July 25, 2019 • 35 mins
Chelsea is joined in studio by advocates, Shannon Camacho and Archana Sahgal to discuss what is actually happening at the U.S. Border and how to help.
Credits:
Host: Chelsea Handler
Guests: Shannon Camacho and Archana Sahgal
Executive Producer: Conal Byrne
Producers: Sophie Lichterman, Jack O’Brien
Writers: Jamie Loftus, Anna Hossnieh & Sophie Lichterman
Consulting Producers: Nick Stumpf, Miles Gray, & Anna Hossnieh
This episode was Engineered, Mixed & Edited by: Danl Goodman
Music by: Kingsbury
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Chelsea Handler. Welcome to Life Will Be the
Death of Me, a production of I Heart Radio. Okay,
Hi everybody, Hello Brandon, Hello again. You weren't at home
this morning, actually, Brandon, So you're gonna get yourself ready? Yes,
I did, and here I am, and I already left
Bernice in the car once. So we're going to do
a different podcast this week. This is not going to
(00:22):
be thematically linked with Life Will Be the Death of Me.
This is about the border and our crisis at the
border and what's happening to innocent children at the border.
And I know that I feel so frustrated about not
doing more, and it feel like I need to be
more educated about how I can help and how everybody
can help, and what you can do just to make
(00:44):
people's lives more humane down there. Since we're not legally
allowed to donate, right, is that correct? We're not allowed
to donate, we're not well, it is correct, we're not
allowed to make monetary donations. We can't we can't send anything.
So that doesn't seem normal or right. So there are
ways to go around that, and there are ways to
help these people. So today we have two uh special
(01:06):
guests that are here and that have done a lot
of work on the ground and are very familiar with
what's going going on at the border, and they work
with two different organizations. Let's start with you, Shannon, Thank you.
My name is Shannon Camacho, and I work with the
Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, which is a nonprofit organization
here in Los Angeles that helps community members, specifically immigrant
community members, access legal services. We also do advocacy UM
(01:30):
to influence legislation at the local, state, and federal level.
And then we do organizing and I think that's really
the cornerstone of our organization is that we organize the
community UM to fight for the rights and to make
sure that conditions are better for immigrants in Los Angeles.
It's called CHURLA your organization for short, right the acronym,
and are people allowed to donate financially to that absolutely.
I think it's when people think about the ways to
(01:52):
help UM. One of the biggest things that folks need,
for example, people that are in detention are immigration attorneys,
and so it's very important that we do the fundraising
and we get donations in order to get more immigration
attorneys to go out to the detention centers and meet
with clients. Immigrants are not guaranteed. They're not given an
immigration attorney by the federal government, unlike the criminal justice
(02:13):
system for for citizens, and so it's very important that
we do raise money to have those kinds of services
available for the community and also to know that you
can actually help legally aid somebody. I'll reference an article
that I read this morning that a friend set me
about actually being able to post bail for an immigrant
so that they can start the legal process, and you know,
to make a difference in one person's life, I think
(02:34):
is what a lot of people are interested in doing.
If you can't help everybody, just help one person, so
a lot of us can do that. Let's talk to you.
Archna Sagala, Archna Sagal, where do you work and what
do you do? So my name is Archna and I
work at the National Immigration Law Center. We are one
of the main organizations working to defend and advance the
(02:55):
rights of low income immigrants in the United States. In
terms of what we do, we you do everything from
suing Donald Trump. We have a huge legal advocacy strategy,
UM we have we do communications work, we also do advocacy.
We do loving on the on Capitol Hill, UM, as
well as some of the work that we're doing right
now to influence what all of the candidates, UM, the
(03:16):
presidential candidates are saying about the election and immigration And
is this a public organization or is it a private organization? Um,
they're the National Immigration Law Center is a nonprofit organization.
So okay, And so how do you guys operate that?
I mean, how do you zoom in on who needs
your attention the most and what the most pressing cases
are or is it doesn't even work that way? That's right.
(03:39):
So we get donations from the incredible public that support
our body of work, and then we have strategies to
ensure what's going to be the most effective way to
ensure that we're fighting for the soul of this country,
to ensure that we all have the opportunity to thrive
and to be here and seek opportunity. Yeah. I think
that the hardest thing to see. I mean, it's all
(04:01):
very hard to see. And comparing it to concentration camps
that people are saying, it's not a concentration Kive, you
can't say that. I don't see why you can't say that. Um,
what we're doing is traumatizing little children, were traumatizing them
and that things, and we're turning people into animals. So,
you know, I know that there's a pressing need for
people to want to act, but it feels so hopeless
(04:24):
in a sense, and I know that it's not It
has to not be hopeless, because there's always something you
can do that's right. We think that the detention camps
are absolutely horrible places and they're entirely unnecessary. So we
at the National Immigration Law Center have an ongoing lawsuit
to force the government to provide the basics um to
mostly women and children in these ice centers. But frankly,
(04:45):
the conversation shouldn't be about toothbrushes. It should be about
pursuing policies and programs that help immigrants navigate the immigration
system without putting them in these camps, with putting them
in jail. And it seems like it may be horrible,
but there's everyday things that every single person can be
doing right, and we're gonna get to all of that.
I'm gonna give you guys a list of places that
you can get involved in, places you can volunteer, because
what are the three T s time, talent, and treasure. Right,
(05:09):
So I have a lot of treasure. I'm willing to
share that. Some people just have time and some people
just have talent, and whatever you have to contribute is worthwhile.
So nothing is insurmountable, I would say, I would say
that we can always do something a little bit more
than we're doing. Um, So, tell us about the situation
of the camps. Why is it so exaggerated? Now? Why
(05:29):
does Donald Trump keep playing Obama for these camps when
Obama did never had a baby in a cage. That
just never happened under any leader in the history, well
actually not in this country, but okay, for what we're
talking about, right, So, I think there's a very big
difference between the Obama administration and the Trump administration. Although
we do know that during the Obama administration there were
(05:50):
many deportations of individuals, especially Central American immigrants. That the
one of the biggest differences during this administration is the
fact that Trump is not respecting the international right to
apply for asylum, and that has been an attack since
the very beginning into thousand and sixteen, not allowing these
Central American migrants to come request asylum, which is a
(06:10):
universal right and so many other countries respect that, and
then instead really making it difficult and putting more and
more barriers for them to to achieve that asylum, and
so folks are then sent to detention centers and families
are held together and for longer periods of time, instead
of looking into alternatives to detention, and instead of investing
money in programs to integrate these new arriving and right
(06:34):
right for these children, he doesn't want them to learn exactly,
and and that is super intentional. This is this is
part of a strategy to really deter migration. And that's
something that we keep at Chaerila. We keep telling the
community is this is not an accident. This is not
something that he's trying to achieve just for himself. He's
really trying to show the rest of the folks that
are trying to come here, we don't want you, We
(06:56):
don't want you in this country. And that's something very
very heartbreaking, um, because so many of these people are
coming with families literally just looking for a better life,
literally coming here to escape violence and persecution, and to
know that this government does not respect that and is
not trying to help them is just something very unbelievable
or for people to prematurely be calling these people criminals
(07:16):
before these people are fighting for their lives. They don't
deserve to be here because they became here illegally. If
you came here illegally on that journey, you had no
other choice. No one one wants to put their children's
lives at risk, no one. I'm not a mother, and
I know that I don't want to put any child's
life at risk. So we've had seven children die, right yeah.
And and it's the very very difficult thing about that
(07:38):
is that we know that there have been people that
are unnamed, unidentified that had died while crossing the border
in the past recent months, in the years, and and
folks are dying in the detention centers as well, and
we don't know, We really just don't know the extent
to how people are suffering in all these different places
because there's no transparency from the Department of Home in Security,
which is the agency that oversees these attention centers. There
(08:00):
is no effort to highlight the conditions on their part,
there's no effort to improve the conditions on their part,
and so there are just people all over the country
at the southern border, but also all over the country
that are experiencing absolutely in humane conditions, and that is
something that we're really trying to highlight through our work.
Do you guys know what a regular day in the
life of somebody in one of the insane clint the
(08:21):
one on the Texan border, right, It's just hell's hell
on earth. And what's so painful is that everything that
we're seeing, the images that are that are we're seeing
daily on the television about the border quote unquote crisis
was created by Trump. We know that there is zero
migration net migration from Mexico, so building something like a wall,
(08:42):
which is incredibly expensive and ineffective, but it also fits
Trump's narrative, which creates fear and disdain for immigrants, and
we know that as part of his political theater um,
Trump has moved a mix of cruelty and inefficiency to
create a bottleneck of moms and dads and kids coming
from some America. We are seeking safety in our country,
(09:02):
and they're seeking asylum, which we know is their legal
right under both of US law and international law. But
the reality is the fastest growing and documented migration comes
from people who overstay their visas UM and we unless
we look at root causes, which we know is violence
against women and girls in Central America visa backlogs even
in our own system, we won't solve the problem. So
we know that the wall is bad policy. We know
(09:24):
that these detention centers, these camps are bad policy, and
he's using these ideas to divide and distract us with
a super racist narrative that riled up his base. And
just to clarify, how long have these clamps existed in
the United States? So since the Department of Homeland Security
was created in two thousand and three, and I'm not
sure what the I n S, the Immigration Naturalization Services
(09:45):
did before that, but ever since two thousand and three,
the Department of Homeland Security has operated um these kinds
of detention centers, either at the southern border or in
the interior of the United States. So I think it's
important to remind people in the United States that when
folks are arrested by eyes in inside the country, for
example in Los Angeles, they are sent to a detention center,
and the closest detention center here is at a length
(10:07):
on So these detention centers all operate very similarly. In
the way that they have horrible conditions, that there's just
no respect for the folks that are inside, and that
they're there. The conditions are so horrible that there have
been numerous reports written about them, and so it's it's
really important that we talk about those two. Okay, we're
gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back.
(10:29):
And I've heard and read that these children have um
family members and to go to, but are still being
detained just out of cruelty and and red tape. But
there was no plan in place to reunite any of
these kids with their families initially, right that infrastructure that
was not was non existent. So essentially what this government
(10:50):
did is they separated families with absolutely no plan to
reunite them, which is not what Obama did. Right, It's
just unbel It's such a new level of cruelty and
and we're now just finding out about that, and it's
it's just absolutely it's going to take so much work
to heal the trauma with all the people that have
experienced that separation and create policies that make it so
(11:13):
that that never happens again. But it's just unbelievable that
this was never the plan. It was never the plan
to reunite these families. This was just something again to
show the rest of the world that the United States
is not willing to accept asylum seekers and refugees well
brown ones. Yes, exactly, And that's a very important point.
Like our kind of was saying, it's very important to
highlight the racism of this. This Trump is not having
(11:33):
this kind of attitude towards European people coming here and
overseeing their visas. He doesn't highlight those folks. He's highlighting
specifically Central American immigrants that are coming. And one of
the reasons why they're coming to the United States is
because the conditions in their countries are so horrible and
a lot of that is due to US intervention. So
a lot of these problems are very connected, and it
(11:54):
it does not make sense to shun refugees and asylum seekers. Instead,
it makes sense to integrate folks that are literally running
for their lives, trying to make a better place for
themselves in this country. Migration is not going to stop.
It's not going to get less. They are going to
be more and more and more people coming to the
United States, especially given that we have climate change in
global crisis, We're going to have more people migrating to
(12:14):
the United States for the conditions, and so we really
have to as a country, except that our current policies
are not sufficient enough. We need to change it so
that we can integrate folks and give them services instead
of shunning them, to build a fuller society, you know,
to build a fair and equal society so people feel
like they can get here the same way all of
our ancestors got here. So, yes, what I was saying
(12:37):
before the Trump administration announced last month that they would
no longer provide legal aid, English classes and recreational programs
for unaccompanied miners in government custody. So that's one thing.
And then I wanted to talk a little bit about
what this Julie Sharon did. Do you know her? Yes,
I do, so then you know what she did. She
was looking for ways to contribute, and she had um
(13:01):
bank account that her grandparents, who were spent years in
Nazi camps, had left for her, and she decided that
she wanted to use that money to bail out an
asylum seeker. So she called a friend who ran a
volunteer organization called Immigrant Families Together, which are dedicated to
providing food, clothing, airline tickets and other necessities to migrants
(13:22):
as they come out of detention. And then she said,
I need to know I got one person out, and
she did get one person out, and then a lot
of people followed suit and did what she did. The
airline tickets, people can donate their miles. That's right, So
how did somebody go about doing that right? Immigrant Families
together as a great organization. We've partnered with them UM
a couple of times, and I think one way is
(13:45):
to go on the website to see the different ways
that you can donate UM. It's very There's also another
UM organization called Miles for Migrants, and that's another place
where folks can donate UM their their miles airline miles
so that people can have plane tickets to their final
destination in the United States. Additionally, also UM one way
to really help, and I think Immigrant Families also does
this is through bond money, collecting enough bond money UM
(14:07):
so that folks can be bailed out of detention centers.
And at Cherila we also have a bond fund UM.
If you go on Cherola dot org you can donate
to that bond fund, and that directly goes to folks
that are in detention to try to we try to
get them bonded out so that their family doesn't have
to worry about providing that additional money, because it's it's
one thing to be separated from your family member, but
it's a whole another thing to lose thousands of dollars
(14:30):
because they're in detention, and so that just puts an
enormous long term strain on the family and that's something
that we really don't want folks to have to deal with,
So we we really try to raise a lot of
money for that bond fund for our immigration attorneys. Yes,
and there are some also local organizations. Um there's Las
Americas and El Paso and they provide legal services to migrants.
A lot of these local organizations really need the support.
(14:51):
So if you're somebody who can donate like a hundred
dollars or you know, a hundred and fifty dollars anything
at all, then then it's good to support these local
agencies because they are on the ground and they know
what needs immediate attention. And then in Mexico there's one
called Alterro Lado, which provides legal services in Tijuana, UH
And they're both small organizations doing incredible work. So this
(15:12):
is another place you can give. One of the things
that's so incredible about Julie Sharon's story is that she's
an everyday person, and everyday people can be heroes. UM.
That includes giving your time, it includes giving your money,
it includes um spending a little bit of time, UM
calling your elected official and demanding that they closed the
camps up. And I just think that there's a whole
(15:34):
bunch of things that can be happening. And despite the
pain and the cruelty, the chaos and the trauma that
the Trump administration is creating, there's all these bright spots
that are happening. I mean, look at you, You're having
us on your having us to have a conversation about immigration.
And so I just think that there's there's little things
that you can be doing by donating five dollars. There's
medium things that you can be doing by going to
Protect Immigrant Families dot org. And then there's bigger things
(15:56):
that you can doing, which is to bail out women
MS kids at a detention centers. Is there a way
to sponsor an adult? Yes, I think there are a
couple of different ways, and I would defer maybe if
you're an attorney to go into more detail. But um,
we do have folks, for example, through our ELI rd's
Rapid Response Network that volunteer to sponsor individuals once they're
(16:17):
released from detention. So that means like giving them a
place to stay. Um, how does that? So? I think
it's it's a pretty complicated process, I believe, and they're
will not complicated, but there does need to be paperwork
done and you do need to work with the attorney
for example, that's something that is representing the asylum seeker
in order to make everything a smooth transition. Um. But
I recommend if folks are interested in becoming sponsors, definitely
(16:39):
reaching out to organizations like Cheerlau, CHEERLA, other legal organizations
that provide support to immigrants and detention. Those attorneys will
be able to guide you into the process to become
a sponsor. They will give you every single step. Um.
And that is a really big need because after someone
is released from detention, it doesn't it doesn't just end there.
They need a place to stay, they need support with food,
with transportation, and so becoming a sponsor is a great
(17:01):
way to support individuals and I know people personally who
have done it and it's just such a beautiful thing
to see. And does milk help with that too? Is
that something? So the National Immigration Law Center, one of
the things that we do is UM do. We do
lots of know your Rights trainings UM, and we make
sure that everyone UM has an understanding of what their
rights are. So there are in the words of Mr Rodgers,
look for the helpers. There are so many opportunities to
(17:23):
help UM. And so perhaps what might be helpful is
if we put together a list for you that you
might be able to share. We're going to link to
all the organizations that we've discussed on the show UM
in the podcast or on the podcast and on all platforms.
So don't worry. I know most of you are driving well.
I would like to go back and kind of here.
So once either someone has been detained at the border
(17:44):
or arrested and sent to a detention center, they're placed
in the facility for X amount of time. This is
what I think a lot of people have a hard
time understanding. Is they're there, how long are they there for?
What is the process too? So they're applying for asylum
once they're in the center, and then they have to
receive bond or pay bond to be released. Correct, Am
I on the right path? So and and our purposes,
(18:05):
but I'm not I'm not an immigration attorney, so so
you so you can help me out then, um. But
in terms of just very generally, and and we we
have a lot of immigration attorneys that we work with
and folks that have actually gone down to Tijuana and
have sort of like observed the situation. But I think
what's important to understand is that CBP, which is the
Customs and Border Patrol, they're actually holding people for longer
(18:29):
than they should And I supposed to be in a
cell for like twenty or something like forty two hours
or seventy hours, whatever it is, they're helding them way
beyond that that's supposed to be the man maximum amount
of time they're supposed to be held. And I think
that's the takeaway. That's the takeaway that folks need to understand,
is that this agency is not operating the way that
it should be. And what was what is really painful
(18:51):
to hear is that this agency, specifically Border Patrol, constantly
says we need more money we need more money to
have better conditions. We need more money so we can
release people on time. The fact is the Department of
Home and Security gets so much money, billions of dollars
every year. Their budget has been increasing, and most recently
they received four point six billion dollars. Congress approved that
and without any accountability mechanisms or oversight mechanisms, and so
(19:13):
they're getting so much money, but the money is not
going into better conditions. And I think that's very important
for people to realize they're not using that to make
sure that people are are let out on time. Instead,
what they're using that for is more space and and
really just enforcement as well, because that money goes to
that exactly, and profit and and private companies operate the
detention centers within the interior of the United States. Atalanta
(19:34):
was operated by the Geo Group, which is a private company,
which makes it even harder to get information and even
harder to have transparency. And that's just something that's literally
where the money is going. And we really want people
to understand that, and we we actually like like our
kind of saying, we do have the opportunity to change that.
In California, half of California House Democrats voted to give
four point six billion dollars to the Department of Homeland Security,
(19:56):
half of California Democrats. And so this is an issue
on both sides of the aisle, and us as constituents
really have to urge our members of Congress and the
Democrats not to support any additional funding, especially when there's
no accountability attached to it. And that was something very
very difficult to see is that this this money four
point six billion dollars essentially can be transferred within the
(20:16):
Department of Homeland Security to enforcement operations. So recently we
heard about the threats of ice coming into these cities
like Los Angeles and arresting hundreds of people. That is
only possible with the money that they're getting. If we
really defund the Department of Homeland Security, these kinds of
massive operations and threats are no longer possible, and that's
something all of us can do to change. Okay, so
what I mean, but how how do we defund the DHS? Right,
(20:39):
so we know that I believe it's twenty four House
Democrats that voted to give more money. What we're doing
through our Rapid Response network is We're going to be
meeting with congressional members throughout the month of August because
the budget fight happens in August, and we're going to
have people meet with them, first to thank the folks
that did not vote for the four points expillience, but
all then at the same time to keep the people
who did a acountable and to really explain the education
(21:02):
needs to be done that this is where the money
is going. The money is going not to the border,
not to make sure conditions are better, but instead to
make enforcement more, to make enforcement larger, and to have
more detention centers. And so all of us can call
our members of Congress. There's a list of the people
that did vote for that four points experience. So I
urge everybody that's that's listening to really afterwards look up
to see if your congress member did actually vote for
(21:24):
the four point six supplemental request and give them a
contellent that's unacceptable, and explain why it's because that money
is not going to better conditions. That money is literally
going to these threats, to these ice rates. And so
that's something everybody can do. One of the things I
think is really important is for all of us to
really educate ourselves. And for so long Americans have seen
immigration as a domestic policy issue, and I think Donald
(21:45):
Trump wants us to see the manufactured crisis on the
border as a domestic policy issue. But I think it's
really important for us a better understand that it's a
foreign policy you as we shared UM, and we have
to understand why people migrate, which is predominantly because of
climate change, economic inequality, and violence, especially in Central America.
And so I think that we're not going to address
(22:06):
root causes of white people migrate through detention camps. We're
not going to address the root causes through a wall,
and we're not going to address root causes through raids,
which is purely performative. And at the end of the day,
I think we need a broad menu of policies that
improve the lives of immigrants and deep investment into Central
America like the Martiall Plan after World War to the
United States did a huge investment back into Western Europe
(22:29):
and specifically Germany. And so there are incredible policy opportunities
to get involved. There's ways to activate UM your own
community by bailing out folks, by donating in your miles,
UM to being a helper and um serving as Yeah,
just serving us, like a really excellent person that doesn't
perpetuate bad information as well, and racist information as well.
So I guess the first thing is don't be a racist.
(22:52):
Trying not to be a racist. Let's everybody start there. Well,
I think that's what's really hard for someone I've had
to totally tune out the news is there's so much
information that you don't know. I'm on the treadmill at
the gym and there's Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and you're
watching their music. The music they put to the news. Now,
it sounds like a shooting spree. It's so un it's
like the the the you know, Fox News, Amazon, it's
(23:16):
all too much. It's you know, it's and it's unpleasant.
It's just harsh and and it's dark. And there's great
things happening in the world. There's everything from Julie Sharon
bailing at immigrants, and there's also wonderful things that are
happening at the state and local level. Our governor. Governor
is doing incredible work to improve the lives of of
immigrants right now. But yeah, and I just I want
(23:37):
to be I want to be a person. That's part
of the solution, you know what I mean. I want
to be doing something and I want to do more.
And I had a group of friends over last week
to discuss, you know, like actionable things we can do, boycotts.
What do we do? Do we boycott Amazon? Do we
does everybody commit not to buy gas for a day
until these babies are out of cages and reunited with
their families? What do we do? What will have an impact?
(23:58):
And you know what we can't kept coming back to is,
first of all, how can any mother be okay with
this happening in your country? That's right, Like we're supposed
to be looking out for other people's kids, not just
our own. And then the second part is religion. How
can they co opt religion and and do this in
the name of religion and pretend that this is a
(24:20):
Christian way. This is not Christianity, this isn't any religion.
And what we were thinking, what has been a lot
of people have said, had this idea is to you know,
really magnify that with images, with having all different sorts
of religious leaders go down to the border, have a
big event, have a huge concert, and have them set
standing there with toothbrushes and out and blankets and all
(24:41):
the things that babies need, not being allowed to go
in and being denied to help these little innocent children
who have nothing, have done nothing wrong, um And I
think that's powerful. So, I mean there's so many organizations
on the ground. If you're one and you're listening, please
get in touch with me. Everybody knows how to get
in touch with me, um be because we want to
(25:01):
align with other groups that are doing stuff and we
want to create a big movement or whether it's a
social media movement. I know a lot of people are
already working on this, So it would be great to
join forces with somebody who's got a great idea and
just needs more amplification because so many people just can't
move about their day in a normal way because of this. Okay,
well this sounds like a good time to take a break. Well,
(25:25):
so we we've covered a lot of ways that people
can help, and like Chelsea said, well link to all those.
But is there an outlet or a resource that people
can use to get the most accurate information because, like
I said, there's so much that on the television that
you're watching, or so many tweets that you see, like
what is a very digestible either website or outlet that
people can look to for accurate information of what's going
(25:45):
on at the border camps. Right. So, actually, NILK, the
National Immigration Law Center, is amazing. It has an amazing
UM website with a bunch of resources explaining the different
policy changes and the legal background of all these all
these policies, and it's just very helpful I think for
folks to to go on the website and then learn
a little bit more about the background and what this means.
(26:07):
What is what is the result of for example, like
Trump UM restricting asylum, Like recently last week you mentioned
that he's going to make it even harder for folks
to apply for asylum. How is that going to affect people?
What are what are the legal what's the legal background
for that? I think NEILK is a really good source
of that. Also, UM the i l r C, which
is the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, is a very great
UM resource. I use it all the time when I'm
(26:28):
trying to really understand policies and UM changes in the law.
And so I recommend those two specific places absolutely agree.
And next Twitter handle is at an I ll SEE,
which stands for the National Immigration Law Center. We have
a huge team UM that is making sure that everyone
that wants to be updated and informed can be updated
and informed. Great, thank you, Brandon. Do you have anything
(26:50):
else you UM? I think like one of the common
questions for people who are not politically savvy is how
do we address what people on both sides of I'll
say that we need border control, anyone should be able
to get in. How do we do that appropriately? Like,
what is the response to that? There are other countries
(27:10):
that have UM systems where when someone does migrate there,
it's not a matter of them being detained, but rather
they are integrated into a case management system where they're
given the resources and the information to properly live at
that in in that country, meaning that they're getting information
on where to get food, where to go to school,
all of that is being facilitated by case workers. And
(27:32):
I think that that's something that we should really as
a country UM dedicate our money too, because instead of
what we're doing currently is really dehumanizing people that are
coming here, making them feel that they're not wanted, that
they shouldn't have come here. And I think the answer
to that could be to have a very robust case
management system where we are really trying to provide as
much social services and information to people that are coming
(27:54):
here so they can live their lives, they can get
a foot in the door. Um. And I think that
is absolutely possible. I think, of course, looking at the
way things are now, it seems very unlikely that that's
going to happen sometime in the future. But I think
us as a country, we really need to start looking
at putting our money into systems that really integrate people.
And I think that there are many ways to do it. Um. There.
I'm sure there are policymakers that have been um fiddling
(28:16):
with those ideas for a long time. And so I'd
be interested to see the next presidential candidate, the next
person that that takes office, really try to employ those
kinds of strategies of integration into the border. Might be
interested to see that. And just in terms of the election,
I really think that because we're in the fight for
the soul of our country, Americans are really hungry for
an inclusive vision of our country, and that's rooted in
(28:38):
our cherished values of belonging and thriving and the opportunity
to get ahead, and so I'm really excited about But
people believe that that only belongs to the people that
are already in this country, and some people believe that
is only a white person's privilege. That's right, which is
what we have to organize. You have to get the
word out and we have to call our members of Congress.
(28:58):
They work for us, and we have the Donald Trump
Vata office in November. Well, to your point about the election,
are there specific candidates that you've seen who how policy
in place or could have policy in place for the
immigration issue. Who are those candidates that people should be
looking to personally? Democrats, Yes, start there, that's a given.
(29:22):
I think UM. Personally, it's been very great. It's been
really great to see Julian Gastro really highlight immigration as
a priority in his policy platform, and I really recommend
people to go to his website and to look, really
look and read um the policy platform that he has
for immigration, because it is all about reducing our dependence
(29:42):
on detaining folks. It's really about that integration process and
trying to provide resources to immigrants instead of treating them
like criminals and trying to make the system so difficult
for folks to get a foot in the door. So
I think it's been really great to see him really
highlight that UM during the debates and UM within his
his policy plot from so I'm interested to see UM
where that goes moving forward. I agree, And I also
(30:04):
think that all the candidates can go further to advance
a bold vision. At the end of the day, I
think that Americans really want to be done with this,
the Trump's vision of distraction and hate, and so we're
just looking for someone with an alternative. Change is super
possible when we get loud and we get organized, things change.
(30:24):
When we organized, we win. And so I just feel
really strongly that when we come together. So about last summer,
an organization and called Hand in Hand organized these playdate
protests where a whole bunch of parents and their kids
went to ICE offices around the country. There's one in
downtown l A. And I took my daughter too, and
then we did another protests on Valentine's Day. She poor kids,
(30:44):
She's always like, happy Valentine's Day. We're going to a protest.
I'm like, yes, kid, of yes, we are. It's better
than celebrating Valence, I think. So I think so, but
what's fascinating is that Mom's parents, um aunts, UM, they
came together and it was getting really really we were
getting loud, and then you see the effects of us
getting loud, and then Donald Trump will shifted his behavior.
(31:05):
So I just think that when we get together and
we organize and we show up, we show up at
these centers, we show up at our congress members um offices,
when we show up together UM at the protests, people
are listening and people really care. And when I mean people,
I mean the elected officials that we pay. Because right
now the numbers at around fifty thousand, is that accurate
for the folks that are detained. It actually fluctuates even
(31:28):
even above fifty thou um. The last UM average daily
population that I've heard of was actually fifty four thousand.
So and the thing is, I think again, this is
another very specifically we need to highlight, is that DHS
is not supposed to be detaining that many people. They
only have money to detain around forty four thousand people.
That was the money that Congress allocated to them for
(31:49):
the last fiscal year. And so it just shows that
this this this agency is not even obeying the rules
set forth by Congress. It's not um detaining the number
of people that it should be detaining, it's actually detaining more.
And so that's right. So that's it. But but that
goes to their argument for needing more funds, which you said,
we don't want to give them, right, right. But the
problem is is that they they're asking for more funds,
they're getting more detention space, and the conditions are just horrible,
(32:12):
and they're just and honestly getting worse and worse and worse.
We're seeing more reports, more pictures, more news about just
how horrible life is inside those detention centers. So it's
when they use that argument, it to me, it's just
a matter of trying to place the blame on something else.
They're not using this this money to make the conditions
better or to fix the solution, to really get to
the core root of the problem and fix the solution
(32:33):
to make integration possible. Instead, they're just using this as
a way to get more and more money. One of
the things that's been terrible is that when everyone is
paying attention to Donald Trump's Twitter, his minions are quietly
taking our wrecking ball to the legal, entirely lawful immigration system,
and it's going almost entirely unnoticed. And so the Trump
(32:53):
administration is actually in its final stages of changing our
immigration rules in a way that will affect millions of
lawfully residents and their and their families by imposing a
wealth test um to make the road to citizenship impossible
for anyone that struggles to make ends meet. So the
story about so many of our families, not all, but
so many of our families that have come over with
(33:14):
five dollars in their pocket, Um, that's gonna absolutely change
if you only have five dollars in your pocket, if
you're the next entrepreneur, Um, you're going to be a
black from coming to this country because of this racial
wealth test. And so this regulation change that's going to
impact twenty six million people. And we actually think that
this regulation change, which is called public charge um, but
it really is the lynchpin in Trump's very xenophobic agenda.
(33:37):
And he's using this back to our regulatory approach because
he couldn't get it done in Congress. And so that's
the one thing I wanted to just like pay attention,
what can we do about that? I am so excited
because there's this incredible website that allows you to take
action called protect Immigrant Families dot org. Okay, well that's
a good one. And what did they do obviously protecting
(33:57):
family exactly. That's the best part when a website is
actually indicative of what we're trying to do. So there's
opportunities to light when the when the rule is going
to come out, there's going to be an opportunity to
really push and let members of Congress know and are
you allowed to I mean, is that something where you
can actually go in and help, like one family know
that you've done it instead of giving to an organization
that's distributing it at their own accord or is that
(34:19):
what kind of organization is So protect Immigrant Families as
a campaign to prestend that rule that's going to impact
twenty six million people. But the other organizations that we
talked about, including Immigrant Families to take out, there are
places that you can go to sponsor a person, so
to help a individual and then if you won't create
a kind of a bond and a relationship with them,
(34:40):
or you can just be like, here's some money. Yeah,
I would like that. I would like I mean, i'd
have some someone stay in my house for sure, you're amazing. No,
but I would. I have a big house, I don't
have to teach other and I'm never and I'm never there,
so it's perfect. I mean there's always someone that's did
you know? I want to say, Kristin Bell. Did you
see her? She she bailed out an asylum seeker for
(35:01):
her birthday last year and she was just recently released.
And so let's get used at up. I want to
do that. For sure. We're going to have a winter
birthday my birthday. I don't have to do it for
my birthday. We could just do it, but sure my
birthday February. Everyone should know that. Anyway, right Brandon, Right,
mind's coming up to Umber thirteen. So maybe we'll get
you a new roommate. Oh yeah, dual birthday gift or
(35:24):
what for you and for me? Okay, We're going to
do what we can on our end, and I will
keep everybody posted if there is some something that you
can be part of that. I start and thank you, ladies,
thank you for coming in today. I really appreciate it.
Thank you. Life will be the Death of Me as
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
I Heart Radio, visit the i heart radio, app, Apple podcasts,
(35:45):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hi, I'm Chelsea Handler. Welcome to Life Will Be the
Death of Me, a production of I Heart Radio. Okay,
Hi everybody, Hello Brandon, Hello again. You weren't at home
this morning, actually, Brandon, So you're gonna get yourself ready? Yes,
I did, and here I am, and I already left
Bernice in the car once. So we're going to do
a different podcast this week. This is not going to
(00:22):
be thematically linked with Life Will Be the Death of Me.
This is about the border and our crisis at the
border and what's happening to innocent children at the border.
And I know that I feel so frustrated about not
doing more, and it feel like I need to be
more educated about how I can help and how everybody
can help, and what you can do just to make
(00:44):
people's lives more humane down there. Since we're not legally
allowed to donate, right, is that correct? We're not allowed
to donate, we're not well, it is correct, we're not
allowed to make monetary donations. We can't we can't send anything.
So that doesn't seem normal or right. So there are
ways to go around that, and there are ways to
help these people. So today we have two uh special
(01:06):
guests that are here and that have done a lot
of work on the ground and are very familiar with
what's going going on at the border, and they work
with two different organizations. Let's start with you, Shannon, Thank you.
My name is Shannon Camacho, and I work with the
Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, which is a nonprofit organization
here in Los Angeles that helps community members, specifically immigrant
community members, access legal services. We also do advocacy UM
(01:30):
to influence legislation at the local, state, and federal level.
And then we do organizing and I think that's really
the cornerstone of our organization is that we organize the
community UM to fight for the rights and to make
sure that conditions are better for immigrants in Los Angeles.
It's called CHURLA your organization for short, right the acronym,
and are people allowed to donate financially to that absolutely.
I think it's when people think about the ways to
(01:52):
help UM. One of the biggest things that folks need,
for example, people that are in detention are immigration attorneys,
and so it's very important that we do the fundraising
and we get donations in order to get more immigration
attorneys to go out to the detention centers and meet
with clients. Immigrants are not guaranteed. They're not given an
immigration attorney by the federal government, unlike the criminal justice
(02:13):
system for for citizens, and so it's very important that
we do raise money to have those kinds of services
available for the community and also to know that you
can actually help legally aid somebody. I'll reference an article
that I read this morning that a friend set me
about actually being able to post bail for an immigrant
so that they can start the legal process, and you know,
to make a difference in one person's life, I think
(02:34):
is what a lot of people are interested in doing.
If you can't help everybody, just help one person, so
a lot of us can do that. Let's talk to you.
Archna Sagala, Archna Sagal, where do you work and what
do you do? So my name is Archna and I
work at the National Immigration Law Center. We are one
of the main organizations working to defend and advance the
(02:55):
rights of low income immigrants in the United States. In
terms of what we do, we you do everything from
suing Donald Trump. We have a huge legal advocacy strategy,
UM we have we do communications work, we also do advocacy.
We do loving on the on Capitol Hill, UM, as
well as some of the work that we're doing right
now to influence what all of the candidates, UM, the
(03:16):
presidential candidates are saying about the election and immigration And
is this a public organization or is it a private organization? Um,
they're the National Immigration Law Center is a nonprofit organization.
So okay, And so how do you guys operate that?
I mean, how do you zoom in on who needs
your attention the most and what the most pressing cases
are or is it doesn't even work that way? That's right.
(03:39):
So we get donations from the incredible public that support
our body of work, and then we have strategies to
ensure what's going to be the most effective way to
ensure that we're fighting for the soul of this country,
to ensure that we all have the opportunity to thrive
and to be here and seek opportunity. Yeah. I think
that the hardest thing to see. I mean, it's all
(04:01):
very hard to see. And comparing it to concentration camps
that people are saying, it's not a concentration Kive, you
can't say that. I don't see why you can't say that. Um,
what we're doing is traumatizing little children, were traumatizing them
and that things, and we're turning people into animals. So,
you know, I know that there's a pressing need for
people to want to act, but it feels so hopeless
(04:24):
in a sense, and I know that it's not It
has to not be hopeless, because there's always something you
can do that's right. We think that the detention camps
are absolutely horrible places and they're entirely unnecessary. So we
at the National Immigration Law Center have an ongoing lawsuit
to force the government to provide the basics um to
mostly women and children in these ice centers. But frankly,
(04:45):
the conversation shouldn't be about toothbrushes. It should be about
pursuing policies and programs that help immigrants navigate the immigration
system without putting them in these camps, with putting them
in jail. And it seems like it may be horrible,
but there's everyday things that every single person can be
doing right, and we're gonna get to all of that.
I'm gonna give you guys a list of places that
you can get involved in, places you can volunteer, because
what are the three T s time, talent, and treasure. Right,
(05:09):
So I have a lot of treasure. I'm willing to
share that. Some people just have time and some people
just have talent, and whatever you have to contribute is worthwhile.
So nothing is insurmountable, I would say, I would say
that we can always do something a little bit more
than we're doing. Um, So, tell us about the situation
of the camps. Why is it so exaggerated? Now? Why
(05:29):
does Donald Trump keep playing Obama for these camps when
Obama did never had a baby in a cage. That
just never happened under any leader in the history, well
actually not in this country, but okay, for what we're
talking about, right, So, I think there's a very big
difference between the Obama administration and the Trump administration. Although
we do know that during the Obama administration there were
(05:50):
many deportations of individuals, especially Central American immigrants. That the
one of the biggest differences during this administration is the
fact that Trump is not respecting the international right to
apply for asylum, and that has been an attack since
the very beginning into thousand and sixteen, not allowing these
Central American migrants to come request asylum, which is a
(06:10):
universal right and so many other countries respect that, and
then instead really making it difficult and putting more and
more barriers for them to to achieve that asylum, and
so folks are then sent to detention centers and families
are held together and for longer periods of time, instead
of looking into alternatives to detention, and instead of investing
money in programs to integrate these new arriving and right
(06:34):
right for these children, he doesn't want them to learn exactly,
and and that is super intentional. This is this is
part of a strategy to really deter migration. And that's
something that we keep at Chaerila. We keep telling the
community is this is not an accident. This is not
something that he's trying to achieve just for himself. He's
really trying to show the rest of the folks that
are trying to come here, we don't want you, We
(06:56):
don't want you in this country. And that's something very
very heartbreaking, um, because so many of these people are
coming with families literally just looking for a better life,
literally coming here to escape violence and persecution, and to
know that this government does not respect that and is
not trying to help them is just something very unbelievable
or for people to prematurely be calling these people criminals
(07:16):
before these people are fighting for their lives. They don't
deserve to be here because they became here illegally. If
you came here illegally on that journey, you had no
other choice. No one one wants to put their children's
lives at risk, no one. I'm not a mother, and
I know that I don't want to put any child's
life at risk. So we've had seven children die, right yeah.
And and it's the very very difficult thing about that
(07:38):
is that we know that there have been people that
are unnamed, unidentified that had died while crossing the border
in the past recent months, in the years, and and
folks are dying in the detention centers as well, and
we don't know, We really just don't know the extent
to how people are suffering in all these different places
because there's no transparency from the Department of Home in Security,
which is the agency that oversees these attention centers. There
(08:00):
is no effort to highlight the conditions on their part,
there's no effort to improve the conditions on their part,
and so there are just people all over the country
at the southern border, but also all over the country
that are experiencing absolutely in humane conditions, and that is
something that we're really trying to highlight through our work.
Do you guys know what a regular day in the
life of somebody in one of the insane clint the
(08:21):
one on the Texan border, right, It's just hell's hell
on earth. And what's so painful is that everything that
we're seeing, the images that are that are we're seeing
daily on the television about the border quote unquote crisis
was created by Trump. We know that there is zero
migration net migration from Mexico, so building something like a wall,
(08:42):
which is incredibly expensive and ineffective, but it also fits
Trump's narrative, which creates fear and disdain for immigrants, and
we know that as part of his political theater um,
Trump has moved a mix of cruelty and inefficiency to
create a bottleneck of moms and dads and kids coming
from some America. We are seeking safety in our country,
(09:02):
and they're seeking asylum, which we know is their legal
right under both of US law and international law. But
the reality is the fastest growing and documented migration comes
from people who overstay their visas UM and we unless
we look at root causes, which we know is violence
against women and girls in Central America visa backlogs even
in our own system, we won't solve the problem. So
we know that the wall is bad policy. We know
(09:24):
that these detention centers, these camps are bad policy, and
he's using these ideas to divide and distract us with
a super racist narrative that riled up his base. And
just to clarify, how long have these clamps existed in
the United States? So since the Department of Homeland Security
was created in two thousand and three, and I'm not
sure what the I n S, the Immigration Naturalization Services
(09:45):
did before that, but ever since two thousand and three,
the Department of Homeland Security has operated um these kinds
of detention centers, either at the southern border or in
the interior of the United States. So I think it's
important to remind people in the United States that when
folks are arrested by eyes in inside the country, for
example in Los Angeles, they are sent to a detention center,
and the closest detention center here is at a length
(10:07):
on So these detention centers all operate very similarly. In
the way that they have horrible conditions, that there's just
no respect for the folks that are inside, and that
they're there. The conditions are so horrible that there have
been numerous reports written about them, and so it's it's
really important that we talk about those two. Okay, we're
gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back.
(10:29):
And I've heard and read that these children have um
family members and to go to, but are still being
detained just out of cruelty and and red tape. But
there was no plan in place to reunite any of
these kids with their families initially, right that infrastructure that
was not was non existent. So essentially what this government
(10:50):
did is they separated families with absolutely no plan to
reunite them, which is not what Obama did. Right, It's
just unbel It's such a new level of cruelty and
and we're now just finding out about that, and it's
it's just absolutely it's going to take so much work
to heal the trauma with all the people that have
experienced that separation and create policies that make it so
(11:13):
that that never happens again. But it's just unbelievable that
this was never the plan. It was never the plan
to reunite these families. This was just something again to
show the rest of the world that the United States
is not willing to accept asylum seekers and refugees well
brown ones. Yes, exactly, And that's a very important point.
Like our kind of was saying, it's very important to
highlight the racism of this. This Trump is not having
(11:33):
this kind of attitude towards European people coming here and
overseeing their visas. He doesn't highlight those folks. He's highlighting
specifically Central American immigrants that are coming. And one of
the reasons why they're coming to the United States is
because the conditions in their countries are so horrible and
a lot of that is due to US intervention. So
a lot of these problems are very connected, and it
(11:54):
it does not make sense to shun refugees and asylum seekers. Instead,
it makes sense to integrate folks that are literally running
for their lives, trying to make a better place for
themselves in this country. Migration is not going to stop.
It's not going to get less. They are going to
be more and more and more people coming to the
United States, especially given that we have climate change in
global crisis, We're going to have more people migrating to
(12:14):
the United States for the conditions, and so we really
have to as a country, except that our current policies
are not sufficient enough. We need to change it so
that we can integrate folks and give them services instead
of shunning them, to build a fuller society, you know,
to build a fair and equal society so people feel
like they can get here the same way all of
our ancestors got here. So, yes, what I was saying
(12:37):
before the Trump administration announced last month that they would
no longer provide legal aid, English classes and recreational programs
for unaccompanied miners in government custody. So that's one thing.
And then I wanted to talk a little bit about
what this Julie Sharon did. Do you know her? Yes,
I do, so then you know what she did. She
was looking for ways to contribute, and she had um
(13:01):
bank account that her grandparents, who were spent years in
Nazi camps, had left for her, and she decided that
she wanted to use that money to bail out an
asylum seeker. So she called a friend who ran a
volunteer organization called Immigrant Families Together, which are dedicated to
providing food, clothing, airline tickets and other necessities to migrants
(13:22):
as they come out of detention. And then she said,
I need to know I got one person out, and
she did get one person out, and then a lot
of people followed suit and did what she did. The
airline tickets, people can donate their miles. That's right, So
how did somebody go about doing that right? Immigrant Families
together as a great organization. We've partnered with them UM
a couple of times, and I think one way is
(13:45):
to go on the website to see the different ways
that you can donate UM. It's very There's also another
UM organization called Miles for Migrants, and that's another place
where folks can donate UM their their miles airline miles
so that people can have plane tickets to their final
destination in the United States. Additionally, also UM one way
to really help, and I think Immigrant Families also does
this is through bond money, collecting enough bond money UM
(14:07):
so that folks can be bailed out of detention centers.
And at Cherila we also have a bond fund UM.
If you go on Cherola dot org you can donate
to that bond fund, and that directly goes to folks
that are in detention to try to we try to
get them bonded out so that their family doesn't have
to worry about providing that additional money, because it's it's
one thing to be separated from your family member, but
it's a whole another thing to lose thousands of dollars
(14:30):
because they're in detention, and so that just puts an
enormous long term strain on the family and that's something
that we really don't want folks to have to deal with,
So we we really try to raise a lot of
money for that bond fund for our immigration attorneys. Yes,
and there are some also local organizations. Um there's Las
Americas and El Paso and they provide legal services to migrants.
A lot of these local organizations really need the support.
(14:51):
So if you're somebody who can donate like a hundred
dollars or you know, a hundred and fifty dollars anything
at all, then then it's good to support these local
agencies because they are on the ground and they know
what needs immediate attention. And then in Mexico there's one
called Alterro Lado, which provides legal services in Tijuana, UH
And they're both small organizations doing incredible work. So this
(15:12):
is another place you can give. One of the things
that's so incredible about Julie Sharon's story is that she's
an everyday person, and everyday people can be heroes. UM.
That includes giving your time, it includes giving your money,
it includes um spending a little bit of time, UM
calling your elected official and demanding that they closed the
camps up. And I just think that there's a whole
(15:34):
bunch of things that can be happening. And despite the
pain and the cruelty, the chaos and the trauma that
the Trump administration is creating, there's all these bright spots
that are happening. I mean, look at you, You're having
us on your having us to have a conversation about immigration.
And so I just think that there's there's little things
that you can be doing by donating five dollars. There's
medium things that you can be doing by going to
Protect Immigrant Families dot org. And then there's bigger things
(15:56):
that you can doing, which is to bail out women
MS kids at a detention centers. Is there a way
to sponsor an adult? Yes, I think there are a
couple of different ways, and I would defer maybe if
you're an attorney to go into more detail. But um,
we do have folks, for example, through our ELI rd's
Rapid Response Network that volunteer to sponsor individuals once they're
(16:17):
released from detention. So that means like giving them a
place to stay. Um, how does that? So? I think
it's it's a pretty complicated process, I believe, and they're
will not complicated, but there does need to be paperwork
done and you do need to work with the attorney
for example, that's something that is representing the asylum seeker
in order to make everything a smooth transition. Um. But
I recommend if folks are interested in becoming sponsors, definitely
(16:39):
reaching out to organizations like Cheerlau, CHEERLA, other legal organizations
that provide support to immigrants and detention. Those attorneys will
be able to guide you into the process to become
a sponsor. They will give you every single step. Um.
And that is a really big need because after someone
is released from detention, it doesn't it doesn't just end there.
They need a place to stay, they need support with food,
with transportation, and so becoming a sponsor is a great
(17:01):
way to support individuals and I know people personally who
have done it and it's just such a beautiful thing
to see. And does milk help with that too? Is
that something? So the National Immigration Law Center, one of
the things that we do is UM do. We do
lots of know your Rights trainings UM, and we make
sure that everyone UM has an understanding of what their
rights are. So there are in the words of Mr Rodgers,
look for the helpers. There are so many opportunities to
(17:23):
help UM. And so perhaps what might be helpful is
if we put together a list for you that you
might be able to share. We're going to link to
all the organizations that we've discussed on the show UM
in the podcast or on the podcast and on all platforms.
So don't worry. I know most of you are driving well.
I would like to go back and kind of here.
So once either someone has been detained at the border
(17:44):
or arrested and sent to a detention center, they're placed
in the facility for X amount of time. This is
what I think a lot of people have a hard
time understanding. Is they're there, how long are they there for?
What is the process too? So they're applying for asylum
once they're in the center, and then they have to
receive bond or pay bond to be released. Correct, Am
I on the right path? So and and our purposes,
(18:05):
but I'm not I'm not an immigration attorney, so so
you so you can help me out then, um. But
in terms of just very generally, and and we we
have a lot of immigration attorneys that we work with
and folks that have actually gone down to Tijuana and
have sort of like observed the situation. But I think
what's important to understand is that CBP, which is the
Customs and Border Patrol, they're actually holding people for longer
(18:29):
than they should And I supposed to be in a
cell for like twenty or something like forty two hours
or seventy hours, whatever it is, they're helding them way
beyond that that's supposed to be the man maximum amount
of time they're supposed to be held. And I think
that's the takeaway. That's the takeaway that folks need to understand,
is that this agency is not operating the way that
it should be. And what was what is really painful
(18:51):
to hear is that this agency, specifically Border Patrol, constantly
says we need more money we need more money to
have better conditions. We need more money so we can
release people on time. The fact is the Department of
Home and Security gets so much money, billions of dollars
every year. Their budget has been increasing, and most recently
they received four point six billion dollars. Congress approved that
and without any accountability mechanisms or oversight mechanisms, and so
(19:13):
they're getting so much money, but the money is not
going into better conditions. And I think that's very important
for people to realize they're not using that to make
sure that people are are let out on time. Instead,
what they're using that for is more space and and
really just enforcement as well, because that money goes to
that exactly, and profit and and private companies operate the
detention centers within the interior of the United States. Atalanta
(19:34):
was operated by the Geo Group, which is a private company,
which makes it even harder to get information and even
harder to have transparency. And that's just something that's literally
where the money is going. And we really want people
to understand that, and we we actually like like our
kind of saying, we do have the opportunity to change that.
In California, half of California House Democrats voted to give
four point six billion dollars to the Department of Homeland Security,
(19:56):
half of California Democrats. And so this is an issue
on both sides of the aisle, and us as constituents
really have to urge our members of Congress and the
Democrats not to support any additional funding, especially when there's
no accountability attached to it. And that was something very
very difficult to see is that this this money four
point six billion dollars essentially can be transferred within the
(20:16):
Department of Homeland Security to enforcement operations. So recently we
heard about the threats of ice coming into these cities
like Los Angeles and arresting hundreds of people. That is
only possible with the money that they're getting. If we
really defund the Department of Homeland Security, these kinds of
massive operations and threats are no longer possible, and that's
something all of us can do to change. Okay, so
what I mean, but how how do we defund the DHS? Right,
(20:39):
so we know that I believe it's twenty four House
Democrats that voted to give more money. What we're doing
through our Rapid Response network is We're going to be
meeting with congressional members throughout the month of August because
the budget fight happens in August, and we're going to
have people meet with them, first to thank the folks
that did not vote for the four points expillience, but
all then at the same time to keep the people
who did a acountable and to really explain the education
(21:02):
needs to be done that this is where the money
is going. The money is going not to the border,
not to make sure conditions are better, but instead to
make enforcement more, to make enforcement larger, and to have
more detention centers. And so all of us can call
our members of Congress. There's a list of the people
that did vote for that four points experience. So I
urge everybody that's that's listening to really afterwards look up
to see if your congress member did actually vote for
(21:24):
the four point six supplemental request and give them a
contellent that's unacceptable, and explain why it's because that money
is not going to better conditions. That money is literally
going to these threats, to these ice rates. And so
that's something everybody can do. One of the things I
think is really important is for all of us to
really educate ourselves. And for so long Americans have seen
immigration as a domestic policy issue, and I think Donald
(21:45):
Trump wants us to see the manufactured crisis on the
border as a domestic policy issue. But I think it's
really important for us a better understand that it's a
foreign policy you as we shared UM, and we have
to understand why people migrate, which is predominantly because of
climate change, economic inequality, and violence, especially in Central America.
And so I think that we're not going to address
(22:06):
root causes of white people migrate through detention camps. We're
not going to address the root causes through a wall,
and we're not going to address root causes through raids,
which is purely performative. And at the end of the day,
I think we need a broad menu of policies that
improve the lives of immigrants and deep investment into Central
America like the Martiall Plan after World War to the
United States did a huge investment back into Western Europe
(22:29):
and specifically Germany. And so there are incredible policy opportunities
to get involved. There's ways to activate UM your own
community by bailing out folks, by donating in your miles,
UM to being a helper and um serving as Yeah,
just serving us, like a really excellent person that doesn't
perpetuate bad information as well, and racist information as well.
So I guess the first thing is don't be a racist.
(22:52):
Trying not to be a racist. Let's everybody start there. Well,
I think that's what's really hard for someone I've had
to totally tune out the news is there's so much
information that you don't know. I'm on the treadmill at
the gym and there's Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and you're
watching their music. The music they put to the news. Now,
it sounds like a shooting spree. It's so un it's
like the the the you know, Fox News, Amazon, it's
(23:16):
all too much. It's you know, it's and it's unpleasant.
It's just harsh and and it's dark. And there's great
things happening in the world. There's everything from Julie Sharon
bailing at immigrants, and there's also wonderful things that are
happening at the state and local level. Our governor. Governor
is doing incredible work to improve the lives of of
immigrants right now. But yeah, and I just I want
(23:37):
to be I want to be a person. That's part
of the solution, you know what I mean. I want
to be doing something and I want to do more.
And I had a group of friends over last week
to discuss, you know, like actionable things we can do, boycotts.
What do we do? Do we boycott Amazon? Do we
does everybody commit not to buy gas for a day
until these babies are out of cages and reunited with
their families? What do we do? What will have an impact?
(23:58):
And you know what we can't kept coming back to is,
first of all, how can any mother be okay with
this happening in your country? That's right, Like we're supposed
to be looking out for other people's kids, not just
our own. And then the second part is religion. How
can they co opt religion and and do this in
the name of religion and pretend that this is a
(24:20):
Christian way. This is not Christianity, this isn't any religion.
And what we were thinking, what has been a lot
of people have said, had this idea is to you know,
really magnify that with images, with having all different sorts
of religious leaders go down to the border, have a
big event, have a huge concert, and have them set
standing there with toothbrushes and out and blankets and all
(24:41):
the things that babies need, not being allowed to go
in and being denied to help these little innocent children
who have nothing, have done nothing wrong, um And I
think that's powerful. So, I mean there's so many organizations
on the ground. If you're one and you're listening, please
get in touch with me. Everybody knows how to get
in touch with me, um be because we want to
(25:01):
align with other groups that are doing stuff and we
want to create a big movement or whether it's a
social media movement. I know a lot of people are
already working on this, So it would be great to
join forces with somebody who's got a great idea and
just needs more amplification because so many people just can't
move about their day in a normal way because of this. Okay,
well this sounds like a good time to take a break. Well,
(25:25):
so we we've covered a lot of ways that people
can help, and like Chelsea said, well link to all those.
But is there an outlet or a resource that people
can use to get the most accurate information because, like
I said, there's so much that on the television that
you're watching, or so many tweets that you see, like
what is a very digestible either website or outlet that
people can look to for accurate information of what's going
(25:45):
on at the border camps. Right. So, actually, NILK, the
National Immigration Law Center, is amazing. It has an amazing
UM website with a bunch of resources explaining the different
policy changes and the legal background of all these all
these policies, and it's just very helpful I think for
folks to to go on the website and then learn
a little bit more about the background and what this means.
(26:07):
What is what is the result of for example, like
Trump UM restricting asylum, Like recently last week you mentioned
that he's going to make it even harder for folks
to apply for asylum. How is that going to affect people?
What are what are the legal what's the legal background
for that? I think NEILK is a really good source
of that. Also, UM the i l r C, which
is the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, is a very great
UM resource. I use it all the time when I'm
(26:28):
trying to really understand policies and UM changes in the law.
And so I recommend those two specific places absolutely agree.
And next Twitter handle is at an I ll SEE,
which stands for the National Immigration Law Center. We have
a huge team UM that is making sure that everyone
that wants to be updated and informed can be updated
and informed. Great, thank you, Brandon. Do you have anything
(26:50):
else you UM? I think like one of the common
questions for people who are not politically savvy is how
do we address what people on both sides of I'll
say that we need border control, anyone should be able
to get in. How do we do that appropriately? Like,
what is the response to that? There are other countries
(27:10):
that have UM systems where when someone does migrate there,
it's not a matter of them being detained, but rather
they are integrated into a case management system where they're
given the resources and the information to properly live at
that in in that country, meaning that they're getting information
on where to get food, where to go to school,
all of that is being facilitated by case workers. And
(27:32):
I think that that's something that we should really as
a country UM dedicate our money too, because instead of
what we're doing currently is really dehumanizing people that are
coming here, making them feel that they're not wanted, that
they shouldn't have come here. And I think the answer
to that could be to have a very robust case
management system where we are really trying to provide as
much social services and information to people that are coming
(27:54):
here so they can live their lives, they can get
a foot in the door. Um. And I think that
is absolutely possible. I think, of course, looking at the
way things are now, it seems very unlikely that that's
going to happen sometime in the future. But I think
us as a country, we really need to start looking
at putting our money into systems that really integrate people.
And I think that there are many ways to do it. Um. There.
I'm sure there are policymakers that have been um fiddling
(28:16):
with those ideas for a long time. And so I'd
be interested to see the next presidential candidate, the next
person that that takes office, really try to employ those
kinds of strategies of integration into the border. Might be
interested to see that. And just in terms of the election,
I really think that because we're in the fight for
the soul of our country, Americans are really hungry for
an inclusive vision of our country, and that's rooted in
(28:38):
our cherished values of belonging and thriving and the opportunity
to get ahead, and so I'm really excited about But
people believe that that only belongs to the people that
are already in this country, and some people believe that
is only a white person's privilege. That's right, which is
what we have to organize. You have to get the
word out and we have to call our members of Congress.
(28:58):
They work for us, and we have the Donald Trump
Vata office in November. Well, to your point about the election,
are there specific candidates that you've seen who how policy
in place or could have policy in place for the
immigration issue. Who are those candidates that people should be
looking to personally? Democrats, Yes, start there, that's a given.
(29:22):
I think UM. Personally, it's been very great. It's been
really great to see Julian Gastro really highlight immigration as
a priority in his policy platform, and I really recommend
people to go to his website and to look, really
look and read um the policy platform that he has
for immigration, because it is all about reducing our dependence
(29:42):
on detaining folks. It's really about that integration process and
trying to provide resources to immigrants instead of treating them
like criminals and trying to make the system so difficult
for folks to get a foot in the door. So
I think it's been really great to see him really
highlight that UM during the debates and UM within his
his policy plot from so I'm interested to see UM
where that goes moving forward. I agree, And I also
(30:04):
think that all the candidates can go further to advance
a bold vision. At the end of the day, I
think that Americans really want to be done with this,
the Trump's vision of distraction and hate, and so we're
just looking for someone with an alternative. Change is super
possible when we get loud and we get organized, things change.
(30:24):
When we organized, we win. And so I just feel
really strongly that when we come together. So about last summer,
an organization and called Hand in Hand organized these playdate
protests where a whole bunch of parents and their kids
went to ICE offices around the country. There's one in
downtown l A. And I took my daughter too, and
then we did another protests on Valentine's Day. She poor kids,
(30:44):
She's always like, happy Valentine's Day. We're going to a protest.
I'm like, yes, kid, of yes, we are. It's better
than celebrating Valence, I think. So I think so, but
what's fascinating is that Mom's parents, um aunts, UM, they
came together and it was getting really really we were
getting loud, and then you see the effects of us
getting loud, and then Donald Trump will shifted his behavior.
(31:05):
So I just think that when we get together and
we organize and we show up, we show up at
these centers, we show up at our congress members um offices,
when we show up together UM at the protests, people
are listening and people really care. And when I mean people,
I mean the elected officials that we pay. Because right
now the numbers at around fifty thousand, is that accurate
for the folks that are detained. It actually fluctuates even
(31:28):
even above fifty thou um. The last UM average daily
population that I've heard of was actually fifty four thousand.
So and the thing is, I think again, this is
another very specifically we need to highlight, is that DHS
is not supposed to be detaining that many people. They
only have money to detain around forty four thousand people.
That was the money that Congress allocated to them for
(31:49):
the last fiscal year. And so it just shows that
this this this agency is not even obeying the rules
set forth by Congress. It's not um detaining the number
of people that it should be detaining, it's actually detaining more.
And so that's right. So that's it. But but that
goes to their argument for needing more funds, which you said,
we don't want to give them, right, right. But the
problem is is that they they're asking for more funds,
they're getting more detention space, and the conditions are just horrible,
(32:12):
and they're just and honestly getting worse and worse and worse.
We're seeing more reports, more pictures, more news about just
how horrible life is inside those detention centers. So it's
when they use that argument, it to me, it's just
a matter of trying to place the blame on something else.
They're not using this this money to make the conditions
better or to fix the solution, to really get to
the core root of the problem and fix the solution
(32:33):
to make integration possible. Instead, they're just using this as
a way to get more and more money. One of
the things that's been terrible is that when everyone is
paying attention to Donald Trump's Twitter, his minions are quietly
taking our wrecking ball to the legal, entirely lawful immigration system,
and it's going almost entirely unnoticed. And so the Trump
(32:53):
administration is actually in its final stages of changing our
immigration rules in a way that will affect millions of
lawfully residents and their and their families by imposing a
wealth test um to make the road to citizenship impossible
for anyone that struggles to make ends meet. So the
story about so many of our families, not all, but
so many of our families that have come over with
(33:14):
five dollars in their pocket, Um, that's gonna absolutely change
if you only have five dollars in your pocket, if
you're the next entrepreneur, Um, you're going to be a
black from coming to this country because of this racial
wealth test. And so this regulation change that's going to
impact twenty six million people. And we actually think that
this regulation change, which is called public charge um, but
it really is the lynchpin in Trump's very xenophobic agenda.
(33:37):
And he's using this back to our regulatory approach because
he couldn't get it done in Congress. And so that's
the one thing I wanted to just like pay attention,
what can we do about that? I am so excited
because there's this incredible website that allows you to take
action called protect Immigrant Families dot org. Okay, well that's
a good one. And what did they do obviously protecting
(33:57):
family exactly. That's the best part when a website is
actually indicative of what we're trying to do. So there's
opportunities to light when the when the rule is going
to come out, there's going to be an opportunity to
really push and let members of Congress know and are
you allowed to I mean, is that something where you
can actually go in and help, like one family know
that you've done it instead of giving to an organization
that's distributing it at their own accord or is that
(34:19):
what kind of organization is So protect Immigrant Families as
a campaign to prestend that rule that's going to impact
twenty six million people. But the other organizations that we
talked about, including Immigrant Families to take out, there are
places that you can go to sponsor a person, so
to help a individual and then if you won't create
a kind of a bond and a relationship with them,
(34:40):
or you can just be like, here's some money. Yeah,
I would like that. I would like I mean, i'd
have some someone stay in my house for sure, you're amazing. No,
but I would. I have a big house, I don't
have to teach other and I'm never and I'm never there,
so it's perfect. I mean there's always someone that's did
you know? I want to say, Kristin Bell. Did you
see her? She she bailed out an asylum seeker for
(35:01):
her birthday last year and she was just recently released.
And so let's get used at up. I want to
do that. For sure. We're going to have a winter
birthday my birthday. I don't have to do it for
my birthday. We could just do it, but sure my
birthday February. Everyone should know that. Anyway, right Brandon, Right,
mind's coming up to Umber thirteen. So maybe we'll get
you a new roommate. Oh yeah, dual birthday gift or
(35:24):
what for you and for me? Okay, We're going to
do what we can on our end, and I will
keep everybody posted if there is some something that you
can be part of that. I start and thank you, ladies,
thank you for coming in today. I really appreciate it.
Thank you. Life will be the Death of Me as
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
I Heart Radio, visit the i heart radio, app, Apple podcasts,
(35:45):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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