Talk on 2014 Border Crisis - 9/10

Beyond the Classroom presents, as part of the new Beyond Study Abroad series on global citizenship, citizen diplomacy, and student exchange for social change:

A talk by Elizabeth Clark of CASA de Maryland:

"Border Crossings and American DREAMers: Understanding the 2014 “Border Crisis” and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)"

Date: Wednesday, September 10th

Time: 6:30PM-8:30PM

Location: South Campus Commons Building 1, Room 1102  http://www.beyondtheclassroom.umd.edu/locationbtc.htm

Facebook event: www.ter.ps/6kl

About the Talk:

Adversaries of comprehensive immigration reform in the United States have been attempting to connect the recent surge of unaccompanied minors at the border to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, enacted via executive order in June 2012.  Yet, understanding the dynamics of gang- related violence and economic desperation in the countries from which the majority of unaccompanied youth stem, serves to complicate this simplistic argument.

Why then are parents sending their kids over the border? How does this crisis reflect on US foreign policy in Central America, and the US immigration system, especially asylum law? Should we be treating these children as refugees or as immigrants? Finally, what have been the ramifications of the DACA program for undocumented youth and what are the implications for future executive action on immigration due to the roadblock in Congress?

Join us for this free, public talk at the University of Maryland and gain a deeper understanding of the complexities underlying the 2014 Border Crisis and other U.S. immigration issues. An informal professional development seminar for undergraduate students interested in immigrant advocacy careers and/or community organizing will be held after the talk.

About the Speaker:

Elizabeth Clark serves as Legal Program Assistant at CASA de Maryland. She holds an M.A. in Latin American Studies with a specialization in the Anthropology of Immigration from Georgetown University. At CASA, Clark founded a project entitled "Yo Decido," which aims to combine organizing, mental health and legal services to make the legal process empowering for female immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

About the Seminar Series:

This Seminar Series is available for academic credit (UNIV399X, 1-3 credits), and is sponsored by Beyond the Classroom Living & Learning Program, Office of Undergraduate Studies.