Immigration attorney Chris Christensen provides insight into where we’ve been and what we might expect in the U.S. immigration system in the year ahead.

“I think it’s important for immigrants to understand that regardless of their legal status, that they have rights in this great country,” he said.

In this episode, Chris shares valuable Know Your Rights information and practical steps people can take to reduce their risk if they are undocumented or have temporary immigration status.

“The government doesn’t have the funds, the resources, to remove (every undocumented resident),” Chris said, “and I think most of society would agree that it doesn’t make sense to deport the hardworking farmworker who has no criminal record and who has a family full of U.S. citizen children, who pays taxes and contributes, who goes to the local church every Sunday.”

Chris founded Christensen Legal PLLC in December 2017 so that he could continue serving the ‎immigrant community in Idaho and beyond. A Caldwell native and graduate of ‎Caldwell High School, Chris always had a passion for Spanish and started learning early. ‎From 2013-2015 he directed the Migrant Farmworker Law Center ‎at Indiana Legal Services, visiting labor camps in Indiana and talking to ‎migrant field workers about their rights, housing, pay, taxes, immigration options, and more.‎

Chris said, “It is that human connection, the life-altering impact that I can have to better somebody’s life, that keeps me doing this.”

Join us to hear from Raquel Reyes, director of programs & operations at PODER of Idaho. We talk about the daily anxieties experienced by families of mixed immigration status, reflections on the recent election, and the many ways immigrant communities contribute to a vibrant economy and culture.

You can connect with PODER on

Instagram (poder_idaho)

and find Platicas con Poder, hosted by Raquel, on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@PlaticasConPoder.

Raquel, born in Los Angeles, has lived in Idaho since she was 2 years old. She attended elementary and high school in Wilder, a small agricultural town about 40 miles from Boise. Her life’s work has been in social justice, and she has been a vocal advocate about the injustices she has seen in the workplace. Her background is immigration, and she helped found an immigration program at the Community Council of Idaho known as Familias Unidas, Immigration Legal Services. Raquel has been married to her husband for 19 years. She has 3 adult children, 6 grandchildren, 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 goats and lots of poultry.

The Ukrainian Welcome Center in Nampa has served more than 700 people displaced by the war in Ukraine. The center's Executive Director Tina Polishchuk and recent School Impact Coordinator Joni Leipf share how their summer program brought a sense of normalcy and an opportunity for healing for students who haven't had a normal school year since before Covid.

Learn more about the center's Adopt-a-Family Christmas campaign at www.ukrainianwelcomecenter.org.