This week we're talking about what immigration policy could look like under the incoming Biden-Harris administration. Maria and Julio are joined by immigrant rights activist Erika Andiola, chief advocacy officer for RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) and host of their podcast Homeland Insecurity, and Nana Gyamfi, attorney and executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. They break down the misconception that representational politics brings change, the impact of COVID-19 on the immigrant community, the pervasiveness of anti-Blackness in immigration policy, and how the movements for racial and immigrant justice are interconnected.  This episode was mixed by Rosana Cabán. ITT Staff Picks: - "Joe Biden’s immigration policy ideas sound great on paper. And a lot of them are great. But they stop short of the much-needed system-wide reforms. If it feels like we’re back to the Bush years after 9/11, when DHS and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were born, you’re not alone," writes Arturo Domínguez for Latino Rebels, "Bush’s policies were built on the emotions of the general public after the attacks. That era led Americans down a path to profound nationalism. That same nationalism produced new unfounded fears about immigrants at the southern border." - "Since Cameroon descended into civil war in 2016, more than 400,000 people have fled ethnic and political persecution, with thousands seeking asylum in the United States. Many have instead been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, suffering conditions that advocates say flout international norms for the treatment of refugees—and reflect glaring inequities for Black migrants in the immigration system. Despite civil demonstrations led by Cameroonians in ICE facilities across the country this year, the poor conditions have only intensified." by Eli Cahan in Foreign Policy. - Hamed Aleaziz writes in Buzzfeed News about how ICE became the face of Trump's immigration crackdown and where it goes from here: "Biden’s victory will almost certainly lead to a change in messaging. It is likely, many predicted, the agency will stop paying for billboards depicting “wanted” immigrants, for example. The agency’s deportation efforts will return to the background, and officers will almost assuredly be once again limited on who they should and should not arrest. Photo credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File  



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