Immigration in the Trump Era: A big picture conversation
Donald Trump said immigration was his No. 1 issue. So, let's talk about it. A big picture podcast discussion with immigration attorneys Gabriela Parra and Kevin Layde, and guest co-host Angela Lang.
The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th president last week, and with that inauguration came a flurry of activity, perhaps most notably on the issue of immigration. One report said Donald Trump characterized immigration as his No. 1 issue in his 2024 campaign, ahead of even the economy.
So, we want to talk more about immigration. But part of having this conversation means separating some of the rhetoric from the reality, and talking about what is actually happening on this issue. Because on balance, this can all be pretty discombobulating.
Joining us to help us recombobulate and make sense of the issues are our guests for this episode, Gabriela Parra and Kevin Layde, managing partners at the Layde & Parra immigration law firm. Angela Lang, executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, joins as co-host.
Topics discussed include:
Changes on immigration policy, from Trump's first term, through the Biden presidency, to now
Making sense of Trump's actions on immigration and birthright citizenship
Legal immigration: How can people come to America and follow the rules (and why is that more complicated — and difficult — than it seems)?
What should people know about ICE in Milwaukee?
Listen to the show as a podcast here on The Recombobulation Area’s official podcast feed.
You can also watch the full episode as a video embedded below on YouTube or here on Substack.
Podcast produced by Jess Plotkin-Sell for Civic Media.
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he became the Political Editor of Civic Media. He’s also written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 18 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer and at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social.