Reporter's Deep Dive Finds A Broken Immigration System

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Pat Finn / Producer

Published December 29, 2020 at 12:38 PM PST

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Angelica Lopez holds the hand of daughter, Ashley, and son, Osmar, as they and other immigrants and deportees approach the Otay Mesa Port of Entry where some plan to ask for asylum, March 10, 2014, Tijuana, Mexico.

The U.S. Immigration system has big problems, and there is no aspect as problematic as the way the U.S. grants — or doesn't grant — asylum.

In her four years covering immigration for The San Diego Union-Tribune, reporter Kate Morrissey has seen great anguish and despair.

She has documented not only the politics that surround immigration, but the ravages of COVID-19 in the Otay Mesa Detention Center, the plight of Cameroonians deported back to their home country, and the fate of young people hoping for a renewal of the DACA program.

Her latest in-depth report examines how the U.S. asylum system, meant to offer immigrants facing repression and even death at home a place of safety on this side of the border, is broken nearly to the point of non-existence.

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Morrissey talked with KPBS Midday Edition's Maureen Cavanaugh about how a re-imagining of asylum might work.

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

What do you want to hear host Jade Hindmon talk about on Midday?

Pat Finn

Pat Finn previously served as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and KPBS Evening Edition. Finn began her career in broadcasting at KTLA and KCET in Los Angeles. In 1979 she became KPBS’ Public Information Director, then Director of Advertising and Promotion, Program Director, and Director of Broadcasting. She oversaw the station’s local and national productions, including the one-hour documentary Los Romeros: The Royal Family of the Guitar, and Child Protective Services, a one-hour look inside the San Diego County agency responsible for the welfare of at risk children. Both programs also aired on public television stations nationwide. Finn has earned honors from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

See stories by Pat Finn