Send a text Ian Philabaum is the Director of Legal Organizing for Innovation Law Lab and has spent nearly the past decade in assisting immigrants through his work at ILL. He has been at the forefront in the push against the proliferation of ICE detention throughout our country. He has assisted children and families in detention. He has worked to fight against the human rights violations that occur in immigration detention including inhumane medical treatment, labor exploitation and physical a...

Send a text Representing immigrants in their deportation proceedings can be a challenge, but it can be even more formidable when your client is Mahmoud Khalil. Mr. Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., was arrested by the Trump administration after being a prominent member of the Israel/Gaza war protests at Columbia University. He was detained in Louisiana for three months before a federal judge ruled that he must be released to his wife and newborn baby son. Two of the key m...

Send a text Running brings great health benefits for many, but for Dr. Michael Lokale it brought him opportunity and a chance at the American dream. Dr. Lokale was born and raised in a remote tribal village, Kitale, Kenya to corn farmers. He witnessed many people die of preventable diseases. The lack of medical care motivated him to become a doctor and his intention was to go back to Kenya and help improve the healthcare in his native land, but, like the Boston Marathon, life has many twists ...

Send a text Kavan Hazeli is an associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona, with a joint appointment in the Biomedical Engineering Department and the College of Optical Sciences. An immigrant from Iran, Hazeli received the 2020 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2020. He joins me to talk about his immigrant story and path to running his own research group. He also discusses the impact of government funding cuts, unfair targetin...

Send a text At a time where immigration steals the headlines almost every day, Professor Leah Ndimurwimo focuses her research on migration and refugee studies. She is a recognized expert on international human rights and, in particular, South African and international law. Professor Ndimurwimo works at Nelson Mandela University, but is currently a Fulbright research scholar at the University of Arizona. She is an author and co-author of peer-reviewed publications on violations of human ...

Send a text Parastoo Zahedi knows what it is like to immigrate to the United States. Her own experiences in coming here from Iran has been a key reason why she became an immigration attorney: she wanted to help other attain the American dream and she has done so in many different ways. Since graduating from Georgetown Law School in 1988, Parastoo has become a recognized expert in immigration law and her law practice represents clients in a wide spectrum of matters including: Adjustment of sta...

Send a text Anatoly "Tola" Molotkov is a writer, composer, filmmaker and visual artist, and a co-founder of the Inflectionist poetry movement. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1990 while writing predominantly in Russian at that time. He gradually learned to read and write in English while reading books like J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." A few years after arriving in the U.S., Tola transitioned to writing completely in English and he is now the au...

Send a text Babak Akhlaghi has waited well over a decade to finally see his brother, Kaveh, arrive in the United States. The wait has been excruciating, unnecessary and a prime example of how the U.S. immigration system fails the best and brightest. Kaveh Akhlaghi is a renowned architect based in Iran who has seen his ability to get a work visa inexplicably delayed year-after-year and resulted in repeated federal litigation. Babak, who works in Washington DC as a patent attorney, has not lost...

Send a text Rodrigo López grew up in Mexico during an era when Fernandomania spread across the country. López was one of a generation of Mexican children who emulated the late Fernando Valenzuela, an all-time great pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Inspired by Valenzuela's success and fame, Rodrigo became a pitcher and eventually made his way to the United States where he worked hard to make the major leagues in 2000. He went on to pitch in the majors for six different teams over 12 years....

Send a text Originally hailing from Senegal, Aly Wane came to the United States with a diplomatic visa at the tender age of 9-years-old. His mother hoped that the United States would provide him with an excellent education and future opportunities. Eventually on a student visa, Aly received two educations: 1) An education through academia and 2) An education on how difficult, rigid and cruel the U.S. immigration system is. After following all the rules, he found himself in a...