[act-ma] (Wed.) 10/8 Cambridge Forum Discusses Immigrant Struggles, Immigrant Gifts

[director at cambridgeforum.org]

CAMBRIDGE FORUM
3 Church Street ● Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
email: director at cambridgeforum.org
www.cambridgeforum.org

/RELEASE    /                                                                                     
October 1, 2014

IMMIGRANT STRUGGLES, IMMIGRANT GIFTS

On Wednesday, October 8, 2014  at 7:00 p.m. Cambridge Forum hosts a
discussion about the contemporary immigrant experience.  This summer's
focus on the 50,000+ children crossing the southern border of the United
States is the latest in a series of events that has brought U.S.
immigration policy into sharp relief.  Are current policies adequate for
today's immigrant experience?   How is modern immigration different from
that of previous generations?  By examining the immigrant experience of
various ethnic and religious groups throughout U.S. history, the Immigrant
Learning Center’s book Immigrant Struggles, Immigrant Gifts demonstrates
that the same patterns of native resistance, immigrant struggles and
contributions have occurred over and over again.   Diane Portnoy of the
Immigrant Learning Center leads a panel, including historian Deborah Dash
Moore, Constitutional scholar William G. Ross; and Alex Nowrasteh of the
Cato Institute, in an exploration of the larger political, historical,
sociological and legal context surrounding today’s immigration debate.

DEBORAH DASH MOORE is the Frederick C. L. Huetwell Professor of History and
Director of the Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the
University of Michigan.  She specializes in 20th century Jewish history,
examining how both institutions and individual experiences shape changes in
the population.  Moore has authored or co-authored five books, including
GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation and served as editor or
co-editor for an additional seven volumes, including Gender and Jewish
History.

WILLIAM G. ROSS is the Lucille Stewart Beeson Professor of Law and Stamford
University.   His teaching focuses on Constitutional history,
Constitutional law, and legal ethics.  He has written three books on
Constitutional history of the Progressive and New Deal eras, including
Forging New Freedoms: Nativism, Education, and the Constitution, 1917-1927.

ALEX NOWRASTEH is the immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s
Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity.  An economist by training,
Nowrasteh has published widely in the mainstream press, including The Wall
Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, Boston Globe, San Jose Mercury, and 
Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as online for the Huffington Post.

DIANE PORTNOY is founder and CEO of the Immigrant Leaning Center, a
non-profit educational organization created to provide free English lessons
to immigrant and refugee adults.  The Center currently serves more than
900 students each year and has expanded to educate the public about the
positive impact that immigrants have on the American economy and
communities.

The program is free and open to the public.  It takes place at the First
Parish in Cambridge, 3 Church Street in Harvard Square.  Cambridge Forum
is recorded and edited for public radio broadcast. Edited podcasts are
available at www.cambridgeforum.org.  Select forums can also be viewed in
their entirety on YouTube.
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