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Ian Philabaum is the Director of Legal Organizing for Innovation Law Lab and has spent nearly the past decade in assisting immigrants through his work at ILL. He has been at the forefront in the push against the proliferation of ICE detention throughout our country. He has assisted children and families in detention. He has worked to fight against the human rights violations that occur in immigration detention including inhumane medical treatment, labor exploitation and physical and psychological abuse.

Behind the ingenuity and leadership of Stephen Manning, Innovation Law Lab was founded to harness the power of technology, law, and activism all in a single organization to end the mass incarceration of children and mothers with limited due process, if any, and in inhumane conditions. Innovation Law Lab leverages the work of coders, lawyers, and activists in order to end isolation and exploitation of immigrants and refugees, build permanent pathways to immigrant inclusion, and advance justice.

Since its founding, Innovation Law Lab’s work has advanced the cause of justice. Based in Portland, Oregon, Law Lab has team members in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Washington, and Mexico. Ian joins me to discuss his pathway to immigration advocacy, stories from the frontlines and the critical work of ILL and their partner organizations. 

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Representing immigrants in their deportation proceedings can be a challenge, but it can be even more formidable when your client is Mahmoud Khalil. Mr. Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., was arrested by the Trump administration after being a prominent member of the Israel/Gaza war protests at Columbia University.  He was detained in Louisiana for three months before a federal judge ruled that he must be released to his wife and newborn baby son. Two of the key members of his legal team, Marc Van Der Hout & Johnny Sinodis, join me to discuss his case (note: the interview was recorded prior to last week's decision ordering Mr. Khalil deported to Algeria or Syria). They also talk about their own backgrounds and why they have dedicated their professional careers to helping immigrants.

Mr. Van Der Hout, one of the most recognized attorneys in the field, has made a career of fighting for the most marginalized in our society. He is the former national president of the National Lawyers Guild and his high-impact litigation has made an indelible mark on precedent case law. He is based in San Francisco as the founding member of Van Der Hout, LLP.

Mr. Sinodis is a partner at Van Der Hout LLP. He has built a reputation as an incredible advocate for human rights as an expert in removal defense, appeals, the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, and federal court litigation. Prior to joining Van Der Hout, he practiced at Salvatierra Law Group in Phoenix, Arizona, where he handled criminal and immigration cases, and regularly represented individuals who were subjected to racially discriminatory policing practices in Maricopa County, Arizona.

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Running brings great health benefits for many, but for Dr. Michael Lokale it brought him opportunity and a chance at the American dream. Dr. Lokale was born and raised in a remote tribal village, Kitale, Kenya to corn farmers. He witnessed many people die of preventable diseases. The lack of medical care motivated him to become a doctor and his intention was to go back to Kenya and help improve the healthcare in his native land, but, like the Boston Marathon, life has many twists and turns.

Dr. Lokale knew that he could get a top-notch education in the United States, but getting a scholarship would be a necessity to reach the finish line. His cousin, Paul Ereng, surprised the world in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul when he came out of nowhere to win the gold medal in the 800 meter race. Paul knew how important it was to use your best skills to get your foot in the door as he ran for the University of Virginia and received his bachelors degree. Paul told Dr. Lokale how to apply for an athletic scholarship. He applied and was awarded a four-year scholarship to Virginia Military Institute.

Warning: This is only the halfway mark of this marathon of a story.

In 2003, with his combination of athletic and academic excellence, Dr. Lokale received the prestigious Rhodes scholarship. At the time, he was only the 10th VMI graduate to ever receive this award. To put it into perspective, the previous VMI awardee was in 1967. His next stop: Oxford University in England where he got to mingle with the Queen of England and Nelson Mandela. Most importantly, he met his future wife Kathy who was also studying there.

Dr. Lokale returned to the U.S. after Oxford to attend the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He now resides in Oro Valley, Arizona where he keeps people healthier and happier. On a regular basis, Dr. Lokale returns to Kenya to volunteer at a clinic in the town where he grew up. His career finish line is still far away, but he has already won a gold medal in lifetime accomplishments!

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Kavan Hazeli is an associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona, with a joint appointment in the Biomedical Engineering Department and the College of Optical Sciences. An immigrant from Iran, Hazeli received the 2020 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2020. 

He joins me to talk about his immigrant story and path to running his own research group. He also discusses the impact of government funding cuts, unfair targeting of foreign students and how it has and will impact critical research. Professor Hazeli's research group is active in designing, characterizing, and optimizing multi-functional materials built by additive manufacturing techniques, focusing on materials performance and failure mechanisms under fatigue, impact, and thermomechanical loading. 

Hazeli's research group is developing camera-based technology that integrates advanced 3D imaging, AI, and cloud connectivity to assess human movement and biomechanics. This technology quantifies motion and posture metrics allowing the team to investigate joint functionality, range of motion, and overall posture, delivering actionable performance data for orthopedic specialists, sports medicine, and physical therapy professionals. Additionally, by continuously learning from gait and posture patterns, their work aims to predict fall risk in elderly populations, supporting early intervention and personalized care.

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At a time where immigration steals the headlines almost every day, Professor Leah Ndimurwimo focuses her research on migration and refugee studies. She is a recognized expert on international human rights and, in particular, South African and international law. Professor Ndimurwimo works at Nelson Mandela University, but is currently a Fulbright research scholar at the University of Arizona. 

She is an author and co-author of peer-reviewed publications on violations of human rights in Africa. Leah joins me to talk about her research, her background and the current state of migration in our world.

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Parastoo Zahedi knows what it is like to immigrate to the United States. Her own experiences in coming here from Iran has been a key reason why she became an immigration attorney: she wanted to help other attain the American dream and she has done so in many different ways. Since graduating from Georgetown Law School in 1988, Parastoo has become a recognized expert in immigration law and her law practice represents clients in a wide spectrum of matters including: Adjustment of status (green card processing) and naturalization, asylum and refugee status, detention and bond, cancellation of removal, waivers of inadmissibility, immigration consequences of criminal convictions, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions, and federal court litigation. She has also handled business immigration matters in the context of obtaining both nonimmigrant visas(L1A/L1B, H1B/H3, H2B,  O, P, E) as well as immigrant petitions for all employment categories including the Extraordinary Ability category.

Parastoo has served as a leader in the American Immigration Lawyers Association community in different capacities and has been awarded for her pro bono work. She has also published numerous articles on a variety of immigration issues and spoken on them as well.

In this episode, Parastoo discusses her path to the U.S. and her journey into immigration law and how she manages this practice in the environment we live in today.

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Anatoly "Tola" Molotkov is a writer, composer, filmmaker and visual artist, and a co-founder of the Inflectionist poetry movement. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1990 while writing predominantly in Russian at that time. He gradually learned to read and write in English while reading books like J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." A few years after arriving in the U.S., Tola transitioned to writing completely in English and he is now the author of several novels, short story and poetry collections. He is the winner of the 2008 E. M. Koeppel Short Fiction Award for his story "Round Trip", which was nominated for a Pushcart. In this episode of Immigration Ain't Easy, we discuss Tola's journey to the U.S., the process by which he immigrated and his path to becoming a published writer.

Tola's other fiction and poetry has appeared in over twenty publications, both in print and online. His most recent novel, A Bag Full of Stones, is a literary crime story that examines the targeting of immigrants via right-wing violence in 2019 America. The book will be published on May 29, 2025, and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Bag-Full-Stones-Molotkov-ebook/dp/B0DQSLPF78

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Babak Akhlaghi has waited well over a decade to finally see his brother, Kaveh, arrive in the United States. The wait has been excruciating, unnecessary and a prime example of how the U.S. immigration system fails the best and brightest. Kaveh Akhlaghi is a renowned architect based in Iran who has seen his ability to get a work visa inexplicably delayed year-after-year and resulted in repeated federal litigation. Babak, who works in Washington DC as a patent attorney, has not lost hope that Kaveh will someday receive his O-1 extraordinary ability visa. 

Assisting Kaveh throughout this frustrating process is Amy Maldonado, a nationally recognized immigration attorney. Along with providing details about Kaveh's case, Amy speaks to me about her own career and how she inadvertently became one of the top sports immigration attorneys in our field representing numerous major league baseball franchises and their players. While Kaveh's case still remains incomplete, and the current administration makes the future even more murky, both Amy and Babak hold out hope that he will someday arrive on these shores.

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Rodrigo López grew up in Mexico during an era when Fernandomania spread across the country. López was one of a generation of Mexican children who emulated the late Fernando Valenzuela, an all-time great pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Inspired by Valenzuela's success and fame, Rodrigo became a pitcher and eventually made his way to the United States where he worked hard to make the major leagues in 2000. He went on to pitch in the majors for six different teams over 12 years. In his rookie season, he was the runner-up for the American League Rookie of the Year.

After retiring from baseball, Rodrigo was hired as the color commentator for the Arizona Diamondbacks' Spanish language radio broadcasts. He has held that position for a over ten seasons. He joins me in this episode to talk about his inspiration, Fernando Valenzuela, who also became a known color commentator for the Dodgers. He also speaks about his journey to the United States and some of the challenges his family faced coming to watch him pitch.

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Originally hailing from Senegal, Aly Wane came to the United States with a diplomatic visa at the tender age of 9-years-old. His mother hoped that the United States would provide him with an excellent education and future opportunities. Eventually on a student visa, Aly received two educations: 

1) An education through academia and 

2) An education on how difficult, rigid and cruel the U.S. immigration system is. 

After following all the rules, he found himself in a terrible predicament after his mother tragically died overseas: without lawful status and trapped in a country that he considered his "home". He could not even go abroad to pay his respects to his mother. Had he left, he would likely never be able to return to the U.S. He chose to remain in the U.S., his adopted homeland.

While many would remain disillusioned by this situation and go underground, Aly regrouped and found a new purpose. Living in Syracuse, New York, he came out publicly in 2012 as undocumented and became a community and human rights organizer. Aly has focused his advocacy on antiwar, economic justice, racial and immigrant justice.  He has become an active voice for peace and humanity. His organizing has been connected with numerous organizations including the American Friends Service Committee, the Workers' Center of Central NY, Syracuse Peace Council, the Black Immigration Network, the UndocuBlack Network and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. He has also served on the Board of the Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse, a politically progressive interfaith organization.  

While Aly has been placed in a difficult position, he has always been about helping others and the community. We should all strive to be like Aly.