ACC, St. Edward’s Host Immigration Conference March 4

Austin Community College, together with St. Edward’s University, spotlights hot-button immigration issues during the fourth annual “Immigration, Education, and Our Future” conference, scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 4, at ACC’s Highland Business Center (5930 Middle Fiskville Road).

This year’s conference is titled “The Dream and Its Cost.” It examines multiple views on immigration across America’s southern border and DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act legislation. The DREAM Act would have given provisional legal status to undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, as long as they enrolled in college or joined the military. The U.S. Senate rejected the act in December.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo will speak about proposals under consideration by state lawmakers regarding local enforcement of immigration laws. Other presenters will offer perspectives on how current policies compare with different periods in U.S. history. Legal and history experts taking part in the conference include Linda Cristofilis, former chief of staff for Texas Rep. Rick Noriega, immigration attorney Thomas Esparza, Dr. Manuel Garcia y Griego of the Southwest Hispanic Research Institute at the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque, and Dr. Mariano Diaz-Miranda of the Latino/Latin American Studies Center at ACC. The event will feature a panel of college students who would have been affected by the DREAM Act.

Dr. Richard Armenta, associate vice president of student success at ACC and organizer of the conference, notes immigration issues have not changed much over the conference’s four years. “Congress has not dealt with undocumented immigrants, so colleges and universities, in particular, remain in limbo,” he says.

The conference is open to the public. Registration is $40 per person ($10Â for students)Â and includes lunch. For details, see www.austincc.edu/immigrat.

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