US Immigration Law and Civil Society: The Road to Executive Action and Beyond

The last year has witnessed a political impasse on immigration reform and the announcement of an unprecedented set of executive action initiatives that would extend administrative relief to as many as 5.2 million individuals that lack immigration status. This event explored executive action and other recent developments in the immigration world in relation to a new book, International Migration, US Immigration Law and Civil Society: From the Colonial Era to the 113th Congress. Published by the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN) in collaboration with the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), the book contextualizes the present challenges in reaching policy consensus in the immigration debate. Two of the book’s contributors, Charles Wheeler and Sara Campos, drew from their chapters on US immigration history and law, and the growing influence of civil society on the immigration debate and in immigrant communities. The discussion also explored the role of civil society groups in securing and implementing the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs announced by President Obama in November 2014. Despite the temporary injunction to prevent their implementation, nongovernmental and community-based organizations continue to prepare for the DAPA and DACA programs. The authors were joined by Professor Bill Ong Hing who spoke on the law school’s Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Assistance Project in which law students are providing legal assistance to unaccompanied minors as they navigate the US immigration system. The event also highlighted other immigration scholarship and initiatives taking place at the University of San Francisco.

Introduction
Fr. Leonir Chiarello, C.S.
Executive Director
Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN)

Moderator
Lois Lorentzen
Professor of Social Ethics
University of San Francisco

Speakers
Sara Campos
Attorney, Writer and Consultant

Bill Ong Hing
Professor of Law
University of San Francisco

Charles Wheeler
Senior Attorney and Director of Training and Legal Support
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)