Only in America with Ali Noorani show

Only in America with Ali Noorani

Summary: What really drives the immigration debate? It’s people, not politics. Join us for “Only in America” podcast, to hear how Americans from all walks of life and from across the political spectrum are experiencing changes in their communities as a result of immigration. Faith leaders, law enforcement officials, business owners and others speak openly about the way culture, identity and values are shaping and defining our country, and they offer a constructive way forward in the immigration debate.

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  • Artist: Ali Noorani
  • Copyright: National Immigration Forum all rights reserved

Podcasts:

 How Diverse Communities Can Choose Their Destiny | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 27:09

This week, New York City Councilman Carlos Menchaca tells Ali Noorani how he got elected - by listening to the needs of the diverse communities he now serves, and empowering them to become active citizens in the democratic process. Plus, an update on the separated migrant children still without their parents. 

 "They're Children First, and Immigrants Second" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 30:49

Ali talks with Wendy Young, President and CEO of Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) about the thousands of refugee children separated from their parents at the southern border.  And later, how the World Cup recharged the immigration debate in Europe.   

 An Iowa Town: As Immigration Increases - Crime Rates Fall | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 28:03

Mark Prosser, the Chief of Police in Storm Lake, IA talks about how the crime rate there has fallen as the town's immigrant population grows. He tells Ali about his policing strategy, how the town has embraced new residents, and how President Trump's policies may make people fearful of reporting crimes for fear of deportation. 

 Redefining What it Means to be American | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:38

This week, Ali talks with author Laura Wides-Muñoz, about her book  "The Making of a Dream: How a Group of Young Undocumented Immigrants Helped Change What it Means to be American." And, as hundreds of migrant children remain separated from their parents, the number of deportations of naturalized citizens is increasing.  

 On Independence Day - Honoring America's Immigrants | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 18:51

This week's Independence Day show features 16-year-old Fez Zafar, who brought Des Moines High School students together for a series of Iftar dinners; Hector Barajas, a deported US Army veteran who's returned to California after 14 years in exile; and Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.  

 A Young Military Family Keeps the Dream Alive | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:44

This week, Ali talks with DACA recipient Esmeralda Tovar-Contreras. She's the mother of a 19-month-old baby and her fiance is in the U.S. Army. As thousands of Dreamers are threatened with deportation by the Trump administration's decision to rescind DACA, Esmeralda hasn't moved back in to the shadows. Instead, she debated the issue in heated exchanges on late-night TV with a group of voters who oppose DACA. 

 Refugee Turned American Leader | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 27:36

Kathy Tran arrived as a refugee from Vietnam in 1980 as a child. Now she's a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. On World Refugee Day, Ali chats with Kathy about her desperate flight from war, her run for high office, and how she's living proof of the reality of the American Dream. 

 How to Rid America of MS-13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 24:08

In this special edition, the incredible story of the FBI informant who helped to break up an MS-13 gang in Boston, MA. Ali talks to journalist Michele McPhee who tells the story in next week's edition of Newsweek. They discuss how the cooperation of Boston's immigrant community with law enforcement plays a vital role in fighting crime, despite the renewed threats of deportation under the Trump Administration's policies. 

 For Immigrant Families, the Calm over Storm Lake | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:05

Ali visits Storm Lake, Iowa, which proudly has one of the most diverse populations in rural America, and chats with the new Mayor, Mike Porsch.  And later, the crackdown on asylum-seekers at the southern border, and the ongoing divisions in Congress over DACA. 

 "Embrace immigrants the way scripture calls us to" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:00

A Texas judge speaks out as hundreds of migrant children, separated from their parents who fled violence in Central and South America, are sent to detention centers near the southern U.S. border. And Ali chats with Jenny Wang and Matt Soerens from World Relief about how to unite the evangelical movement around immigration. 

 Three Women Paving the Way for America’s Immigrants | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 22:58

Ali talks to three amazing women who are working both in public and behind the scenes to re-imagine the future for immigrants in the United States.    Gaby Pacheco, DACA recipient, and leader of TheDream.US Karen Tumlin, Legal Director of the National Immigration Law Center Sayu Bhojwani, President of the New American Leaders Project  

 How Detroit's Leading Latina plans to raise a Struggling City | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:14

This week, Ali talks with Raquel Castañeda-López, the first Latina to be elected to the Detroit City Council. Raquel tells of her childhood struggles born and raised in a diverse but poverty-stricken section of the city, and how the local residents gave her the courage to run for office. She also lays out her vision for the resurgence of Detroit, with policies which embrace the city's diversity. 

 Fleeing Baghdad for South Bend - the immigrant who helped the US Army | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 20:59

Ali chats with Rafed Alsaad, who had to flee his home in Baghdad  after helping the American forces in Iraq. Now living in South Bend, Indiana, he talks about saving his wife and children, but having to leave his wider family behind, and the welcome he received from the neighbors in his new community. 

 Making America Open Again - the Legal Battle | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 25:20

Ali talks with Cecillia Wang, a Deputy Legal Director at the national ACLU about the court battles against the Trump Administration's anti-immigration campaign.  She also directs the Center for Democracy, which encompasses the ACLU’s work on immigrants’ rights, voting rights, national security, human rights, and speech, privacy and technology. Cecillia believes the collective will of America's communities to protect the Constitution will prevail.  

 Afraid to Go to Church, Afraid to Go to School | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 18:12

This week, the fear in America's immigrant communities as  ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) continues to expand it arrests and deportations. And Ali talks to Rondell Trevino, from Memphis TN, who founded The Immigration Project to demonstrate how the bible teaches us to reach out and embrace immigrants. He’s also a Pastor at the Woodland Presbyterian Church in Memphis.  

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