Illustration by Joycelyn Cabrera. From left to right: Ali Noorani and Miriam Jordan.
Survey after survey suggests Americans strongly support immigration. Yet fear dominates the politics around immigration. Elected officials and pundits routinely use the rhetoric that immigrants are threats to culture, public safety, and jobs—not only to justify restrictions on migrants’ rights, but also to divide communities and gain power at the expense of democracy itself. What makes this fear-mongering so effective, and is there any way to fight it? How have communities, organizations, and governments successfully reconciled differing views on immigration over the past few years? And could immigration inspire unity rather than conflict and crisis?
National Immigration Forum president/CEO and ASU Social Transformation Lab fellow Ali Noorani, author of Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants, visits Zócalo to examine how new policies, stories, and responses to immigration can be used to build a more cohesive and welcoming nation.
Featured Speakers:
-
Ali Noorani
Author, Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants
-
Miriam Jordan
National Correspondent, New York Times
The Takeaway
To Solve America’s Immigration Woes, We Need to Think, Act, and Work Locally
Individuals and Communities Are Able to Connect with Newcomers Even as Policymakers Work to Drive Us Apart
The Zócalo event “Could Immigration Unite Americans?” comes at a time when much of the world has actually come together in support of one group of immigrants. But, as New …