Date: May 11th, 2017
Time: 10am-6pm
Location: Murphy Institute, 25 W. 43rd St., 18th Floor
Co-sponsored by the Scholars Strategy Network and Murphy Institute
This all-day conference will assess the unfolding immigration crisis, highlighting the perspectives of labor unions, worker centers, community organizations, and local government. The Trump administration’s efforts to restrict immigration, expand deportations, thwart sanctuary cities, and intensify border enforcement mark dramatic shifts in immigration politics and policies. This event convenes a range of national and local experts and leaders to explore the implications of these national shifts, especially for local immigrant communities and the possibilities for resistance.
Program
10:00am: Introductions and coffee
10:30am-12:00pm: Background and Context
Speakers:
- Muzaffar Chishti – Migration Policy Institute, Director of MPI’s office at NYU School of Law
- Mae Ngai – Columbia University, Professor of History and Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies
Moderator: Ruth Milkman, CUNY Graduate Center & Murphy Institute
12:00-1:00pm: Lunch (Provided)
1:00-2:30pm: Labor Responses
Speakers:
- Esther Lopez – United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, International Secretary-Treasurer
- Eliseo Medina – Service Employees International Union, Former International Secretary-Treasurer
- Gonzalo Mercado – National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), New York City Regional Coordinator, and Executive Director at La Colmena – Staten Island Community Job Center
- Javaid Tariq – New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Co-Founder and Senior Staff
- Modesta Toribio – Make the Road New York, Senior Organizer
Moderator: Ed Ott, Murphy Institute/CUNY, Distinguished Lecturer of Labor Studies
2:30-3:00pm: Break
3:00-4:30pm: Community and Local Government Responses
Speakers:
- Anu Joshi – NY State Immigrant Action Fund, Deputy Director
- Abraham Paulos – Families for Freedom, former Executive Director
- Donna Schaper – Judson Memorial Church, Senior Minister
- Monica Sibri – CUNY DREAMers, Founder, and New York Fellow at IGNITE National
Moderator: Els de Graauw, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Baruch College-CUNY
