As we prepare for the upcoming election year, we take a look at the important issue of immigration. Nearly two years ago, millions took to the streets in tens of cities throughout the United States to oppose anti-immigrant legislation from of Congress. The protests effectively stopped Federal immigration reform.
Since then , ICE raids have been on the rise and many states and local governments have promulgated laws or policies specifically targeting immigrants.
The 2008 presidential candidates have so far mostly been talking tough in immigration, speaking of tightening borders but carefully avoiding the issue of the twelve million undocumented residents who are seeking legal status.
On January, 3rd in midtown Manhattan, the Society of American Law Teachers sponsored a panel of legal experts from around the country entitled “Humanizing Immigration.”
We hear Professor Raquel Aldana from the University of Las Vegas School of Law, give a history of legislations affecting immigrants. Professor Bill Hing, Director of The U.C. Davis Immigration Law Clinic speaks on how communities organize to defend their rights. University of Oregon Professor, Steven Bender who authored, Greasers and Gringos: Latinos, Law, and the American Imagination , Leticia Saucedo Associate Professor of Law at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.Professor Saneer Ashar from CUNY discusses the work of the immigrant and refugee rights clinic in Long Island. Recorded by Fred Nguyen from KPFA’s sister station, WBAI.