American Jewish Committee To Convene Symposium On Immigration

American Jewish Committee
Friday, 11 June 1999

The American Jewish Committee will convene next week in Chicago a national symposium on immigration to assess the changing political dynamics of this issue.

"As traditional supporters and opponents of immigration appear to be adjusting - in some cases trading - their longstanding positions, it is important to take another look at the value of a generous U.S. immigration policy and of the contributions immigrants make to American society," said Stephen Steinlight, Director of the American Jewish Committee's National Affairs Department.

Jonathan Levine, Director of AJC's Chicago Chapter, said the conference was organized because "the issue of immigration has been dramatically redefined over the last few years. Some traditionally liberal coalition partners, such as labor unions, now may express deep reservations about immigration, while traditionally conservative interests, like business leaders, often support immigration."

"The Shifting Politics of Immigration," sponsored by AJC's National Affairs Department and AJC's Chicago Chapter, will take place on Wednesday, June 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Hilton Chicago and Towers.

Ben Wattenberg, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and moderator of the weekly PBS news show "Think Tank," will deliver the keynote address.

"The American Jewish Committee has a long history of favoring generous legal immigration," said Dr. Steinlight. "AJC also has an historic commitment to open intellectual inquiry. Given the vast, ongoing impact of current immigration policy and patterns on American demography, culture and politics - as well as the range of sentiments about immigration among various groups of Americans - this is the right time to reexamine where current trends are taking us as a nation."

The conference will bring together prominent activists and commentators on immigration, including:

Frank Sharry, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, which advocates generous immigration, and Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which backs a more restrictionist policy.

The views of African Americans, Latino Americans and Asian Americans will be explored in a panel including Steven Holmes of The New York Times, Karen Narasaki, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific Legal Consortium, and Louis DeSipio, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois.

The evolving positions of the labor movement toward immigrants will be explored in a panel comprised of Muzaffar Chishti, Director of UNITE's Immigration Project, and Steve Camarota, Resident Scholar at the Center for Immigration Studies.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org