Category: Immigration

Event Recap: Family Separation

By Victoria Lozano, JD Candidate

On October 16, Chicago-Kent’s ACLU student chapter and the Immigration Law Society partnered to bring together Professor Carolyn Shapiro and Ed Yohnka, the director of communications for the ACLU of Illinois, to discuss misinformation surrounding immigration at our border and the use of family separation as a scare tactic to inhibit immigrants and asylum seekers from entering our country.

Student Leaders & Panelists
Student Leaders & Panelists

Over 40 students and faculty attended the event to hear how the ACLU is challenging the Trump administration and to gather more insight into how the administration plans to handle future immigration issues. Continue reading “Event Recap: Family Separation”

Event Recap: White Nationalism & Immigration

Gabriel "Jack" ChinOn October 10, Our Immigration Law Society invited Professor Jack Chin of UC Davis School of Law to share research from his book Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: Legislating a New America.

Looking over the history of immigration, he contrasted narratives of white nationalism with civil rights reforms that reduced racial discrimination in American citizenship. Continue reading “Event Recap: White Nationalism & Immigration”

Bridging Legal History and Current Events

Professor Felice Batlan
Professor Felice Batlan

Professor Felice Batlan began writing her most recent article, Deja Vu and the Gendered Origins of the Practice of Immigration Law: The Immigrants’ Protective League, 1907-1940, the day after President Trump’s “travel ban” went into effect. After spending multiple days protesting at O’Hare airport, she began pondering the question of when the practice of immigration law began and who represented migrants before World War II, when “immigration law” became a recognized legal specialty.

Professor Batlan’s article explores how Chicago’s Immigrants’ Protective League, founded in 1908 and always run by women, provided advice to tens of thousands of migrants and their families facing immigration problems before World War II. This occurred as Congress passed increasingly strict immigration laws in the 1920s and officials engaged in practices that could quickly change, requiring the women of the League to become experts at improvising law.

Continue reading “Bridging Legal History and Current Events”

Event Recap: Chicago’s Gang Database and Deportation

This year the National Lawyers Guild’s 2nd annual event on mass incarceration focused on the intersection of mass incarceration with immigration. The panel discussion looked specifically at the targeting of immigrants for deportation using the Chicago Gang Database, officially known as the “Strategic Subject List.”

NLG Secretary Rosie O’Malley moderated the panel discussion with these speakers:

  • Irene Romulo from Organized Communities Against Deportation
  • Sheila Bedi from the MacArthur Justice Center
  • Claudia Valenzuela from the National Immigrant Justice Center

Continue reading “Event Recap: Chicago’s Gang Database and Deportation”

Recap: ACS Congressional Forum

The American Constitution Society hosted “Congressional Forum: Holding the President Accountable” at Chicago-Kent on May 31, 2017.  The event featured a fast-paced discussion from a distinguished panel, including Congresswoman Schakowsky, constitutional legal scholars and leaders from the American Constitution Society.

If you weren’t able to attend in person, we’ve gathered the social media coverage and videos from the event here so you can explore the many topics they discussed, from checks and balances to congressional investigations and pushback on executive orders for immigration.

ACSLP Congressional Forum: Holding the President Accountable
Panelists for ACSLP Congressional Forum

Videos

Video of the program has been excerpted by speaker and organized into a playlist, but you can also find the full length video here. (You can access the playlist using the three-bar “hamburger” menu in the upper left corner of the video frame below.)

Social Recap

A number of the attendees at this event shared their reactions and photos via Twitter and other social media – you can browse through this Storify list to read their personal recaps:
Continue reading “Recap: ACS Congressional Forum”

Professor Shapiro discusses the prospect of SCOTUS reviewing President Trump’s EO on immigration on “Chicago Tonight”

Professor Carolyn Shapiro was a guest panelist on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” on May 30, 2017, to discuss the prospect of the U.S. Supreme Court reviewing president Trump’s second executive order on immigration. The executive order, which would temporarily ban travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries, is blocked by an injunction recently upheld by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Professor Shapiro also commented on cases on the Supreme Court docket related to gerrymandering and whether religious institutions have a right to receive government funds.

May 31 Event: “Congressional Forum: Holding the President Accountable”

The American Constitution Society hosted this program with a distinguished panel to discuss a wide range of topics germane to the Trump administration. These included immigration, separation-of-powers issues with the Russia investigations, the judicial vacancy crisis, and how lawyers can use their law degrees to help address these issues.

Panelists:

  • The Honorable Jan Schakowsky, U.S. Representative for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District – @janschakowsky
  • Caroline Fredrickson, President, The American Constitution Society for Law & Policy – @crfredrickson
  • Aziz Huq, Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law at the University of Chicago
  • Steven Schwinn, Associate Professor & Director, Clinical Programs Professor, John Marshall Law School and Member of the ACS Chicago Lawyer Chapter Board of Advisors – @sschwinn
  • Geoffrey R. Stone, the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, Co-Chair of the Chicago Lawyer Chapter Board of Advisors and Member of ACS’s National Board of Advisors – @stone_geoffrey
Moderated by:
  • Amy M. Gardner, Director of Lawyer Chapters, The American Constitution Society for Law & Policy

 

 

“Public Protest and the Law” Panel Discussion

What rules do the police need to follow when interacting with protesters? What are the privacy laws related to police body cams and protester-created videos?

“Public Protest and the Law,” a two-hour panel discussion among civil rights and advocacy experts held at Chicago-Kent College of Law on March 2, 2017, addressed First Amendment rights as they relate to protests, local protest permit laws and how they relate to spontaneous protests, issues undocumented immigrant and non-citizen protesters might face if arrested, proposed legislation to curb protester rights, and more.

Panelists:

Continue reading ““Public Protest and the Law” Panel Discussion”

FDLA CrImmigration Panel with Professor Kling

On February 17, First Defense Legal Aid hosted a “CrImmigration” panel discussion to address these questions: What’s at stake when immigrants of color don’t know or access their rights when in contact with Chicago Police? What do First Defenders need to know & how do we watchdog the promises of a sanctuary city?

The event was sponsored by a number of local legal aid programs and community organizations. Speakers included our own Professor Richard Kling as well as legal aid volunteers, civic leaders and immigration community organizers.

Organizations:

Continue reading “FDLA CrImmigration Panel with Professor Kling”

Event Recap: Immigration Policy in Transition

On Wednesday, February 8, 2017 the Chicago-Kent Immigration Law Society and the SBA Diversity Committee sponsored an event reviewing recent executive orders related to immigration law, the BRIDGE ACT and volunteer opportunities.

The speakers were Chicago-Kent alumni with experience in immigration law for corporate cases, family law, and volunteer advocacy.

ILS President Lupita Jimenez moderated the panel of speakers, providing context for several of the recent immigration issues and asking questions of the panelists: Continue reading “Event Recap: Immigration Policy in Transition”