Immigration continues to be a hot-button issue as our country marks the 5th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Experts from across the country, including Linda Chavez, Peter Brimelow and Bill Ong Hing, will gather at Grand Valley State University to discuss and debate American immigration. The Constitution Day celebration is sponsored by Grand Valleys Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, the Gerald R. Ford Library, Museum & Foundation, and the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan.
Immigration is one of the most unsettled and potentially unsettling challenges facing Americans today, especially with important midterm elections around the corner, said Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. There are a lot of myths surrounding immigration, but with several world-class debaters participating, we hope to throw light on this contentious issue.
The panel discussions and debate will take place Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Cook-DeWitt Center on Grand Valleys Allendale Campus. Sessions include:
- 8:30-9:45 a.m.: Expert panel
- 10-11:15 a.m.: Immigrant voices panel
- 11:30-12:45 p.m.: Luncheon address, Kirkhof Center, room 215
- 1-2:15 p.m.: The debate
- 7:30 p.m.: Keynote address, Gerald R. Ford Museum
MEDIA OPPORTUNITY: Panelists will be available for interviews before and after their scheduled presentations. Debate participants will be available directly after the debate at 2:15 p.m. All speakers will be available from 4:30-5 p.m. in the Cook-DeWitt Center.
Debate participants include:
Keynote speaker:
Marcelo Suarez-Orozco is the Courtney Sale Ross Professor of
Globalization and Education at New York University. He is also
co-director of Immigration Studies at NYU. In 2005, he addressed the
U.N. secretary generals First Annual Global Colloquium of University
Presidents.
For detailed information on all speakers and the days events, visit www.allpresidents.org or call Grand Valley's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at (616) 331-2770.
