Episode 2260: Felipe Torres Medina laughs and cries about the American immigration system

Here are the 4 KEEN ON AMERICA take-aways in our conversation about the dysfunctional American immigration system with Felipe Torres Medina

1) Background & Immigration Journey

* Felipe Torres Medina is a comic writer for "The Stephen Colbert Show" and author of the new book America Let Me In about the US immigration system

* Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Medina moved to the US at 21 on a student visa to pursue a master's in screenwriting at Boston University

* Medina received an "alien of extraordinary ability" visa (talent visa for artists) after graduation, and eventually got a green card after marrying

2) On the US Immigration System

* Medina describes the immigration process as expensive (costing "tens of thousands of dollars" in legal fees) and filled with bureaucratic challenges

* He emphasizes that legal immigration requires "tremendous privilege and money" that most people don't have

* The book takes an interactive "choose your own path" format to highlight the maze-like nature of the immigration system

* He points out that there hasn't been comprehensive immigration reform since the Clinton administration (nearly 30 years ago)

3) Comedy as Commentary

* Medina uses humor to process his experiences and create community around shared frustrations

* He was inspired by writers like Julio Cortazar, George Saunders, Tina Fey, and Carrie Fisher

* The book aims to educate Americans who "have so many opinions about immigration" but "don't know what it entails"

* He mentions that making the book interactive and game-like adds "levity" to a tense topic

4) How to Fix the System

* While critical of Trump's immigration policies, Medina says the book isn't specifically about Trump but about a "flawed and messy" system created by multiple administrations

* He suggests moving US Citizenship and Immigration Services out of the Department of Homeland Security to change the narrative that immigration is a security threat

* His proposed reforms include creating better pathways for educated immigrants and hiring more USCIS staff to reduce backlogs

FULL TRANSCRIPT

* Andrew Keen: Hello everybody. It is Sunday, March the 9th, 2025. Interesting piece in the times. A couple of days ago, The New York Times, that is about the so-called British flame thrower who is a comic best suited to taking on Trump. They're talking about a man called Kumar. Nish Kumar looks very funny, and apparently he's very angry too. I have to admit, I haven't seen him. It's an interesting subject. It suggests that at the moment, even in spite of Trump and outraging many Americans, the state of American humor could be amped up a bit. My guest today is a writer on The Stephen Colbert Show and a comic, or certainly a comic writer in his own right, Philippe Torres Medina. He has a new book out on Tuesday. It's called America Let Me In, and I'm thrilled that he's joining us from Harlem in Manhattan today. Congratulations, Phillip, on the new job. What do you the new book? I was going to say job. That's a Freudian error here. What do you make of the Times's observation that American humor isn't in its best state when it comes to Trump?

Felipe Torres Medina: Oh, wow. That's that's an interesting question. First of all, I love Nish Kumar. I think he's a wonderful, wonderful comedian. He's very funny. He has a level of wit and his observations are just wonderful. I hadn't seen this article, but I really appreciate that the times recognized him because he's been working very hard for a lot of years. I think more than American humor not being fit for the moment. I think at least personally for me, a little bit of addressing Trump again began. And