Event

Immigration has been a vital political issue in both the United States and globally for decades, with economic, security, and humanitarian implications. The current federal administration has sharply increased the number of children separated from their families while seeking entry into the United States, and has limited immigration through capping refugee admissions at the lowest levels since 1980. President Trump has repeatedly expressed an intention to take actions including denying immigrants entry if they are likely to need public assistance, eliminating birthright citizenship, constructing a border wall with Mexico, aggressive deportation of undocumented immigrants, and temporary bans on Muslim immigration. The plight of migrants internationally has gripped the United States and Europe, as images of children in cages at the United States border and overloaded boats in the Mediterranean have become media fixtures.

This Provost’s Lecture on Diversity will illuminate political and practical concerns related to immigration as Michael Jones-Correa, the President’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science, explores “What Borders Do.” We often think of borders as walls. Borders are much more than that. In response to increased asylum seekers from around the world, developed nations are reconceiving their borders, pushing them out, and pulling them in. Professor Jones-Correa highlights the difficult issues raised by the re-imagination of borders and the trade-offs policymakers face. He will be joined by the Thomas O’Boyle Lecturer in Law, Fernando Chang-Muy, who will moderate audience questions. Professor Chang-Muy returns to Penn from a recent education campaign in Honduras to educate people about the legal obstacles, rights, and landscape of the trip to the north. The reception that follows the lecture, in Silverman Hall, will feature the photography of Mexican-American artist Ada Trillo, documenting the lives of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.