Los Angeles | In-Person

What Would Immigration Reform Mean for Los Angeles?

A Zócalo/Azteca America Event in partnership with the California Community Foundation
Moderated by Roberto Suro, Director, The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at USC

Immigration reform promises to transform life in Southern California. For years we’ve hired, educated, and interacted on a daily basis with people whose legal status is uncertain. Bringing them into the system could change L.A.’s economy, schools, and politics as more people become able to start businesses, pursue higher education, and participate fully in civic life without fear of legal repercussions. New legislation could also help local businesses recruit and hire the workers they need. But immigration reform also poses potential challenges—from higher labor costs to increased demand for already strained public services. Can we prepare for a post-immigration-reform city—and does the 1986 amnesty hold any lessons for L.A.’s future? UCLA Graduate School of Education dean Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, USC sociologist Manuel Pastor, and UC Berkeley School of Public Health California Program on Access to Care director Gilbert Ojeda visit Zócalo to discuss what immigration reform would mean for us all.

 

*Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Fred Greaves

LOCATION:
The California Endowment
1000 N Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Free parking in lot, with confirmed reservation only. Enter on Bauchet Street.

The Takeaway

What Will 11.2 Million Legalizations Do?

Assessing the Impact of the New Immigration Bill on Los Angeles and the Nation

Exactly seven years ago, on May 1, 2006, millions of people in cities across America took to the streets to protest against harsh proposed changes in immigration policy. Today, a …