U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Announces Speakers For Alabama Field Briefing On Civil Rights Effects Of State Immigration Laws
WASHINGTON, July 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Commission on Civil Rights is pleased to announce speakers for the Commission's public field briefing on Friday, August 17, 2012 on the effects of recently enacted state immigration laws on the civil rights of individuals in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. U.S. The field briefing will take place at 9 AM Central Time at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, 2101 Richard Arrington Junior Boulevard North, Birmingham, AL 35203. The public is invited to attend.
The Commission's purpose in holding the briefing is to determine whether state immigration laws of the type enacted in Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia will increase racial discrimination such as racial/ethnic profiling, hate crimes, bullying directed at persons based on their actual or perceived race, national origin or immigration status, will diminish student educational rights under Plyler v. Doe or reduce public safety or effective community policing. The Commission will also hear from proponents of the laws as to their rationale and intended effects.
Speakers scheduled to appear are Stacey Abrams, House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State Representative; Scott Beason, Senator, Alabama Senate; David Beito, Chair, Alabama State Advisory Committee and professor, Univ. of Alabama; Tammy Besherse, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center; Chris Chmielenski, NumbersUSA; Chuck Ellis, Albertville City Councilman, Alabama; Chris England, Representative, Alabama House of Representatives; Michael Hethmon, Immigration Reform Law Institute; Joseph Knippenberg, Professor, Oglethorpe Univ. and Georgia State Advisory Committee member; Kris Kobach, Secretary of State, Kansas; Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies; William Lawrence, Principal, Foley Elementary School, Alabama; Steve Marshall, Marshall County District Attorney, Alabama; Joanne Milner, Chair, Utah State Advisory Committee; Marie Provine, Professor, Arizona State Univ.; Isabel Rubio, Executive Director, Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama; Carol Swain, Professor, Vanderbilt University; an official of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Charles Tanksley, Chair, Georgia State Advisory Committee; and Michele Waslin, American Immigration Council.
Deaf or hearing-impaired persons who will attend the meeting and require the services of a sign language interpreter should contact Pam Dunston at (202) 376-8105 at least seven business days prior to the briefing.
Members of the public and interested organizations are invited to submit written statements for the record on the specific topic of the briefing by sending them to: [email protected]
Contact:
Lenore Ostrowsky
Acting Chief, Public Affairs Unit
202-376-8591
SOURCE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
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