Derechos y Esperanza – Rights and Hope: ASU Law Civil Rights, Migration and Workplace Law Initiative

by David Lopez

Season 2

Part II: Have You Taken or Are You Thinking About Taking the Law School Plunge? A Conversation with ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Interim Dean Angela M. Banks on Ensuring Law School is Fruitful, Maybe Even Fun

Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Interim Dean Angela M. Banks, a nationally-recognized immigration scholar, becomes our first two-time guest but with a different hat - that of a law dean. She discusses the current state of legal education, some of the challenges, and why, once you have committed to attend law school, what you need to do to make it the best experience possible. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S2 · E7

Aug 26, 2026

37:24

The most important Constitutional Amendment most people have never heard of: The 26th Amendment, the youth vote, and the revitalization of democracy

In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, several states and a bipartisan coalition of Senators enacted the arduous Constitutional amendment process to enact the 26th Amendment, lowering the national voting age to 18 and protecting efforts to infringe the youth vote. Today, with massive political and technological change, many young people report being cynical, distrustful, or disengaged from the electoral process. Yael Bromberg, one of the leading Constitutional scholars and experts on the youth vote, is joined by Montserrat Arredondo Duran, Director of Arizona State's Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service, are joined by Arizona State Junior Mikah Dyer and Arizona State Senior Katie Ritchie, to discuss the logistical and psychological barriers to voting and engagement, and to strategize how the younger generation can overcome these barriers and shape its future. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S2 · E6

Aug 24, 2026

58:38

Can the law be a bulwark against what many see as excessive and sometimes violent abuses by federal immigration agents? A conversation with Yasmin Cader, ACLU'S National Deputy Executive Director, and Victoria Lopez, ACLU's Arizona Executive Director

Following several high profile shooting by Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents, st the end of July, the ACLU filed 54 claims in 17 states and Washington, D.C. against the federal government on behalf of people who have allegedly suffered serious violence, abuse, and neglect at the hands of federal immigration agents. Our guests, two of the nation's premier civil rights/civil liberties lawyers, explain why it was critical for the ACLU to take this legal action at this moment, unprecedented in scope, to vindicate the rights of citizen and non-citizens alike. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S2 · E5

Aug 21, 2026

1:13:47

Have You Taken or Are You Thinking About Taking the Law School Plunge? The Real Deal About Your 1L Year from the Experts

In this episode, Professor Lopez talks to a diverse group of six of his former students from four different law schools about what to expect - really! - during the year and strategies for navigating it successfully and with - hopefully! - a smile on your face. Jacob Martinez, (Arizona State University College of Law alum, 2026), Nikki Fordey (Arizona State University College of Law alum, 2026), Elizabeth Butterworth, (Harvard Law School alum, 2022), Diane Solorio (Yale Law School 2027), Dr. Emahunn Campbell (Rutgers Law 2021), and Claudia Sanchez (Rutgers Law alum, 2025) answer the whole range of questions: Are you ready for law school? Is it hard to move to a different city for law school? Does the movie Paper Chase get it right about intimidating law school professors? What is imposter syndrome and how do you beat it back? Can you crash and burn on a cold call and survive? (Hint: Yes!) What about all the reading? Can you do well and build community? What about ableism in law school? Are there unique challenges facing first generation law students? Are the challenges facing returning second career and K-JD students the same? Should I take a clinic? I know law school can be stressful, what steps can I take to maintain wellness and mental health? This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S2 · E4

Aug 18, 2026

1:16:17

Part III: From Immigrants' Rights Resistance and Activism to Advocacy: How Growing Up in Undocumented and Mixed-Status Families Following the State's Enactment of SB 1070, a Sweeping Anti-Immigrant Statute Catalyzed Activism and Advocacy

Reyna Montoya, Founder of Aliento, a Phoenix non-profit focused on supporting immigrant students and advocacy and Sal Macias, immigration lawyer and President of Los Abogados, Phoenix's Latino Bar Association, discuss how their lived experience of precariousness , including familial vulnerability, during Arizona's SB 1070 era, spurred an emerging youth immigrant rights activist consciousness and inspired later leadership roles supporting and advocating for immigrants and their families. Plus more on the connection between the World Cup and immigrant rights, the inspirational power of music. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S2 · E3

Jul 28, 2026

1:22:08

Part II: How the Supreme Court's Term-End Decisions on Birthright Citizenship, Asylum and Temporary Status Will Impact Communities, Mixed-Status Families and Migrants: The Human Impact in Mexico with Nicole Ramos and Tran Dang

Often the U.S. media fails to cover fully the full human impact of the increasingly punitive immigration system on our own communities, much less the reverberating humanitarian crisis in Mexico and other countries. For this episode, Professor Lopez is joined by two advocates, both originally from the U.S. working transnationally for non-profit humanitarian out of Mexico, Nicole Ramos, co-founder of Al Otro Lado working out of Tijuana, Mexico, and Tran Dang, founder of the Rhizome Center in Guadalajara, Mexico, who explain the full scope of this crisis, including for mixed-status families, resulting from (a) mass detention and deportation policies, and the (b) the effective administrative nullification of longstanding statutory pathways for amnesty and other forms of humanitarian relief, created consistent with international human rights law following World War II. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S2 · E2

Jul 24, 2026

1:02:11

Part I: How the Supreme Court's Term-End Decisions on Birthright Citizenship, Asylum, and Temporary Status Will Impact Communities, Mixed-Status Families and Migrants: A Conversation with César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, the Gregory H. Williams Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at Ohio State University and nationally recognized scholar and contributor to the SCOTUS Blog, walks us through the Supreme Court's recent decisions on birthright citizenship, asylum, and Haitian and Syrian temporary protected status. Professor García Hernández highlights the broad and often uncritical deference the Court has given to the administration's immigration policies, explains the harmful real-world impacts of the asylum and TPS decisions and even, potential dangers on the horizons resulting from the Court's surprisingly narrow decision striking down the Birthright Citizenship executive order as unconstitutional. Our guest then ties the ironies of these decisions to the World Cup which has captivated much of the world's attention over this past summer. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S2 · E1

Jul 22, 2026

1:05:21

Season 1

Can Conservatives Defend America’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Immigration Enforcement System? A Conversation with Cato Institute's Director of Immigration Studies David Bier

As part of an ongoing series examining the increasingly costly and draconian immigration enforcement system from a range of angles (including family and religious conscience), David Lopez sits down with David Bier, Director of Immigration Studies and the Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy at the Libertarian Cato Institute, to discuss our broken and immigration system. Our guest explains how the current system centered on criminalization and deportation has cost taxpayers billions, stripped millions of migrants of legal status, betrays traditional conservative principles of free markets, fiscal responsibility, and small government, and why he compared the plans for escalating mass deportations to "ethnic cleansing." This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S1 · E24

Jun 19, 2026

47:19

Did the Supreme Court just complete the gutting of the iconic Voting Rights Act of 1965? A conversation with Todd Cox, Associate Director and Counsel of LDF

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Callais v. Louisiana has raised questions as to whether this was the latest of several decisions eviscerating the landmark and transformative Voting Rights Act of 1965, often called the "crown jewel" of the civil rights era. We are joined by Todd Cox, Associate Director and Counsel of LDF and long-time civil rights attorney, to explain why the Supreme Court's most recent voting rights decision threatens equitable representation of Black and other voters of color, and how the recent pilgrimage of thousands to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, ground zero for the historic civil rights struggle, to protest the decision promises to revitalize and re-engage citizens to vote and speak up. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S1 · E23

Jun 11, 2026

52:40

The EEOC at a Crossroads: Former Officials on Preserving Equal Opportunity

Throughout its history, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a product of the iconic Civil Rights Act of 1964 and transformative civil right movement has been at the cutting edge in removing discriminatory barriers in the workplace including pressing disparate impact discrimination to address systemic hiring barriers (often confronted by Black and female workers), to the development of hostile workplace and sexual harassment law, the expanded understanding of religious accommodation in the workplace, and the protection of the LGBTQ workers from discrimination. Former EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum and former EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride join ASU professor David Lopez (also a former EEOC General Counsel) to discuss how several former agency officials organized to speak up against the agency's seeming retreat from its mission. This includes the agency's dismissal of gender identity claims allowed by the Supreme Court, to its refusal to use statutorily-codified disparate impact, its repeal of critical workplace guidance and self-auditing tools, and, most fundamentally, its apparent abandonment of the agency's deep tradition of deliberative, inclusive, bipartisan development of policy to protect workers. This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

S1 · E22

Jun 2, 2026

1:00:28

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