original provisions, the bill would increase security measures along the border, establish a new visa program for lower-skilled workers, and provide a pathway to citizenship to undocumented immigrants living within the United States. Although the Senate passed the bill on June 27, 2013, the House of Representatives did not take the bill up to a vote and it died with the closing of the 113th Congress.

Senator Schumer is now in line to become the Senate Minority leader in the next Congress. However, in the event the Democrats become the majority in the US Senate after the November 2016 elections, Senator Schumer would become the Senate majority leader. The Senate majority leader manages the legislative calendar for the U.S. Senate and can help ensure the consideration of specific legislation, such as immigration reform.

In this special episode, Kevin Appleby, CMS’s Senior Director of International Migration Policy, speaks with Senator Schumer about the prospects for immigration reform in the next Congress and how immigration reform supporters might prepare for another immigration debate. Senator Schumer also gives his views on the presidential election season and how the focus on immigration might impact the election’s outcome and beyond.

Senator Charles E. Schumer is the Senior US Senator for the State of New York. Elected to the US Senate in 1998, Senator Schumer has been instrumental in furthering comprehensive immigration reform legislation. He was involved in the immigration reform debates in Congress in 2006 and 2007, and he currently sits on the Judiciary Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security.

On April 16, 2013, Senator Schumer introduced into the US Senate the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (also known as S.744). The immigration reform bill was particularly notable because it had been written and negotiated by the “Gang of Eight” – a bipartisan group of US senators including Democratic senators Schumer, Bob Menendez, Michael Bennet and Richard Durbin and Republican senators Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Marco Rubio. Among S. 744’s original provisions, the bill would increase security measures along the border, establish a new visa program for lower-skilled workers, and provide a pathway to citizenship to undocumented immigrants living within the United States. Although the Senate passed the bill on June 27, 2013, the House of Representatives did not take the bill up to a vote and it died with the closing of the 113th Congress.

Senator Schumer is now in line to become the Senate Minority leader in the next Congress. However, in the event the Democrats become the majority in the US Senate after the November 2016 elections, Senator Schumer would become the Senate majority leader. The Senate majority leader manages the legislative calendar for the U.S. Senate and can help ensure the consideration of specific legislation, such as immigration reform.

In this special episode, Kevin Appleby, CMS’s Senior Director of International Migration Policy, speaks with Senator Schumer about the prospects for immigration reform in the next Congress and how immigration reform supporters might prepare for another immigration debate. Senator Schumer also gives his views on the presidential election season and how the focus on immigration might impact the election’s outcome and beyond.

In the second of the two-part CMSOnAir series, “Shaping a Nation: The Past and Present Struggles Over Immigration,” the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) speaks with Sara Campos, a writer and immigrant rights lawyer formerly with the Northern California Immigrant Rights Coalition. Ms. Campos is the author of “The Influence of Civil Society in US Immigrant Communities and the US Immigration Debate” in the 2014 book International Migration, US Immigration Law, and Civil Society published by CMS and the Scalabrini International Migration Network.

In this interview, Ms. Campos discusses the historic role of civil society in influencing and shaping US immigration law and policy. She details past and present groups on both sides of the immigration debate, the significance of the DREAMer movement, and the importance of solidarity between Black Americans and immigrants.

In the second of the two-part CMSOnAir series, “Shaping a Nation: The Past and Present Struggles Over Immigration,” the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) speaks with Sara Campos, a writer and immigrant rights lawyer formerly with the Northern California Immigrant Rights Coalition. Ms. Campos is the author of “The Influence of Civil Society in US Immigrant Communities and the US Immigration Debate” in the 2014 book International Migration, US Immigration Law, and Civil Society published by CMS and the Scalabrini International Migration Network.

In this interview, Ms. Campos discusses the historic role of civil society in influencing and shaping US immigration law and policy. She details past and present groups on both sides of the immigration debate, the significance of the DREAMer movement, and the importance of solidarity between Black Americans and immigrants.

Europe and the United States are increasingly experiencing anti-immigrant backlash. Some candidates for the US presidency, for example, are campaigning on platforms that would include severe restrictions on immigration to the United States as well as a complete ban of Muslim immigrants.

In the first of a two-part CMSOnAir series, “Shaping a Nation: The Past and Present Struggles Over Immigration," the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) speaks with Charles Wheeler, Director of Training and Legal Support at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) where he manages support and advocacy work on immigration law and related issues affecting immigrants. Prior to CLINIC, Mr. Wheeler directed the National Immigration Law Center for more than ten years and practiced and taught immigration law for two decades. He has served on the boards of the National Immigration Forum, American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and other leading organizations. He is also the author of the chapter, “The Evolution of the United States Immigration Laws,” in the 2014 book International Migration, US Immigration Law, and Civil Society: From the Pre-Colonial Era to the 113th Congress published by CMS and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN). In this podcast, Mr. Wheeler discusses how the anti-immigrant sentiments and rhetoric of today compare with past times in US history.

Europe and the United States are increasingly experiencing anti-immigrant backlash. Some candidates for the US presidency, for example, are campaigning on platforms that would include severe restrictions on immigration to the United States as well as a complete ban of Muslim immigrants.

In the first of a two-part CMSOnAir series, “Shaping a Nation: The Past and Present Struggles Over Immigration," the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) speaks with Charles Wheeler, Director of Training and Legal Support at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) where he manages support and advocacy work on immigration law and related issues affecting immigrants. Prior to CLINIC, Mr. Wheeler directed the National Immigration Law Center for more than ten years and practiced and taught immigration law for two decades. He has served on the boards of the National Immigration Forum, American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and other leading organizations. He is also the author of the chapter, “The Evolution of the United States Immigration Laws,” in the 2014 book International Migration, US Immigration Law, and Civil Society: From the Pre-Colonial Era to the 113th Congress published by CMS and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN). In this podcast, Mr. Wheeler discusses how the anti-immigrant sentiments and rhetoric of today compare with past times in US history.

On January 1, 2016, Kevin Appleby joined the Center for Migration Studies of New York and our umbrella organization, the Scalabrini International Migration Network, as Senior Director of International Migration Policy. In this episode, Rachel Reyes, CMS's Director of Communications, speaks with Kevin about his new role and some of the migration and refugee issues at the forefront in today's news.

On January 1, 2016, Kevin Appleby joined the Center for Migration Studies of New York and our umbrella organization, the Scalabrini International Migration Network, as Senior Director of International Migration Policy. In this episode, Rachel Reyes, CMS's Director of Communications, speaks with Kevin about his new role and some of the migration and refugee issues at the forefront in today's news.

On July 15, 2015, the Center for Migration Studies of New York hosted a nationwide teleconference and stakeholder roundtable with Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Maria M. Odom and Chief of Policy Elissa McGovern. In this episode, we share their presentation on the office’s 2015 annual report to Congress and their conversation with CMS Executive Director Donald Kerwin.

For more information, visit http://cmsny.org/cmsonair-maria-odom.