How Cities Can Defend Human Rights in the Face of Mass Deportations

Webinar: How Cities Can Defend Human Rights in the Face of Mass Deportations January 29, 2025

The incoming presidential administration has promised to begin mass deportations and other harsh immigration enforcement measures “on day one.” This webinar will help prepare us, as local officials, community leaders, and neighbors, to understand and respond effectively in defense of the human rights of non-citizens in our communities. The panelists will pay special attention to what those of us who are not lawyers, or who don’t have much experience with immigration policy, can do. The specter of detention camps, family separation, the militarization of the border, and the summary denial of persecution and torture claims is real and terrifying. But there are proven measures that we can take to blunt, challenge, and ultimately overturn such policies, and cities will play a critical role in this effort. The first step is to get informed and organized.

Panelists: Mary Meg McCarty, National Immigrant Justice Center, Bettina Rodriguez Schlegel, Chief of Staff-Acacia Center for Justice, Ev Meade, Director, Proceso Pacifico & Human Rights Cities Alliance Steering Committee

Hosted by the Human Rights Cities Alliance and Young Initiative on the Global Economy, Occidental College

Resources Shared in the Webinar

Acacia Justice Programs

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