The DePaul College of Law’s Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic will bring together voices from across the country to discuss the consequences of failing to reform the current United States immigration system and to encourage participation in immigration law reform on a comprehensive level.  The Oct. 24 conference will be held at the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005. Panel discussions on a variety of topics will begin at 9:45 a.m. and run throughout the day. Conference participants are invited to contribute to a video open letter to President Barack Obama. St. John’s University and Niagara University will participate in the day’s events via video and twitter.

Central to the symposium will be the screening of the feature-length documentary “Tony & Janina’s American Wedding,” which tells the story of Tony and Janina Wasilewski’s three- year struggle to be united after their family was torn apart by America’s red tape ridden immigration system.  After living 18 years in the United States,  Janina was deported back to Poland, taking the couple’s 6-year-old son with her.  The documentary is set amid the backdrop of the Chicago political scene and features  U.S. Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill), who has been at the heart of the immigration reform movement. Film directors Ruth Leitman and Steve Dixon and the subjects of the documentary, Tony and Janina Wasileski, will be present for discussion.

In addition, the conference will cover topics that include the consequences of inaction on the economy, families and communities; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement measures and state and local government responses, and issues such as undocumented children, detention, families and asylum, and political economies. 

Among the presenters will be:

Douglas Rivlin—press secretary for U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez who served as the senior director of communications for the National Immigration Forum, one of the nation’s preeminent pro-immigrant advocacy organizations and one of the leading groups in the national Reform Immigration for America campaign.

Kevin Appleby—director of Migration Policy and Public Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Appleby testified  before Congress on immigration issues and represented the U.S. Catholic bishops on these issues at public events and in the media.

The Honorable Paul Bridges—Mayor of Uvalda, Ga. Bridges is working for comprehensive federal immigration reform and is a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s new anti-immigrant law.

Eliseo Mendina—described by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the most successful labor organizers in the country.” Serving as the International Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, Mendina leads the union’s efforts to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.

For more information about the program, contact Lorena Hernandez at 312-362-6191 or lhernan2@depaul.edu.

About the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic

Established in 1996, DePaul’s Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic has two components:  asylum training and representation, and a technical legal assistance program that collaborates with community-based organizations (CBOs) in the Chicago metropolitan area to meet their legal assistance needs and develop resources to improve staff skills and knowledge.  The clinic serves more than two dozen CBO partners and more than 250 clients annually.

Note to Editors—Journalists who would like to cover this event, please contact Valerie Phillips, DePaul University, at (312) 613-8172 or vphillip@depaul.edu.