This episode of Sunday Civics, L. Joy gives a preamble on the history of immigration. Then she sits down again with immigration attorney Alan Orr to cut through the myths, scapegoating, and fear-mongering driving today’s immigration debates. Together, they unpack how U.S. deportation policies recycle an old playbook: create a villain, distract the public, and funnel public dollars to private profit.

From Reconstruction to today’s asylum crises, the tactic hasn’t changed—just the faces. L. Joy and Attorney Orr explain the racial double standards in refugee policy, the economic drain caused by detention contracts, and why Black communities in particular must pay close attention.