Issues in immigration reform to drive Michigan Journal of Law Reform symposium

By Jenny Whalen
U-M Law

One of the more hotly debated subjects in American politics today, immigration reform will also lead discussion at the Michigan Journal of Law Reform?'s annual symposium Feb. 7.

"We were really lucky a year ago to pick a topic that is still so timely," said 3L and managing symposium editor Kate Aufses. "The idea for the symposium came out of the 50th anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. We wanted to commemorate that event and host a symposium that considers the past 50 years of immigration reform and the next 50 years."

"Immigration Reform at 50: Looking Forward and Backward" will take place on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., in South Hall Room 1225. The symposium, which will consist of four roundtable discussions on a range of topics related to developments in immigration reform, features a keynote by Lucas Guttentag, who recently began serving the Obama administration as Senior Counselor to Leon Rodriguez, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"Lucas Guttentag is one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project. He has taught at the law schools of Stanford and Yale. He now serves in the Obama administration. He is coming to this event with an academic, practical, and government perspective," Aufses said. "I expect him to be great."

Michigan Law Profs. Kate Andrias, Nicholas Bagley, Kristina Daugirdas, and Margo Schlanger will also participate in the symposium as moderators, guiding discussion among panelists who hail from more than a dozen academic, nonprofit, and government institutions across the country.

"These are the nation's leading experts and participants in all the ongoing immigration debates," said Schlanger, who was formerly the presidentially-appointed head of civil rights for the Department of Homeland Security. "They'll talk about the President's executive actions, the connections between immigration and criminal justice, state and local involvement, and more. The conversation should be informative and engaging."

The symposium is open to the public and Aufses encourages anyone with an interest in the topic to attend. "The idea that immigration reform is a topic that is in the news everyday is really the best possible reason to attend this event. Immigration reform is significant now and will continue to be significant indefinitely," she added.

Following the symposium, the Journal will publish five articles authored by participants of the event. The issue is expected to be in print in summer-fall 2015.

For more information, visit the symposium website, or follow @MichiganLaw_JLR? on Twitter.

 

––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available