Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 5h

Hannah Arendt, out here writing as if she were alive today and watching America descend further into darkness.

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 8h

Pecha Kucha: Involving Students in the Classroom by Kit Johnson.

immprof.com/pecha-kucha-...

Pecha Kucha: Involving Students in the Classroom

This summer, immprof Beth Zilberman introduced me to an amazing teaching tool: Pecha Kucha. Pecha Kucha is a presentation format involving a slide deck with 20 slides each of which is visible for 20…

immprof.com

Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Shelley Krause 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @butwait.bsky.social · 12h

Listen to the voices of families being torn apart by this administration's draconian practices.

Then tell these stories to anyone who will listen.

Hell, tell them to people who seem like they don't want to listen.

Call your electeds, make a plan to get into the streets for #NoKings on 10/18...

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

I've never seen anything like this in the history of American Families United. 💔

Please read this heartbreaking story of one of our deeply loved members and leaders, Julie Moreno, who just landed back in New Jersey this afternoon from a trip to Mexico.

Here's her story... 🧵 (Then please amplify.)

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 12h

Migration Policy Institute: Trump Administration’s Expansion of Fast-Track Deportation Powers Is Transforming Immigration Enforcement

immprof.com/migration-po...

Migration Policy Institute: Trump Administration’s Expansion of Fast-Track Deportation Powers Is Transforming Immigration Enforcement

Muzaffar Chishti and Kathleen Bush-Joseph for the Migration Policy Institute look at the Trump administration's expansion of expedited removal. The article reviews the history of expedited removal…

immprof.com

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S Citizen Julie Moreno Returned to the United States Today, Preparing for Years of Separation from Her Husband Now in Mexico

Full press release below.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

Please share this story to that we can raise urgent awareness about this issue. And if you or someone you know is in a situation similar to Julie, please reach out to American Families United for support from people who truly understand what you're going through - and can help.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

AFU is made up of couples just like Julie and Nef. We know what these families go through.

But we’ve never seen anything like this.

Ever.

We desperately need Americans on both sides of the aisle to sit up and pay attention to the harm we are doing to citizens and their spouses.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

Julie is not the only AFU member grappling with this decision. Many of our members are forced to consider family separation like Julie and Nef.

Some are even choosing to leave the country with their spouses and live abroad due to the lack of legal pathways for their husbands and wives.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

All we want is for families in the United States to be together, for our family to be together. I love this country, but I don’t recognize it anymore. I feel like I’m being pushed out, as well. My relationship with this country feels like a one way street.”

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

After landing at Newark Airport, Julie said “I am relieved for his sake. But now that I’m back in the United States, I have no idea what my life will be like without him everyday. I know that we made the right decision, but in my gut I also feel really angry.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

Before Nef relocated to Mexico last week—a process sometimes called self-deportation—the couple had been pursuing ways for Nef, who has no criminal history, to get legal status. But the immigration system left them with no options.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

“Nef is a generous and devoted husband. We’re different in a lot of ways, but we agree on what’s right and wrong. And he always puts me first,” Julie said.

(photo from their goodbye at airport in MX this morning)

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

Contrary to popular myth, marrying a citizen does not guarantee someone a green card or a pathway to citizenship, forcing couples to decide between living in fear or living apart.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

Julie and Nef, who have been married for nearly a decade, are just one of over a million mixed-status couples in the United States—couples where one person is a U.S. citizen and the other person could face sudden deportation.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

“As a citizen, I was living under constant threat by my own government, and I can see the human rights abuses of people like my husband,” Julie said. “I no longer feel free in my own country and I was worried above all about Nef’s safety.”

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

Julie Moreno returned from Mexico today after spending the past week helping her husband, Nef, relocate to Mexico rather than live in constant fear of arrest, prolonged detention, and forced deportation.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ashley DeAzevedo @afuashley.bsky.social · 15h

I've never seen anything like this in the history of American Families United. 💔

Please read this heartbreaking story of one of our deeply loved members and leaders, Julie Moreno, who just landed back in New Jersey this afternoon from a trip to Mexico.

Here's her story... 🧵 (Then please amplify.)

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 18h

DAVID BACON: FARMWORKERS AND DEPORTEES - SURVIVAL IS RESISTANCE, Photos

immprof.com/david-bacon-...

DAVID BACON: FARMWORKERS AND DEPORTEES - SURVIVAL IS RESISTANCE, Photos

The photographs in this story document the work and unique culture of indigenous farmworkers from southern Mexico who are now employed in farms up and down the West Coast. The images also document a…

immprof.com

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 19h

The US gov is partially closed but the aggressive ICE raids in public places continue and National Guard members deployed. Texas and Florida are the states weakening their economies and societies the most by willingly cooperating with ICE, as I told CNÑ. Graphs here from @austinkocher.com dashboard.

Ernesto Castañeda with Hernán Harris CNÑ Primera Mañana desde Buenos Aires, Argentina.

From enforcementdashboard.com showing Texas and Florida with most ICE arrests.

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Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 22h

Admin says 2 million immigrants have been deported or left the US: 400,000 deportations, and that "1.6 million people have decided to leave." But these numbers do not make sense. 🧵

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 20h

Last minute to register! 🚨 In 30 minutes, I'll get the inside story on the resurgence of family detention under the Trump administration with Javier Hidalgo and Faisal Al-Juburi from RAICES Texas.

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 21h

You still have 60 minutes to register! At 1:00 PM, I'll be speaking with Javier Hidalgo and Faisal Al-Juburi from RAICES Texas about the resurgence of family detention under the Trump administration. Bring Qs.

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 21h

At 1:00 PM today, I'll be speaking with Javier Hidalgo and Faisal Al-Juburi from RAICES Texas about the resurgence of family detention under the Trump administration. Don't miss it!

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 22h

Immigration Professor's Blog is BACK. Visit our new home at immprof.com for the latest on immigration law, policy, news, court cases, books, research, and more. It's a great resource going strong for 20 years. 🥳

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 1d

In Conversation with Elliott Young and Seraya Talbott-Carey: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Migration & Asylum Lab's New 2025 Country Bulletins.

austinkocher.substack.com/p/in-convers...

In Conversation with Elliott Young and Seraya Talbott-Carey: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Migration & Asylum Lab's New 2025 Country Bulletins

As government human rights reporting becomes less comprehensive, historian Elliott Young's applied scholarship fills critical information gaps with rigorously documented country conditions research.

austinkocher.substack.com