It Could Happen Here – Darién Gap: One Year Later | Part Three: The American Nightmare

Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media/iHeartPodcasts)
Date: December 3, 2025
Episode Description: In this episode, the hosts continue the story of Primrose and Kimberly—migrants who braved the Darién Gap—and detail the new, more hostile landscape for migrants and asylum seekers in America under a return of the Trump administration.

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode chronicles the journey of Primrose and her daughter Kimberly as they navigate a drastically more punitive U.S. immigration system following the re-election of Donald Trump. Through the personal lens of their experience—detention, legal hurdles, uncertainty, and moments of community—the show examines what the new American nightmare looks like for migrants, how rapidly policy has changed, and the resilience of those seeking safety in the face of systemic cruelty.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Immediate Crackdown on Migrants Post-Election

• Policy changes: Within hours of Trump retaking office, sweeping executive orders were enacted:
  • Attempted rescinding of birthright citizenship for migrants’ children.
  • Ending of CBP1 asylum appointments and construction of new border walls.
  • Expanded powers under the border emergency declaration, new military deployments, and ramped-up surveillance.
• Impact:
  • Asylum cases effectively halted; expedited removals (deportations) became standard (05:04).
  • Increased raids by ICE, DEA, FBI, and other agencies—including on college campuses and apartment buildings (02:15–06:15).
  • Mass device searches of newcomers, not just for crimes but for criticizing political leaders.

Quote:

“...There are no new asylum cases. People who cross at the southern border are now detained, only to be removed immediately... none of that [credible fear interviews, parole] is happening anymore.”
— Kirsten Zitlau, Primrose's lawyer (05:04)

2. Life Inside a "Police State Lite"

• Fear and Confusion:
  • Unmarked agents detaining migrants, echoing authoritarian practices many fled from (06:15).
• Judicial Overreach:
  • Judges sending "self-deport" notices inappropriately to people mid-case (07:02).
• Brutality and International Bargains:
  • Migrants sent to El Salvador’s notorious “megaprison.”
  • Prisoner swaps with hostile foreign regimes; others flee the U.S. southward.

Quote:

“It’s a due process violation. They’re entitled to a neutral judge.”
— Kirsten Zitlau (07:34)

3. Community Response, Resistance & Protest

• Neighborhood Organizing:
  • As ICE raids escalate, locals—often not prior activists—start tracking federal agents, warning each other, and protecting neighbors (09:00).
  • Use of apps like Nextdoor and Ring reversed to protect, not target, marginalized residents.
• Protests Ignite:
  • LA becomes a flashpoint: Border Patrol raids met with mass protests, tear gas, arrests of labor leaders, and violence against reporters (11:00–14:00).
  • Protesters include children of migrants, fighting for their parents and communities.
  • Story of Dennis Huerta, union leader, arrested during a protest.

Quote:

“My family... they’re susceptible to all the ICE raids... being a citizen here, I feel like it’s my duty to come out here and speak out for those who can.”
— Anonymous protester (14:13)

4. Primrose’s Odyssey: Detention, Bureaucracy & Survival

• Timeline:
  • Frequent ICE check-ins, confusion over documents, surprise detentions—even for those following all rules (21:06–22:44).
  • Separated from family and support networks, kept uninformed, moved between facilities by bus, plane, hotel, often without explanation.
• Alternatives to Detention:
  • GPS ankle monitors, app check-ins—a form of surveillance often running parallel to actual detentions (26:44).
• Inside Detention:
  • Overcrowding, language barriers, lack of resources; Spanish-speaking detainees isolating others.
  • Depression and anxiety spike; minimal support or information from authorities (31:04–41:06).
  • Psychological pressure to self-deport—ICE staff distributing forms in rooms (41:27) and using indifference as a strategy to break detainees’ spirits.

Quote:

“The only thing I can even tell you guys, if you are tired staying here, you can... just sign. Put your A number, your phone... then they can make you ticket here.”
— Primrose, recalling an ICE officer’s words (41:27)

5. Children in Detention & the Flores Settlement

• Legal Limits:
  • Flores agreement limits detention of children to 20 days; constantly violated but often the only hope for families (30:26).
• Isolation and Resilience:
  • Little support for non-Spanish speakers; children sometimes help creatively bridge gaps (32:30–39:02).

Quote:

“Kimberly... she was learning, understanding Spanish. So sometimes she'd be like, ‘Mommy, they said this and that’...”
— Primrose (39:02)

6. Release & Ongoing Hardship

• Community Support:
  • Grassroots fundraising, local legal networks, and this podcast’s listeners instrumental in securing release (44:37).
• Work Permit Limbo:
  • Nearly a year later, Primrose still cannot work legally; a technicality involving asylum "work clock" used to further delay and impoverish migrants (46:36).
• Life After Detention:
  • Trauma lingers; public shaming from viral videos, skepticism about government compassion (47:55).
  • Momentary joy—a Disneyland trip, acts of neighborly kindness—juxtaposed with uncertainty and fear.

Quote:

“These people are joining our communities. They risk their lives to come and live here with us. And it’s us who should welcome them.”
— Narrator/Interviewer (48:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On legal limbo:

  “They released me on the 10th... but the release felt like a victory, she still faced the same difficulties she had before. Primrose could not legally work... her work permit still hasn’t come, right?” (45:28–46:09)

• On resilience:

  “Because when I was in detention, there’s a time I was like, ah, I’m going to sign a deportation form... [Kimberly said:] No, people, they are going to kill you. If you want to go back, it’s up to you. If you want to go die, go. Not me.”
  — Primrose and Kimberly (42:24)

• On state cruelty:

  “The depression, hunger, boredom and misery that characterize ICE detention is not a bug, it’s a feature.” (43:03)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:15] – Policy crackdown, asylum halted, and beginning of raids.
• [05:04] – Kirsten Zitlau explains the new immediate-removal regime.
• [07:02] – Judicial misconduct: “self-deport” notices and due process violations.
• [09:00] – Community organizing, resistance and mutual aid develop.
• [11:00–14:00] – LA protests, police violence, and immigrant generations stand up.
• [22:44] – Primrose describes detention procedures, confusion, and ICE inconsistency.
• [26:44] – Explanation of alternatives to detention and their shortcomings.
• [31:04–41:06] – Life inside detention; language, mental health, isolation, pressure to “self-deport”.
• [44:37] – Grassroots support, legal fight, eventual (slow) release.
• [46:36] – The “work permit clock” and how administrative decisions drag out limbo.
• [47:55] – Viral video trauma and the challenges of integrating post-detention.
• [48:45–end] – Community care, hope, and the episode’s closing message.

Overall Tone and Language

• Intimate, empathetic, and urgent—lived experience is foregrounded.
• Despondency mixed with resolve and occasional moments of warmth.
• Dedicated to humanizing those caught in dehumanizing systems.

Closing Reflection

The episode underscores the transformation of the U.S. from refuge to danger for many migrants, not simply as abstract policy, but as intimately experienced by families like Primrose and Kimberly. The podcast foregrounds community solidarity and resistance as essential, showing how hope can persist despite state-sanctioned cruelty—and that ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference.

For further sources, legal aid links, and continuing coverage, see the show notes from It Could Happen Here.