Open Arms, Closed Borders and the Future of America’s Immigration Myth

With climate change, the global rise in xenophobia and nationalism, increasing economic disenfranchisement, and rampant disinformation that amplifies “othering,” America’s immigration system is crashing towards catastrophe. The debate about who belongs in America mirrors our national polarization and cuts through social and political spaces. This discussion focused on America’s long-standing, if aspirational, identity of protecting and advancing immigrant human rights, the useful myth of this identity, and whether a new isolationism is destined to replace it. WNYC’s Arun Venugopal moderated a conversation with Latinx artist, film director, author Paola Mendoza; and New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Murad Awawdeh.
Recorded May 8, 2023.