With the expiration of Title 42 on May 11, 2023, we thought it apt to share the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver April 30, 2023 episode “Biden and the Border” which examines President Biden’s failure to deliver on a key campaign promise to asylum seekers allowing them back on US soil to file for asylum. The British-American comedian, political commentator, and television host, appropriately notes “we’re just entering a different phase of an immigration dystopia, particularly for asylum seekers.” Mr. Oliver shines a light on the administration’s “bad policy and s*itty apps”, namely the “CBP One” app.
Read morePresident-Elect Joe Biden & Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris
Last Saturday, major news organizations projected that former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris would win the 2020 presidential election. Their election comes after the Trump administration’s unrelenting attacks against immigrants, refugees, and the US immigration system over the last four years. In the coming days, we will be posting more about what changes to US immigration policy and law we might expect under a Biden/Harris administration. In the meantime, many Americans are celebrating this historic victory. Vice President-Elect Harris, the daughter of two immigrants, will be the first woman, the first African American woman, the first Indian American, and the first Asian American to hold the office of Vice President. In her victory speech last Saturday, Vice President-Elect Harris spoke of her mother: “When she came here from India at the age of 19, maybe she didn’t quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible. So, I'm thinking about her and about the generations of women — Black women, Asian, White, Latina, and Native American women throughout our nation's history who have paved the way for this moment tonight.”
This Is Us
As we draw closer to the final tally for the 2020 presidential election and reflect on how our fellow Americans voted, it’s an opportune time to revisit Dr. Eddie Glaude, the Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, speaking about President Donald Trump and racism in the United States. Stay safe, everyone.
Asylum: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
With only a few days left until the conclusion of the 2020 election, John Oliver discusses how the Trump administration has handled asylum seekers over the past four years, noting how the administration has been in this area “truly disciplined about being truly evil.” Oliver discuss how asylum is supposed to work and how the Trump administration has subverted it. He focuses in particular on the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” that the administration instituted that have led to asylum seekers living in makeshift camps in dangerous conditions where migrants face kidnappings and violence and how the administration has “all but shut off the pathway for many asylum seekers to enter the country.” Oliver says: “[T]he asylum process has never been easy, but this administration has made it absolute hell.”
Surfing Beneath the Surface
The Flatiron Building is exhibiting a fascinating new video installation by artist Diana Lehr. Curated by the Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, the video installation sits in the prow of the building on the north side and features a dreamlike leaf floating on a surface of water. The videos have the feel of a graphic novel, as the description notes, and it was lovely to get lost in the beautiful colors and movement for a few minutes one morning on our commute this week. Lehr is known for bringing into “view micro-realities and things that often go unnoticed” and in incorporating “illusion and the defining line between what is real and what is not[.]” Her work is in numerous private and corporate collections and has been exhibited in New Orleans, San Diego, Philadelphia, Seattle, NYC, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. It’s the perfect antidote for this cold weather!
Year of the Pig
One of our favorite Lunar New Year exhibits is the incredible Zodiac Spectacular at the Atrium at Crown Towers in Melbourne, Australia. This display features large-scale luminous animals of the Chinese zodiac. In honor of the Lunar New Year on February 5, the Atrium also features daily performances during the first ten days of this month by a lion dance team to “chase away evil spirits.” (There is also a Hawker-style food market with roving entertainers along the Crown Riverwalk and a fireworks display on February 9.) Back here in New York City, revelers can celebrate with the annual Firecracker Ceremony in Roosevelt Park on February 5 and the famous New Year Parade and Festival in Chinatown on February 17. Feng Shui Master Marites Allen has forecasts and advice for the Year of Pig: “Possible upheavals may happen as economies of certain countries may be largely disrupted due to changes in rules and market conditions.” And: “Be more considerate, understanding and avoid discussions that could lead to you being misinterpreted. Display your peace and harmony emblems at home.” Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Last Week Tonight: Family Separation
John Oliver recently examined the Trump administration family separation policy on his show. While noting that “immigration has been dominating the news all week long, as a caravan of migrants from Central America continues to head north,” he focused on the family separation policy, which has “faded from the headlines.” Oliver looked at the incompetence and miscommunication between government agencies that resulted in children getting lost in the system as well as parents being removed from the US without their children. Demonstrating the devastating human cost of the family separation policy, he played footage from an investigation by The Atlantic showing a traumatized boy crying, angry at his mother because he thinks she doesn’t love him. “This separation was so long,” the mother said in the footage. “My son has changed so much. With so much trauma.” Oliver, concerned that family separation may happen again, concluded: “I would argue the biggest threat to our status as the greatest nation on earth is not a caravan a thousand miles south of us it’s whoever thinks doing this is an acceptable f—king response.”
Have an Ace Labor Day!
It's the US Open again and time for all things tennis (and Roger Federer!). This week I was at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens when the five-time US Open champion delivered fourteen aces (including the one above) and defeated Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets. Roger (we're on a first name basis) continued his success in US Open night matches, notching another record: the most wins without a loss in the first round of the US Open by any man in the Open Era (since 1968), according to ESPN. In total, Roger has eighty-three career wins at the US Open, putting him 2nd behind Jimmy Connors (who had ninety-eight). Just some fun facts as you go into the long weekend. Go Roger! And Happy Labor Day!
USCIS and the Legacy of Ellis Island
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a new short documentary, titled USCIS and the Legacy of Ellis Island, about the history of Ellis Island as an immigrant processing station. The video tells the story of the federal immigration service on Ellis Island and its employees who processed over twelve million immigrants from 1892 to 1954. Featuring interviews from historians, National Park Service rangers, and an archived interview from a worker at this iconic immigration station, the documentary tells the story of Ellis Island from the perspective of those who worked there. “USCIS holds a distinctive place in history for its role in processing immigrants into the fabric of our nation,” USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna said at the premiere to agency employees. “It remains an undisputable fact that America is a nation of immigrants. As employees, we all have an essential duty in honoring and preserving that legacy.”
John Oliver on America's Immigration Courts
HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” aired a comedic but insightful segment on the injustices and absurdities of US immigration courts. The segment covers various topics including the burdensome task that immigrants face of representing themselves in immigration court if they cannot afford a lawyer, the years-long case backlog, and what happens to asylum applicants who don't win their case. He takes especially sharp aim at the assertion that child immigrants can understand immigration law well enough to effectively represent themselves in court without a lawyer. To this end, he features clips from attorney Amy Maldonado's interviews of toddlers responding to basic biographical and immigration-related questions. To one inquiry about designating a country of removal, Lilah, who is about three or four years old, says: pizza!