In this week’s episode, David and Rob look at the recent cases of ICE and other agencies detaining and/or deporting various US residents who are in the US 100% legally. David interviews Canadian Jasmine Mooney, who found herself imprisoned for two weeks after arriving in the US for her job. David wonders how safe he is being critical of the current US administration while here on an 01 Visa, and the practical dangers of even doing this episode. Links: Flightless Bird live shows and merch: www.flightlessbirdpod.com Email us: [email protected] News Articles and References: - Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil: https://apnews.com/article/columbia-protests-immigration-detention-mahmoud-khalil-755774045e5e82849e3281e8ff72f26d - Documentary voiced by Mahmoud: https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/columbia-protest-documentary-narrated-by-mahmoud-khalil-has-us-premiere-thursday - What we know about the Tufts University PhD student detained by federal agents: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/us/rumeysa-ozturk-detained-what-we-know/index.html - Academic groups sue Trump administration for arresting students: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/academic-groups-sue-trump-administration-arresting-students-faculty-li-rcna198139 - Jasmine Mooney’s essay: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney - The Guardian on Jasmine’s situation: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/18/canadian-actor-jasmine-mooney-detained-mexico-border - Canadian woman detained by ICE being used as ‘example,’ immigration experts warn: https://globalnews.ca/news/11080371/canadian-woman-detained-ice-example-immigration-border/ - University of Washington lab technician and green card holder detained: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/green-card-holder-50-years-detained-ice-rcna198044 - He voted for Trump. Now his wife sits in an ICE detention center. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/16/mass-deportation-ice-detains-non-criminals/82304354007/ - Yes, border control can go through your phone. Here's what travelers should know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2025/03/21/border-control-phone-search/82594653007/ - David Farrier write on Webworm on speaking up during these Crazy Times: https://www.webworm.co/p/missionstatement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What recent immigration issues are being discussed?
When you're abducting people into a van and you're wearing a dark hoodie to do it and you're sneaking into their apartment building, do you ever sort of start to think, Hey, is this a bit fucked, guys? We seem to be just like, we've like gotten in disguises and we're just abducting this dude. Is that what the goodies do?
Do you ever get worried that your poor friend David might get deported from the United States?
Well, for me, that's a pretty exciting prospect because I just feel like we haven't hung out in a while and it'd be cool to have you back. That's one of the nicest things you've ever said to me. Yeah, I just need someone to babysit. Honestly, I'm dying here. And the other thing that I'd say is, you know, there's genuine oppression happening of people across the United States.
But I have to congratulate you that you have found a way to make it about yourself.
It's what every white person's always trying to do. It's what we strive for.
Yeah. This seems bad. And the reason it's bad is because maybe it could happen to me, the main character.
I'm David Farrier, and New Zealand are accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick. And as Hayden indicated, yes, I have been thinking a lot about me recently and how I fit here in the land of the free, because over the last month, things have been feeling increasingly less free.
That's because there's been a growing number of examples of people being held by ICE and deported from the country. And to be more specific, people who were here in the US legally, the right visa, the right green card, the right papers. The current administration seems to be making examples out of those who they've deemed to have spoken out in a way not appropriate for someone in America to speak.
I've been watching, like many of us have, fascinated and a bit horrified by all of it. And sure, what Hayden said is completely right. I've been selfishly thinking about me, the main character, in my own life. I'm here on a three-year work visa that's coming up to being renewed. Here is someone who's tweeted and written a lot of shit about this country and its supreme leader, Donald Trump.
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Chapter 2: How are legal residents being affected by deportations?
Yeah, I mean, and that's what a lot of people are dealing with. I mean, imagine also the language barrier, throwing that in there. She said that, I don't know if this was just in the article or in that, but that most of the women that she was with in that first cell didn't speak English.
No, not a word of English. So just like...
being confused and put in this area and then having to just trust that the system is going to look out for them you don't exactly have all that much confidence when the system's the one that's just like throwing you in with yeah and yeah and she said this and the other woman in there are in the same position where you're not given like an induction guide yeah it's not like she was talking about how they're all trying to figure out like how the hell to make contact and they found like a tablet and
And they could find ways to get access to email. But then like using that was like incredibly difficult. And then it's also like, who are you emailing? It's the one tablet between like 300 people in that space. Yeah. Yeah, it's very odd.
There's a number of articles now being sort of written and certainly a lot of it's been discussed on social media where if you are coming into America, just how important it is to even just delete the social media apps on your phone so that if an immigration officer says, give us your phone and pull up your Twitter, it's like you don't have Twitter there.
You might still have an account, but just keep that stuff kind of hidden. And that's the way people are talking now is like, If you're coming into America, make sure you don't have the shit on your phone so they can't check what you've been saying.
This is the stuff that, like, you hear about what it's like in Russia.
No, completely. Back when we were doing that dark tourist show, when we were talking about going into these other countries like Turkmenistan, we were having these discussions. We take all the social media apps off your phone because if we're ever detained, we don't want anyone going through what anyone in our team has been saying about anything.
And to be thinking of America in that way now is just fucking wild to me.
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