Navigated to Wildin Acosta reflects on ICE detainment; mental health experts examine impact of ICE encounters

Wildin Acosta reflects on ICE detainment; mental health experts examine impact of ICE encounters

December 4
50 mins

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Episode Description

0:01:00

Riverside High School grad Wildin Acosta discusses new book about his 2016 deportation case

In 2016,WildinAcosta, a senior at Riverside High School in Durham, was detained by ICE agents on his way to school. The Honduras native was kept in detention for months. Students and faculty at Riverside raised media attention about his case through protests, social media campaigns and news coverage, ultimately resulting in his release. Riverside journalism teacher Bryan Christopher worked with Acosta to write a new book about Acosta’s experience. 

Bryan Christopher, author of Stopping the Deportation Machine: One Immigrant Student’s Arrest and the Kids Who Took on Washington to Get Him Back

Wildin Acosta, Riverside High School graduate, who faced deportation as a student

Aaron Sanchez Guerra, WUNC’s race, class and communities reporter

This conversation originally aired on October 1, 2025.


 0:33:00

As immigrant arrests continue across NC, experts and advocates see surge in mental health care needs

Due South’s Jeff Tiberii talks with a panel of mental health experts and advocates about the impact of deportation fears in Latino communities, barriers to accessing mental health care, and strategies to support vulnerable populations during these uncertain times.

Camila Angelica Pulgar, Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Heather Ladov, Director of Clinical Services, El Futuro

Yazmin Garcia Rico, Director, Community Engagement & Impact, Cone Health Foundation

Yesenia Cuello, Co-Founder and Executive Director at NC FIELD


This conversation originally aired on August 26, 2025. 

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