The “dysfunctional” U.S. refugee system

The U.S. in the middle of resettling tens of thousands of Afghan citizens around the country. At the same time, it’s turning away Haitians and Central Americans at the U.S.-Mexico border. What gives?

“The reasons why they may be migrating are very similar, in terms of fleeing persecution, war, violence; the difference is where they seek that legal relief,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a nonprofit organization that’s helped resettle refugees for decades.

On the show today, we’ll dig into the U.S. refugee system, how it got to be this way and how we can rebuild a system that is more just.

We’ll also talk about a major victory for garment workers in California and what that might mean for their counterparts nationwide. Plus, we’ll get an update on the debt troubles of China’s Evergrande and hear from listeners about their parent-child “Make Me Smart” listening teams.

When you’re done listening, tell your Echo device to “make me smart” for our daily explainers. This week we’ll explain why Costco hot dogs are so cheap, the fight over Apple’s app store and the economic consequences of hurricanes. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You can find the latest issue here.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

“Afghan refugees and Haitians at the Texas border: Who’s worthy of US protection?” from Vox

“The Biden administration will raise the cap on refugee admissions to 125,000” from The New York Times

“The evacuation of Afghan refugees is over. Now what?” from The Brookings Institution

“California Ends ‘Piece Rate’ Work For Garment Workers, Guaranteeing Minimum Hourly Wage” from HuffPost

“Garment Workers, Paid Per Piece, Say They’ll Keep Fighting to Change System” from NBC News

“Evergrande Bondholders Mull Next Steps in Wake of Missed Payment” from The Wall Street Journal

 “Yellen tells Congress that U.S. will run out of debt ceiling flexibility on Oct. 18”  from The Washington Post

Read the transcript here.