The Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library hosted a town hall on Sept. 9, titled “Civil Dialogues: Immigration and the American Future.”
This event is just one part of a series, and was designed by Linda Lorelle and Jean Becker to educate the general public and create a safe space for people from both sides of the issue.
The event consisted of a three member panel, including Jay Sexton, director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, Faramola Shonekan a PhD student and administrator at the University of Texas and Michael Sharma-Crawford a Kansas and Missouri Chapter Associate Immigration Attorney.
The discussion started with some quick facts and a reminder of the immigration laws passed in the United States recently.
According to the Center of Immigration Studies, 1 in 7 Americans (or about 16%) are immigrants, which showcases the importance of immigration and immigration laws. It’s driven by “instability and economic issues [in home countries],” said Sexton.
Immigration laws are in flux, directly affecting college students. Funding has been cut from international programs, student visas are being withheld or revoked, and professors are also feeling the impact.
Shonekan has seen a similar trend with students at the University of Texas, where international students are thinking about returning home.
“Students see it as danger–not just them, but their ideas are in danger,” said Shonekan.
Another major focus of the panel was the aggressive enforcement of these new immigration laws, and ICE detaining people who have legal status in the United States, as well as those actively fighting their cases in court.
Sharma-Crawford, former police officer, attributes the aggression to a lack of consequences for enforcement officers.
There is “a long standing practice of those [consequences] not occurring,” said Sharma-Crawford. He shared that the small number of immigration judges, just five in Kansas City, can lead to immigrants giving up in the middle of their cases.
The panel was then opened up to a Q&A portion, where members of the audience asked various questions and shared their own stories.
One member waited his turn and then claimed that “you all are missing the point,” disagreeing with immigration as a whole. “
In response, “we need to think about what we’re really mad about,” Shonekan said, explaining that the root is the economic issues in the country.
She details that people aren’t placing the blame where it belongs, and that leads to them looking for something else to fault.
To close the event, Sexton wanted to remind the audience that while it doesn’t have to be this severe, immigration reform can lead to transformation. He mentioned the new New Deal, and attributed that to the immigration shut down of the 1920s. He said he is excited for the benefits that a transformation might bring for the working class.
Sharma-Crawford urged people to call their representatives and fight for fairness and reform of the current immigration policies.
Event designer Jean Becker, ended the discussion with, “Regardless of your politics, immigration is a humanitarian crisis.”
