Only In America With Ali Noorani

Catch this preview of our upcoming series on civic engagement and how immigrants and immigration impact the 2020 election. Plus, stick around for a segment from another great podcast, “A Better Life?” from Feet in 2 Worlds, winner of multiple awards for journalism about and by immigrants. This clip features a conversation with a couple in Miami recalling their journey from Haiti to Florida in the late 1960s.

Reporter Tina Vasquez tells Ali about her work as a movement journalist and her work building trust within the communities she reports on, including the Black immigrant community. Tina is a senior reporter at Prism — a BIPOC-focused media outlet whose news team is 100% led by women of color — where she leads coverage of both gender justice and workers' rights.

This week Ali talks to Abdi Nor Iftin, bestselling author of “Call Me American: A Memoir.” Originally from Somalia, Abdi left the dangers of his home country only to be confronted with the harsh realities of racism in the U.S.   Abdi spoke to Ali about improving the visibility and accessibility of Black immigrant stories, and his advice to non-Black folks who want to be better advocates for their Black and immigrant neighbors.

This week, Ali talks to Alan Cross, lead pastor at the Petaluma Valley Baptist Church in northern California and author of “When Heaven and Earth Collide: Racism, Southern Evangelicals, and the Better Way of Jesus.” Raised in Mississippi, Alan has preached in churches across the South. Alan and Ali spoke about the complicated history of the region, how his faith led him to immigration advocacy, and the role of Christians in fighting for justice.

This week, Ali talks to Professor Karla McKanders, who directs the Immigration Practice Clinic at Vanderbilt Law School. She also teaches refugee and immigration law. She has written about the intersection of immigration and Blackness, and is releasing a children’s book on the issue soon. Professor McKanders and Ali spoke about the experiences of Black immigrants at the border, how segregation and policing impact Black and immigrant communities, and the need for nuance in our legal systems.

The color of our skin and our immigration status dramatically affect how we move through our daily lives in this country. And these two identities, while distinct, are constantly interacting with each other. For our next series, we’re taking a critical look at the complex relationship between racial justice and immigration. We’ll start out by digging into how race and immigration intersect, and we’ll hear more about the experiences of Black immigrants, who face the dual challenges of America’s immigration system and systemic racism towards Black communities. And we’ll talk about why, ultimately, immigrant justice cannot be separated from racial justice.

For our last week in our “How Did We Get Here?” series, we’ll see the human impact of flawed policies. Ali talks to Ainee Athar, Immigration Program Manager at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Born in Pakistan, Ainee and her family sought protection from religious persecution. But in coming to the U.S., they faced a slew of obstacles over many years: navigating bureaucracy, a rejected asylum application, multiple changes in immigration status, and dealing with immigration enforcement.

This week, Ali talks to Becky Tallent, former chief of staff to Sen. John McCain and adviser to House Speaker John Boehner, about the push for comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 and 2013. Becky is currently head of U.S. Government Relations at Dropbox and serves as Vice Chair of the Forum’s Board of Directors.

This week we hear about what happened around immigration in the 1990s, and how that’s affected today’s conversations. Ali talks to Doris Meissner, a former Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. She’s currently a Senior Fellow and Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute.

This week, we pick up where we left off and take a look at what happened in immigration between the 1960s and 1980s. Following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the next major immigration reform came during the Reagan era of the 1980s, and Charles Kamasaki was a firsthand witness. He’s now a Senior Cabinet Adviser for UnidosUS, and author of Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die. Charles told Ali about the hurdles we must overcome to create solutions, the politics of compromise, and how we can bring future reforms across the finish line.

This week, we take a look at what we can learn from our nation’s history around immigration reform that could help shape the future of it. Ali talks to Jia Lynn Yang, deputy national editor at the New York Times and author of One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965. She provides fascinating context about what led to immigration restrictionism 100 years ago, the fight to change those laws, and how that affected where we are today.

We often hear people say they don’t have a problem with people coming to the U.S. — as long as they are coming here legally. But our legal immigration system is complex and challenging to navigate — and the increasing number of threats it faces from the Trump administration only intensifies this. In this series we’ll hear from experts discussing how the past applies to the present moment, and what it means for the future of immigration.  

This week, we hear about the South Carolina churches receiving masks made by refugees in Greece. Ali hears from two South Carolinians who are distributing thousands of masks to their communities. David Lee is a missionary of the North American Mission Board’s Ministry Evangelism Team. He serves as Director of Lay Mobilization at the Lexington Baptist Association. Robbie McAlister is a former pastor who now is the Southeast mobilizer for Bibles, Badges and Business for Immigration Reform.

This week, we hear how refugees in Greece are contributing to the COVID-19 response in the U.S. Zoë Pappis Schultz, co-founder of When We Band Together, tells Ali about how refugees at the Moria refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece, are making face masks for people in need around the world. Plus, a look at the Trump administration’s decision to extend and expand its proclamation from April that initially barred certain immigrants from the U.S. for 60 days.

The Supreme Court ruled today that the Trump administration did not provide an adequate justification for ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), allowing it to remain in place — but the administration could still make another attempt to end the protections it provides for nearly 700,000 Dreamers. Ali talks to Larry Benenson, the Forum’s Assistant Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, about what the ruling means, the options DACA recipients now have, and why Congress needs to pass a permanent solution.

In the final episode of our health care series, we hear about the health obstacles that immigrant communities face, made all the more challenging during the coronavirus. Ali talks to Dr. Sal Molica, a primary care physician at Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts. They talk about Codman Square’s close ties to Boston’s Haitian American community, how they’re working to improve health care access in a diverse immigrant community, and how they’re adapting amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ali talks to Dr. Walter Strickland, Assistant Professor of Systematic and Contextual Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Strickland tells us about how a history of racism and systemic injustice has affected Black Americans, as well as the role of the church in advocating for justice. Plus, how we can avoid debates about justice being pulled into cultural divisions.

This week, Ali talks to Esmeralda Tovar, a mental-health case manager and a medication aide at an assisted living facility in Kansas. She’s also a DACA recipient waiting in limbo for the Supreme Court to decide her fate in the U.S. She spoke to Ali about her work in health care and how it’s changed amid COVID-19 — and what she wants all Americans to know about DACA recipients like her.

As we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we hear about the unique healthcare challenges these communities face – and the incredible contributions they’re making amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ali talks to Kathy Ko Chin, president and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, about the role of Asian American and Pacific Islander health workers in the pandemic response. Later, he talks to a registered nurse working in Galveston, Texas, originally from the Philippines.

For this week’s episode, Ali sits down with his mom, Najma, who tells him about her early days as a newcomer to the U.S. and opening a physical therapy practice — and how to properly cut a mango. The pair discuss Najma’s journey to the U.S., the difficulties of building a life in a new country and living thousands of miles away from family, and the neighbors who became like family.