By Alan Headbloom, Feel Like You Belong
A 13-year-old Serbian boy and his mother flee worn-torn Bosnia. Young refugee Mlado Ivanović spends his teen years trying to adapt to Austrian culture and the German language. Beginning his PhD studies in the U.S., he connects his passion and his life’s work: teaching American students about the worldwide refugee crisis and what they can do about it.
On Tuesday, January 26 at 6:30pm in the Loosemore Auditorium on Grand Valley’s downtown campus, the ACLU of Western Michigan will be hosting a timely event on the immigration issue currently capturing headlines across the United States. Entitled, Beyond Hate and Fear: Immigration and the Refugee Crisis in America, the purpose of the event is to provide insight into the long overdue process of reforming the current immigration system.
“Currently the United States is experiencing its greatest influx of immigrants in its history,” said Linda Sanchez, one of the coordinators of the event. “This has created severe problems and one of those is a hatred and fear that are both being stoked against immigrants. It’s ironic that a nation of immigrants has historically always had such difficulty with immigration, but here we are in 2016 and the problem remains. We’re hoping this symposium will help shed fresh new light on the issue.”
Panelists include Rubén Martinez, Director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at M.S.U.; Richard Kessler, Attorney and activist specializing in Immigration law; and Liz Black, Legal Services Director for Justice for Our Neighbors West Michigan.
The purpose of the event is to discuss the root causes of the anger toward immigrants and refugees. Additionally, discussion will center around the fundamental protections of due process and equal protection that are embodied in our Constitution and apply to every person, regardless of immigration status.
Admission to the event is free.
