After Title 42: Policies for a More Sensible and Humane Immigration System
Mexico
July 12, 2023
12:30pm
Zoom
In the days preceding the end of Title 42, the U.S.-Mexico border saw a surge of migrants seeking to cross to the United States, but since the end of the policy, numbers have fallen by up to 50%. However, Mexican communities along the border, and across the country, continue to struggle to shelter thousands of people hoping to cross to the United States. The Biden administration has sought to toughen access to asylum in order to deter would-be migrants, but officials have characterized the current approach as a Band-aid over the larger problem. Fundamental policy changes to the U.S. immigration system are still needed, with some advocating a “very high wall with a very big gate” to deter irregular migration and open more legal pathways for migrants. Join us as we explore policy options for a more sensible and humane immigration system with experts versed in how these decisions are made as well as their on-the-ground impact.
Please note that Zoom details will be shared closer to the event date. If you have any questions, please reach out to engage@pacificcouncil.org.
Speakers
Moderator: Camille J. Mackler, Esq., Senior Visiting Fellow, Truman Center for National Policy
Camille J. Mackler, Esq. is the Senior Visiting Fellow at the Truman Center for National Policy, where she is working on researching and highlighting intersections between immigration policy, national security, and foreign relations. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Immigrant ARC (I-ARC), a collaborative of over 80 legal service providers in New York State. In that role, Ms. Mackler works with community leaders, legal service providers, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, and Federal agencies and policy makers to ensure immigrants have access to a fair and efficient immigration system.
Prior to launching Immigrant ARC, Ms. Mackler was the Director of Immigration Legal Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition. There, she led advocacy campaigns to improve laws and policies for the benefit of immigrants across New York State. Ms. Mackler has led a number of important campaigns and efforts, including advocating for – and ultimately helping coordinate – the evacuation of thousands of Afghans after the Taliban takeover in 2021, coordinating legal efforts to respond to busing of migrants to New York City and New York State since 2022, for detained asylum seekers during family separation at the border in 2018, and at JFK airport during the Muslim travel ban in 2017. She has successfully advocated for protections for immigrants at the State and Federal level, including increasing State and City funding for legal services from $10 Million in 2013 to over $100 Million today, drafting legislation creating the first right to universal representation of immigrants in the country, and engaging in Administrative Advocacy to push for a wide range of policy changes and new protections for immigrants in the United States. Ms. Mackler is on the Steering Committees for the Evacuate Our Allies coalition and the AfghanEvac coalition.
Ms. Mackler is a frequent lecturer on topics of immigration law and policy and has authored numerous reports, OpEds, and articles on federal immigration policy. She has testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the New York State legislature, and the New York City Council on issues affecting immigrants, and has argued cases before US Federal Courts of Appeals and US Immigration Courts. She is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and New York Law School.
Panelist: Nicole Ramos, Border Rights Project Director, Al Otro Lado
Nicole Elizabeth Ramos is the Director of Al Otro Lado's Border Rights Project, a program which conducts human rights monitoring, legal orientation and accompaniment for asylum seekers at the US-MX border, and spearheads litigation challenging border enforcement policies which restrict access to the US asylum process. Nicole is also an Adjunct Professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law, and a frequent lecturer at universities and law schools throughout the United States regarding the impact of restrictive border policies on the right to seek asylum.
Panelist: Seth Stodder, Lawyer & Nonresident Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security, Atlantic Council
Seth Stodder is a lawyer, and currently is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security. He also teaches national security law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, and is a frequent writer, speaker and media commentator.
Previously, Mr. Stodder served in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Border, Immigration & Trade Policy and, prior to that, as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Threat Prevention & Security Policy. In those interrelated roles, Mr. Stodder oversaw DHS policy on border security, immigration, trade, screening and vetting of individuals for national security purposes, law enforcement, among other issues. Read More.
