Immigration Challenges and Choices: People, Principles, and Policies

On April 15, the day of the dialogue, all who have RSVP’d will receive an email with a link and step-by-step instructions on how to join the livestream.

The United States has a new president with new policies on immigration and refugees. There is a new Congress with old divisions. Developments on the U.S.-Mexico border and violence against Asian Americans and immigrants raise old fears and new challenges. The human, moral, social, and economic costs of our broken immigration system are tests of our faith and nation. What is happening? What needs to happen?

This Public Dialogue will bring together leaders from the border, on policy, in the Catholic Church, and from the immigrant community to examine the following questions:

  • What are immigration realities, challenges, responsibilities, and opportunities on the border and in our communities?
  • What are the responsibilities of the United States? To its citizens? To immigrants? On borders? Regarding asylum?
  • What are the conditions in Central America and other places that push people to migrate? What can be done about those conditions?
  • What are the elements of effective, just, and compassionate immigration reform? What will it take for Congress to pass such legislation?
  • What biblical mandates, Catholic principles, and moral values should offer paths forward?
  • What immigration policies, priorities, enforcement, and practices should be pursued or avoided by the Biden administration?

Participants:

  • Walter Kim is the president of the National Association of Evangelicals and the pastor for leadership at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia.
  • Sabrina Rodríguez is an immigration correspondent for POLITICO, where she covers U.S. immigration realities and policies.
  • Bishop Mark Seitz is the bishop of El Paso, Texas, where he serves a borderland community whose sister city is Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
  • Loren (C’25) is a rising sophomore at Georgetown and is a DACA recipient who came to the United States as a young girl from Colombia.
  • Kim Daniels, co-director of the Initiative, will moderate this dialogue.

This dialogue will have closed captions. For all other accommodation requests, please email cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by April 14. A good faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.