This year has been a difficult one for immigrant and refugee communities in Oregon. Enforcement sweeps for undocumented immigrants and travel bans for refugees have left families and communities in a legal limbo.

For their part, immigration arrests have skyrocketed. According to reporting by the New York Times, the number of arrests made by July 2017 was up 40 percent compared to the same period in 2016.

And since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has rolled out three different travel bans targeted at Muslim-majority nations, with each meeting various levels of judicial and popular resistance.

We’re joined on Biz503 this week by business owners and labor specialists who how these policies are impacting businesses at the ground level.

Leigh Geschwill is co-owner and sales manager at F&B Farms and Nursery, and chairs the Oregon Association of Nurseries‘ Government Relations Committee.

Sam Pardue and Carrie Sturrock are, respectively, the CEO and Company Storyteller at Indow, a window business that helped to launch the “We Hire Refugees” campaign in Portland.

And Djimet Dogo is the director of Africa House at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, and he leads the organization’s Refugee Employment Services.

Tune in Friday Feb. 9 at 1:00 PM: 99.1 FM in the heart of Portland – and streaming worldwide at PRP.fm. And, a few days after broadcast, you’ll find the podcast available on demand at the Biz503 show page and on iTunes.

Thanks to Premium Websites for supporting Biz503!

From “How Musicians Can Make it in the Music Industry” to “Craft Beverages,” you will find past Seasons/Episodes of Biz503 here.

Please check out our growing hive of podcasts here.

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