Who Belongs? Immigration, Citizenship, and Democracy

Immigration and citizenship laws are the starting point for deciding not only who is allowed to be in the United States, but more fundamentally who can build lives with hope for the future, and who can shape the communities and the nation in which they live. Panelists will examine immigration and citizenship from this perspective, asking how these laws shape democracy. This inquiry is especially urgent at a time when the highest levels of government stoke hostility toward immigration and immigrants, when fundamental rules of citizenship are being questioned, and when immigration and citizenship laws are being deployed for racial and religious exclusion. With democracy in parallel jeopardy with attacks on the right to vote, on an accurate Census, on fairly drawn legislative districts, and on other core values, the moment is especially urgent to consider how immigration and citizenship laws help answer the question: “who belongs?”

Panelists:

Nana Gyamfi

Marielena Hincapié

Hiroshi Motomura

Moderated by Ingrid Eagly, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law.

Co-Sponsors: David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association, Critical Race Studies, Disability Law Society, International Human Rights Law Association, International Refugee Assistance Project, Law Students for Immigrant Justice, and South Asian Law Students Association