Hiroshi Motomura, Author at Public Seminar

Podcast

Immigration Detention

Season 2, Episode 5

March 27, 2026 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Hiroshi Motomura

Guests Mekela A. Goehring (Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network) and Laura P. Lunn (Director of Advocacy & Litigation, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network) join the Unsettled hosts in a conversation about immigration detention in the second Trump administration. The administration has been greatly expanding detention facilities by buying ...

Podcast

Rights in the Era of ICE Raids

Season 2, Episode 4

February 26, 2026 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Hiroshi Motomura

In this episode, guest Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director of ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, joins the Unsettled hosts in discussing immigration enforcement in the United States from the perspective of civil liberties, assessing the broader implications of contemporary enforcement practices for constitutional rights and the rule of law.

Podcast

“I’m an Immigration Lawyer. Trump Is Shattering My Clients’ Lives.”

Season 2: Episode 3

January 29, 2026 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Hiroshi Motomura

Please note: This episode begins with a discussion of the events in Minneapolis, but was recorded prior to the January 24, 2026, shooting of Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis, MN.

“I’m an Immigration Lawyer. Trump Is Shattering My Clients’ Lives.”

Podcast

H-1B Visas

Season 2: Episode 2

January 20, 2026 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

David J. Bier, Director of Immigration Studies and the Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy at the Cato Institute, joins Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M. Rodriguez to discuss the implications of 2025 Executive Order on H-1B visas, what might be motivating that Executive Order, and the ins and outs of ...

Podcast

The Trump Administration’s War on Venezuelan Migrants

Season 2: Episode 1

October 24, 2025 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

Jonathan Blitzer, staff writer for The New Yorker, discusses his recent article “Enemies of the State: How the Trump Administration declared war on Venezuelan migrants in the US.” In telling the story of a Venezuelan couple living in Chicago, one of whom was sent to CECOT, the notorious prison in El Salvador, and one ...

The Trump Administration’s War on Venezuelan Migrants

Podcast

The Democrats and Immigration

Episode 10

July 30, 2025 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

However, the Trump administration has overreached. Even among Republicans, the change in sentiment is noteworthy. Can the Democrats can come up with a narrative and a set of policies that can appeal to a wide swath of the American public. But what should those policies be? And can the Democrats shed ...

Podcast

A Quiet Border and the End of Asylum?

Episode 9

July 21, 2025 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

Our guest speakers are Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and Gretchen Kuhner, Director El Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración, a Mexican NGO that seeks to protect the rights of migrant women and families.

Podcast

What’s Happening in Los Angeles?

Episode 8

June 24, 2025 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

Our guest speakers are from UCLA School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy: Ahilan Arulanantham, professor from practice and faculty co-director, and Talia Inlander, the Center’s deputy director.

Podcast

The Role of States and Localities

Episode 7

June 13, 2025 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

This episode explores how state and local governments significantly impact immigrants through policies that either support or resist federal enforcement. Some jurisdictions implement sanctuary measures to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities and promote inclusion, such as offering in-state tuition to undocumented students. Under the Trump administration, there has been ...

Podcast

What of the “Homeless, Tempest Tost”?

Episode 6

May 30, 2025 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

This week, our hosts explore the closing of the US refugee resettlement program, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and the asylum process. Our guest speaker is Mark Hetfield, President of HIAS.

Podcast

Mass Deportation

Episode 5

May 13, 2025 • by T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Hiroshi Motomura and Cristina M Rodríguez

In this episode, the hosts evaluate the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations—their feasibility, legality, and likely consequences—with guest Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council.