Afghan soldiers stood beside American troops for 20 years. Now, five years after the evacuation, many still don't know if they'll be allowed to stay. On this episode, we take stock of what's happened since roughly one thousand Afghans resettled in Iowa. We talk with Fatima Saidi, national director of We Are All America and Robyn Barnard of Human Rights First. We also discuss what today's shifting immigration rules mean for Afghans still in limbo. Then, we talk with Cate Dicharry, the new director of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program. It’s been a year and a half since federal funding cuts threatened the program, and we discuss what its future holds.
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With most foreign students paying full tuition, campuses will lose out as the numbers of international students decrease. Meanwhile, students worry as new restrictions about how long they can stay in the U.S. are set to go into effect. -
For the second time in less than a year, the Decorah City Council unanimously rejected a separation ordinance that would have limited the northeast Iowa city’s cooperation with ICE. Council members said the move would’ve made the city a target for state retaliation. -
Immigrants in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska are being detained for months at a time, waiting to be sent to countries where they have no ties. Some have criminal records. Others came to the country seeking asylum.
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The Supreme Court just finished one of its most consequential terms in years. Drake University law professors Sally Frank and Miguel Schor break down what the 2026 rulings mean for Iowans. They discuss the landmark win for birthright citizenship, the loss of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, new limits on transgender athletes and more. -
Waterloo’s Bosnian community has been gripped by its home country’s World Cup success, right up until the U.S. men's national team knocked Bosnia-Herzegovina from the tournament on Wednesday. -
Habeas corpus is at the center of a constitutional fight over immigration detention playing out in courtrooms across the Midwest, including here in Iowa. An analysis by The Marshall Project and The Midwest Newsroom found that habeas corpus filings in four Midwestern states have been overwhelmingly successful thus far, but the legal landscape is changing. We hear from the reporters involved in the recent investigation and from a law professor about what comes next. Then, researchers hope to expand water testing capabilities with a drone that carries its own water-testing lab.
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Ian Roberts admitted that he falsely claimed citizenship when he was hired by Des Moines Public Schools. He faces deportation to his native Guyana after he serves his sentence. -
Noncitizens routinely won release or a bond hearing, according to a review of habeas corpus cases from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. But the legal landscape is changing. -
Federal immigration agent raids may have faded from the headlines, but not from many people’s minds. In northwest Iowa, community members are stepping up to help immigrants living with uncertainty.
