Immigration

In this episode, we dive into the post-election political and policy landscape, analyzing how recent election outcomes will impact the future of civil rights in America. Our guest experts will discuss anticipated agendas from the White House and 119th Congress. They will unpack the major policy shifts, exploring potential executive and legislative actions that may impact voting rights, reproductive rights, criminal legal reform, and other civil rights. Guests will consider the potential for new alliances, as well as emerging divisions within Congress and between the executive and legislative branches. As we discuss the challenges and opportunities facing civil rights advocates in this new era, this episode offers a comprehensive look at what lies ahead for the nation.

Our host Vanessa Gonzalez is joined by Lia Parada, Director of Legislative Advocacy at The Immigration Hub, and Abraham Paulos, Deputy Director at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, to discuss asylum, temporary protected status, and the state of immigration in the United States.

Our host Vanessa Gonzalez is joined by Aimee Arrambide, Executive Director at Avow Texas; Leila Abolfazli, Director for Federal Reproductive Rights at National Women’s Law Center; and Nancy Cardenas Pena, Texas Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice to discuss how recent abortion restrictions ​and laws that are chipping away at the right to vote are rooted in white supremacy and how to fight against them.

Pod for the Cause host Vanessa N. Gonzalez is joined by Adrienne Lawrence (Attorney and Sr. Consultant at Jennifer Brown Consulting, Media and Legal Consultant at Bantam Impact, and the Author of Staying in the Game), Jess Morales Rocketto (Co-chair of Families Belong Together and Co-Founder at Care in Action, Supermajority, and She Se Puede), and Kate Bahn (Director of Labor Market Policy at Washington Center for Equitable Growth and EVP of the International Association for Feminist Economics) to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the issues women face today including the gender and race pay gap, reproductive justice, and harassment through an intersectional lens.

Pod for the Cause host Vanessa N. Gonzalez is joined by Claudia Flores (Senior Campaign Manager at the Center for American Progress), Abraham Paulos (Deputy Director of Policy and Communications at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration), and Jill Yu (Managing Director and Cofounder at Act to Change) to talk about immigration, white supremacy, and how we can activate our own communities to eradicate the anti-blackness within them.

Pod for the Cause host Ashley Allison is joined remotely by Vanita Gupta, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference, to talk about how COVID-19 has impacted our world and how, now more than ever, the fierce fight to protect civil and human rights continues.

Pod for the Cause host Ashley Allison is joined by Martín Batalla Vidal, the lead plaintiff in the New York case McAleenan v. Vidal, to discuss DACA and how the fight will continue to create a pathway for future generations to live and thrive in America.

Pod for the Cause host Ashley Allison and film director, author, and activist Paola Mendoza discuss immigration and family separation. The conversation includes experiences of families on the border who are seeking asylum and safety, as well as the importance of immigration reform.