In this week’s episode, we’re re-releasing a conversation from November 2021. Every year millions of families across the country gather to celebrate that quintessential American holiday: Thanksgiving. It is a story of immigration. But how do the millions of recently-arrived immigrants to this country view this holiday? Theresa Cardinal Brown and Sadikshya Nepal are joined by Rachel Peric, Executive Director of Welcoming America, and several BPC staff members to discuss how families combine...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown delves into history and reality of how immigrants vote in the United States. Theresa is joined by Rachel Orey, Director of the Bipartisan Policy Center Elections Project, to discuss current legislation that defines the eligibility for voting and protects against non-citizen voting. Then, Theresa welcomes Irene Bloemraad, Professor at the University of British Columbia and Co-director of the Centre for Migration Studies, to dive...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown discusses how immigrant rights organizations and other emergency response organizations are assisting immigrants and their families affected by recent hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as similar past natural disasters in the United States. Theresa is joined by Zach Wolgemuth, Director of Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery at Church World Service (CWS), along with his colleague Mabel Hernandez, Deputy Director...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown covers how DHS and USCIS are incorporating AI into their immigration work.  Theresa is joined by Paromita Shah, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Just Futures Law, who organized a letter signed by over 140 immigrant and civil rights groups to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging him to end the use of AI. Theresa and Jack Malde then discuss the inauguration of Mexico’s first female president and the challenge of...

In this week’s episode, we focus on the increasingly salient issue of climate migration, delving into Climate Migration Council “A Compendium on Climate Mobility”. BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown talks to Shana Tabak, the Director of Immigration at Emerson Collective and a Senior Advisor to the Climate Migration Council, and Elizabeth Ferris, Director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. We cover the...

In this week’s episode, we’re re-releasing a conversation from September 2021. BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown reflects on how the 9/11 terrorist attacks reshaped our immigration system, and what it looked like before that pivotal day. 

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown talks to Michelle Hackman, a US immigration reporter at the Wall Street Journal, about a recent decline in border crossings and to what extent we can credit the Biden Administration and its cooperation with Mexico. Then, Theresa and BPC Associate Director Jack Malde discuss the Biden Administration’s “Keeping Families Together” program which grants parole in place to certain noncitizen spouses and noncitizen stepchildren of...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown delves into new U.S. Immigration data findings, covered in recent reports by the Pew Research Center and Congressional Budget Office. First, Mark Hugo Lopez, the director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center, joins us to discuss new estimates and demographics of the foreign-born in the United States. Then, BPC Associate Director Jack Malde discusses with Theresa the Congressional Budget Office’s new...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown delves into a recent Biden administration executive order that helps Dreamers get a work visa, with Dan Berger, a noted immigration lawyer, writer and speaker, and fellow at Cornell Law School. The pair discusses what new guidance on D-3 waivers means for DACA recipients and international students. Then, given President Biden’s decision to not seek reelection, Jack Malde, BPC Associate Director, discusses with Theresa potential...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown delves into the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn the 40-year old judicial doctrine of deference to executive agencies that has been defining American administrative law, and the impacts for U.S. immigration policy and practice. with two distinguished guests: J.D. Rackey, Senior Policy Analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Structural Democracy Project, to discuss the impact of the decision on the roles of the...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown delves into the recent Mexican presidential election and its implications for U.S. immigration policy with three distinguished guests. Joining us are Andrew Selee, President of the Migration Policy Institute, José Díaz Briseño, a U.S.-based reporter for the Mexican newspaper REFORMA, and Pulitzer-prize winning freelance journalist, Emily Green. We discuss Claudia Sheinbaum, the first female president-elect of Mexico, what her...

In this week’s episode, BPC Associate Director Jack Malde interviews the Director of BPC’s Congress Project John Richter and BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown about a recent bipartisan visit to the southern border. The visit, arranged as part of BPC’s American Congressional Exchange (ACE) program, brought six members of Congress to the border to better understand the urgent challenges and opportunities for bipartisan cooperation on U.S. immigration and border policy. Theresa then...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown talks with Michael Clemens, professor of economics at George Mason University, who has studied the economic causes and effects of migration all over the world. His latest research, based on detailed examination of border crossing data, shows that offering more lawful pathways to immigrants reduces unlawful border crossings. We also talk about the importance of good data for examining immigration policy and how traditional...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown and Associate Director Jack Malde chat with Jason Wendle, an expert in migration and labor mobility. We speak about various initiatives that Jason is involved in that facilitate migration from lower-income to higher-income countries by increasing the use of existing migratory pathways. Such initiatives can benefit those on the move, the countries that welcome them, and the countries they (often temporarily) leave behind,...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown and Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde chat with Alexander Kustov, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. We discuss Professor Kustov’s research on how we might, or might not, be able to shift public opinion in the United States to increase support for immigration. One promising approach, that will be the subject of Professor Kustov’s forthcoming book “In Our Interest: How to...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown and Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde chat with Camille Mackler, the Founder and Executive Director of Immigrant ARC (I-ARC), a collaborative of over 80 legal service providers in New York State. I-ARC works with community leaders, legal service providers, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, and Federal agencies and policymakers to ensure immigrants have access to a fair and efficient immigration system. We...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown and Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde chat with Michael D. Lumpkin, the Chief of Staff for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or “ICE”. We discuss the missions of ICE, the various challenges facing ICE including budgetary constraints, and its efforts to address the unprecedented number of arrivals at the US-Mexico border. We also discuss the importance of technology and innovation in ICE’s operations and Mr. Lumpkin’s...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown and Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde discuss the role that recent high levels of immigration have played in driving the economy. They then welcome BPC Associate Director Emerson Sprick to discuss the role that increased immigration can play in securing Social Security solvency. 

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown and Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde do a deep dive into the claim, made by several Republicans, that President Biden can use his executive power to solve the border crisis without Congress.  

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown and Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde chat with Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and Francis Torres, a Senior Policy Analyst in Housing Policy at BPC, about homelessness in the U.S. We cover the scale of the issue, its causes, the extent to which immigration has exacerbated the issue, and the vital solutions needed.  

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown talks us through the recent failed bipartisan border deal. Then, Theresa and Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde chat to Policy Analyst Arianna Fano about a new BPC report examining the barriers immigrant families face in the take-up of tax credits. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) are crucial anti-poverty tools but many individuals in need—including a disproportionate share of eligible immigrants—do...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown chats with Mark Hetfield, President & CEO at HIAS and Claire Holba, an Immigration Policy Fellow at the Niskanen Center, about the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. Mark tells us about the experience and challenges of refugee resettlement agencies on the ground, while Claire dives into the data around the Resettlement Program, highlighting something of a recent revival in its fortunes. Niskanen Center: New data confirms...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown runs through the latest negotiations on Capitol Hill for a potential border security deal. If Congress fails to reach a deal, we could see a government shutdown. Then, Theresa and BPC Senior Policy Analyst Jack Malde interview Lindsay Milliken, an immigration fellow at the Institute for Progress, who is lead author of a new report detailing a data-driven method to identify workforce shortages and update DOL’s Schedule A...

In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown chats with three exceptional national and local immigration reporters to understand what it’s like to cover immigration at a time of rising migration, increased humanitarian challenges, and a polarized political climate. Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News, Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post and Uriel Garcia of the Texas Tribune take us through their experiences covering national and local immigration developments over the...