Tag: refugees

Maine Currents 4/26/17

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Anti-immigration bills introduced in Maine

We take you to last week’s public hearing for LD 366 “An Act To Ensure Compliance with Federal Immigration Law by State and Local Government Entities”, LD 847 “An Act To Hold Refugee Resettlement Agencies Accountable to Maine People” and LD 1099, a resolve that would have “Required the State To Bring Suit against the Federal Government for Failure To Comply with the Federal Refugee Act of 1980”. All were introduced by Rep. Lawrence Lockman of Amherst.

In breaking news just before we went to air, the Judiciary Committee voted “Ought Not to Pass” on LDs 1099 and 847, and tabled LD366.

Update: We mentioned on the show that we had contacted Rep. Lockman to inquire about two issues that were raised during the hearing: His testimony that the City of Portland had redirected educational funding to refugee support, and the comments made by members of the public that he did not stay to hear their comments after introducing the legislation. We did hear back from him after the show. Here is his response: “I was there for most of the hearing, stepped out twice to do TV interviews, then had to attend my own committee.” And he provided this link to a 2015 article entitled “LePage to fight Portland over asylum seekers money”: www.centralmaine.com/2015/06/30/lepage-to-fight-portland-over-asylum-seekers-money/


Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

Special 3/31/17: Selections from the 2017 Camden Conference

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Program Topic: Migration and Refugees

Key Discussion Points:
a) Moral and practical reasons for refugee protection
b) Current scale of displaced people in different parts of the world and political effects
c) Distinction among refugees, asylum seekers, forcibly displace persons, immigrants

Guests:
Jeanne Bourgault, Camden Conference Moderator and President of Internews
Ray Jennings, Principal, Cultural Naviagtion Group

Special 3/30/17: Selections from the 2017 Camden Conference

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Program Topic: Migration and Refugees

Key Discussion Points:
a) Rise of far right movements in Europe tied to immigration
b) American immigration policy and history
c) Current American refugee acceptance policy

Guests:
Cas Mudde, Professor, Univesity of Georgia and Researcher, University of Oslo
Tim Kane, JP Conte Fellow in Immigration Studies, Hoover Institute, Stanford Univ

Special 3/29/17: Selections from the 2017 Camden Conference

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Program Topic: Migration and Refugees

Key Discussion Points:
a) Current crisis in forcibly displace people throughout the world
b) Work of the UNHCR
c) US policies on Mexico border to control immigration

Guests:
Kelly Clements, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees
Bruno Stegno, former UN Ambassador from Costa Rica and Deputy Executive Director, Human Rights Watch

WERU Special 2/15/17: Refugees, education and child labor

Producer/Host: Carolyn Coe

The program describes the dangerous and expensive journey of refugees fleeing the war-torn lands of Syria and Iraq. It introduces three refugees living and waiting in Athens, Greece, sharing the challenges they face and their hopes for the future. The program also shares the perspective of a child laborer in Kabul, who sells onions on the street to help earn money for his family.

Guests:
Nour Ahmad
Yasmin (pseudonym)
Ibrahim
and Shazad

Orange House (Zaatar NGO) Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/zaatarngo/