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Fortress America Panel Series
Fortress America: Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Held on Jan. 12, this panel discussed issues surrounding comprehensive immigration reform from the enforcement, political, and economic perspectives. The panel also addressed current proposals for immigration reform and their prospects.
Panelists included Angelo Amador, Director of Immigration Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; J. Kevin Appleby, Director of the Office of Immigration and Refugee Policy, United States Conference on Catholic Bishops; Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President, SEIU; Cecilia Munoz, Vice President of the Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation, National Council of La Raza; Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform; and Anthony Romero, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union. Christina DeConcini of National Immigration Forum served as moderator.
Fortress America: Asylum and Refugees
Held on Jan. 26, this panel addressed the impact of post-9/11 immigration reforms and examined the lack of resources for processing vulnerable cases and legislation aimed at remedying the situation, such as the Widows and Orphans Act of 2004. The panel also examined the inconsistent treatment of vulnerable asylum-seekers such as unaccompanied children, victims of torture, women, members of the GLBT community, people with disabilities, and those with HIV/AIDS.
Panelists included Bo Cooper, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP; Mark Hetfield, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; Cheryl Little, Executive Director, Florida Immigrant Advocacy; Jonathan Nelson, The Christian Legal Society; Rachel B. Tiven, Executive Director, Immigration Equality; Wendy Young, Director of Government Relations, Commission on Refugee Women and Children; and Stephen Yale-Loehr, True, Walsh & Miller, LLP. Eleanor Acer, of Human Rights First served as moderator.
Fortress America: Detention and Removal
Held on Feb. 2, this panel addressed post-9/11 immigration reforms in regard to the detention and removal of immigrants, including special registration and secret immigration proceedings, and the impact of these reforms on individuals and the fight against terrorism. Panelists addressed the increased "criminalization" of immigrants and the experiences in detention of vulnerable populations such as indefinate detainees, unaccompanied children, asylum seekers, victims of torture, women, those with HIV/AIDS, and members of the GLBT community.
Panelists included Deanna Burdine, Whistle Blower, Oklahoma City; Judy Greene, Justice Strategies; Joanne Kelsey, Director, Detention and Asylum Program, Women's Commission for Refugee Women; Malik Nduala, Keeping Hope Alive, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild; Chris Nugent, Holland & Knight; Judy Rabinovitz, Senior Staff Counsel, Immigrants' Rights Project, ACLU; Aarti Shahani, Families for Freedom; and Nina Siulc, Vera Institute of Justice. Andrea Black of Detention Watch Network served as moderator.
Fortress America: Impact on Innovation and Technology
Held on Feb. 23, this panel discussed the fact that the United States has become a "knowledge-based economy" in which creativity, innovation, and technological advancement are engines of economic growth. Not surprisingly, the new ideas that fuel a knowledge-based economy are not readily defined by nationality or national borders. The long U.S. tradition of openness to the best and brightest minds from around the world has therefore proven invaluable in maintaining the nation's global preeminence in science and technology. However, there is mounting evidence that persistent structural flaws in the U.S. immigration system, as well as the unintended consequences of security procedures instituted since September 11, 2001, are discouraging and preventing many of the best international students, scholars, and scientists from studying and working in the United States. If the United States continues down this path of increasing isolation from the rest of the world, it cannot hope to maintain its position of scientific and economic leadership.
Michael S. Greco, ABA President, was the keynote speaker. Panelists included Bill Wulf, President, National Academy of Engineering; Debra Stewart, President, Council of Graduate Schools; Daryl Buffenstein, Past President, American Immigration Lawyers Association; and Roger Bowen, Executive Director, American Association of University Professors. Ben Johnson of Immigration Policy Center served as moderator.
