The Baldy Center invites all interested faculty and graduate students to attend an afternoon workshop on Friday, April 15, 2005 on Immigration Policy and Practice Post-9/11: Impacts, Historical Precedents, and Future Directions organized by David Gerber, UB History. and Michael Lichter, UB Sociology.

Description

When it became known that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. were planned and executed by foreigners who had for the most part entered the country legally, changes in immigration policy and practice were virtually inevitable. For example, Congress consolidated and reorganized the agencies responsible for administering immigration law and patrolling the borders in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and enhanced the ability of law enforcement agencies to detain immigrants suspected of connections to terrorism in the PATRIOT Act of 2001. Government agencies acted as well, with the Department of Justice initiating in 2002 an alien "special registration" program that required men from a list of countries to present themselves at immigration offices, and with the FBI aggressively pursuing prosecutions of individuals suspected of terrorist associations, as in the local "Lackawanna Six" cases.

Do the actions taken in the wake of 9/11 represent a wholly new direction in the American approach to immigrants and immigration, or are they consistent with what has happened in past crises? What have the impacts of these new policies and practices been, particularly on Arabs and Muslims in the U.S.? What do present developments indicate for the future of targeted groups in America, and what do they indicate for the future of immigrants in the U.S. more generally? This interdisciplinary workshop brings together scholars from law, history, and the social sciences to answer some of these questions and to pose some of their own.

Program

Download program

Friday, April 15, 2005

12:30 - 1:00 pm Registration

1:00 - 2:45 pm Panel 1: Legal Changes and the Treatment of Arabs and Muslims in Post-9/11 America

Moderator: Teresa Miller, Assoc. Professor, University at Buffalo Law School

Immigration and Constitutional Consequences of Post-9/11 Policies Involving Arabs and Muslims in the United States: Is Alienage a Distinction without a Difference?

Susan M. Akram, Clinical Assoc. Professor, Boston University Law School
abstract

The Impact of the Post-9/11 Backlash on Arab and Muslim American Communities

Anny Bakalian, Assoc. Director, Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center, Graduate Center, City University of New York
Mehdi Bozorgmehr, Assoc. Professor of Sociology, City University of New York; co-founding Director, Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC), Graduate Center, CUNY
abstract

Living under Suspicion: Arabs and Muslims in Buffalo after 9/11

Michael Lichter, Asst. Professor of Sociology, University at Buffalo
abstract

2:45 - 3:00 pm Break

3:00 - 5:00 pm Panel 2: Historical and Cross-National Perspectives

Moderator: David Gerber, Professor of History, University at Buffalo

The Immigrant as a Threat to National Security: A Historical Perspective

Gary Gerstle, Professor of History, University of Maryland
abstract

Canadian Immigration Policy and Practice Post-9/11

Jeffrey G. Reitz, Professor of Sociology, R.F. Harney Professor of Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies, Center for International Studies, University of Toronto.
abstract

5:00 - 5:45 pm Concluding discussion and remarks

Presenters

Biographical information on Presenters and Moderators here

Venue

Law School Faculty Lounge, 545 O'Brian Hall, University at Buffalo Law School, North Campus, State University of New York.

Registration

Faculty, law and graduate students, and the public are welcome to attend. There will be no fee for participation; however, space is limited so registration is recommended. Please e-mail your name and affiliation to Ellen Kausner, Events Coordinator, at the Baldy Center at ekausner@buffalo.edu.

Workshop Organizers

Contact Michael Lichter at mlichter@buffalo.edu for information or with any questions about the substance of the colloquium.

For questions about logistics, including travel, accommodation, or local transportation, contact Ellen Kausner in the Baldy Center at ekausner@buffalo.edu .

Driving Directions & Parking

Driving directions and information about parking on UB's North Campus can be found here.

Baldy Center For Law & Social Policy
511 O'Brian Hall, Univerity at Buffalo Law School
PO Box 601100, Buffalo, NY 14260 716.645.2102

:: Back to Events ::