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Important Free Webinar, Oct. 13, 2022: Nativist Extremism

October 04, 2022 (3 min read)

MIRR Alliance - Register here for this free webinar, Oct. 13, 2022

How did nativist extremists capture the GOP, strangle immigration reform—and what to do about it?

"Strong nativist sentiment, once relegated to the ideological fringes, has found a home in the Republican Party. Today, an increasingly acrimonious culture war powered by anti-immigrant posturing and contemporary narratives of fear has paralyzed the political process. Nativism endorses a racially and ethnically defined idea of nationhood that degrades our democracy. As Congress and the country prepare to decide whether to adopt just and common sense immigration reform, many in the GOP are succumbing to nativist appeals. How did we get here? How do we eliminate support for nativist demagoguery? MIRR Alliance, along with key leaders and immigration policy experts, invites you to a webinar discussion to grapple with those questions and ask: what is our role as leaders in the fight for immigration reform?"

Speakers:

Wajahat Ali
Author, columnist, and podcast co-host
Wajahat Ali is the author of Go Back To Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American (Norton, 2022); A Daily Beast columnist, co-host of the weekly Democracy-Ish podcast; a Senior Fellow at Western States Center and Auburn Seminary; a recovering attorney; and, a tired dad of 3 kids.
 
Mark Hetfield
President and CEO @HIAS
Mark Hetfield first joined HIAS in 1989 as a caseworker in Rome, Italy. He has worked for the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a large law firm as an immigration attorney, and has held multiple roles at HIAS over the years. Since being named HIAS’ President and CEO in 2013, Mark has led the transformation of HIAS from helping refugees because they were Jewish to helping refugees because we are Jewish. Mark is proud of HIAS’ role in assisting and resettling refugees of all faiths and ethnicities and as a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State. He is a frequent commentator and writer on refugee issues on television, radio, newspapers, and other media outlets. Mark holds both a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.
 
Clarissa Martínez De Castro
Deputy Vice President for Policy and Advocacy @UnidosUS
Clarissa Martínez De Castro is passionate about strengthening civil society. As Deputy Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS, the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S, she oversees efforts to advance fair and effective immigration policies, and to expand Latino civic engagement by helping immigrants become citizens, citizens become voters, and the community overall become an active participant in policy debates. She has advocated at the federal and state levels on issues impacting Latinos, has extensive experience overseeing and developing polling projects on Latino voters and issues impacting the community, and also designed Rise Above, a pilot initiative to build a positive, accurate narrative of our changing America that fosters collaborative action. She has produced reports and articles on the Latino electorate and testified at Congressional hearings on immigration.
 
Charles Kamasaki (Moderator)
Distinguished Immigration Fellow @Cornell Law
Charles Kamasaki is Senior Advisor to UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), where his portfolio includes assisting with the organization’s work on immigrant integration, racial equity, and other selected institutional projects. Previously the Executive Vice President of NCLR, he managed NCLR’s research, policy analysis, and advocacy activity over three decades, and also served in other capacities. Kamasaki has authored, co-authored, and supervised the preparation of dozens of policy and research reports, journal articles, and editorials; testified frequently at Congressional hearings; and coordinated pro bono litigation and legal analysis. Kamasaki is a Distinguished Immigration Fellow at Cornell Law. He is also a Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, under whose auspices he authored Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die (Mandel Vilar Press 2019), an award-winning book about the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
 
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