Immigration 360°

In this episode, I interview Dora Rodriguez. Dora Rodriguez is a social worker and is an advocate and activist for migrant rights. We discuss Dora’s story of migration and her current work.

TW: This episode contains the sensitive topics of violence, human smuggler exploitation, death, murder, and trauma.

Action Item(s):

• Check out the website for SalvaVision (https://www.salvavision.org/), Dora’s organization that provides aid and support to asylum seekers and migrants.

In this episode, I interview Alex Miller. Alex Miller is an immigration attorney and immigration justice advocate. We discuss Alex’s experiences and specific policies that have impacted the asylum-seeking process such as Title 42.

Action Item(s):

• If you can, donate

• If you cannot donate, have difficult conversations with people in your network

• Call your Senator or Representative to keep the government accountable

• Look up non-profits that are working in your area to get directly involved

In this episode, I interview Lorena Verdugo. Lorena Verdugo is currently working as a community health coordinator at the Ventanilla de Salud at the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, Arizona. We discuss how the Ventanilla de Salud provides on-site assistance, and outreach to low-income and Hispanic migrant families unfamiliar with the US health system.

Action Item(s):

• Tell people how important it is to get the COVID-19 vaccine

• Help spread awareness of the benefits of getting the vaccine and encourage those around you

• Help people around you access a COVID-19 vaccine

Description: In this episode, I interview Diego Lopez who is a program manager at a Casa Alitas, a shelter in Tucson, Arizona. We discuss services available for migrants arriving to the United States.

Action Item(s):

• Diversifying reading sources

• Read The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

• Book recommendations on the Casa Alitas website: https://www.casaalitas.org/resources

• Encouraging Senators and Representatives to vote on issues that will support shelters like Casa Alitas in funding

• Vote for policies that will improve migration in the United States

• Volunteer and work with migrants and refugees in your own communities

• Read stories of people who have migrated on Casa Alita’s website: https://www.casaalitas.org/stories

In this episode, I interview Mayor Garino who is the Mayor of Nogales, Arizona. We discuss Nogales, Arizona as an example of a border town that has been impacted by immigration and immigration policies at the US Southern border.

Terms used in episode:

• Ambos Nogales – term used to refer to both Nogales, Arizona, US and Nogales, Sonora, MX

Action Item(s):

• Contact your Senators and Congress representatives and tell them what is happening at the border

In this episode, I interview Joanna Williams who is the Executive Director at Kino Border Initiative (KBI). We discuss services available for migrants in both Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora.

Action Item(s):

· Reach out to your Senators and Congressional Representatives and ask them to invest in a humane immigration system (for example support for people when they arrive in a community and accountability for different immigration agencies such as border patrol or ICE)

In this episode, I interview Gail Emrick who is the Executive Director of Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC). We discuss US foreign policy in Latin America and the role its played in immigration present day.

Link mentioned in podcast of US intervention in Latin America: https://www.yachana.org/teaching/resources/interventions.html

Action Item(s):

· Recommended books to read: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala by Stephen Schlesinger, John H. Coatsworth, Stephen Kinzer, Richard A. Nuccio

· Write to your Senators

· Volunteer on a campaign that you care about

· Volunteer at a local shelter

In this episode, Victoria Lanza, host and co-producer, and Gail Emrick, co-producer, introduce the podcast series.