What: The White House’s new immigration bill led by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), is being released this morning and will reflect the priorities President Biden announced on his first day in office. According to reports, the bill will raise the current per-country caps for visas, provide an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, change the word ‘alien’ to ‘noncitizen’ in U.S. law, and provide green cards for farm workers, Dreamers and TPS holders, among other proposed changes.
American University has several experts in U.S. immigration policy, Latin America, and international immigration issues, that can provide commentary and insights on the proposed bill.
When: February 18, 2021 – ongoing
Who: American University experts who are available to comment include:
- Ernesto Castañeda, assistant professor of sociology and author of A Place to Call Home: Immigrant Exclusion and Urban Belonging in New York, Paris, and Barcelona. He most recently wrote an article on what Biden’s presidency means for immigrants. His policy briefs on border and immigration issues can be found here. He can conduct interviews in Spanish and English.
- Anthony W. Fontes, assistant professor in the School of International Service, is author of Mortal Doubt: Transnational Gangs and Social Order. He is an expert on and US-Latin America relations, focusing on Central America and Mexico, and Latin American security. He is available to discuss issues of immigration and asylum, prisons, gangs, illicit drugs, crime and insecurity, and US foreign policy.
- Eric Hershberg is the Director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University. He is available to discuss the evolution of immigration policy that has led to the current situation in the U.S. and issues affecting Latino communities in the U.S. He is also an expert on comparative politics of Latin America, and on the political economy of development in the region. He can conduct interviews in Spanish and English.
- Tazreena Sajjad, senior professorial lecturer at the School of International Service (SIS), is an expert on transitional justice, refugees and forced displacement, post-conflict governance, and the role of gender in conflict and peacebuilding. Her current research projects include examining the role of fortifications against irregular migrant flows, and refugee reception in the Global South. She currently serves as an advisor to Refugee Solidarity Network (RSN) and is a faculty affiliate of The Transatlantic Policy Center and The Antiracist Research and Policy Center at AU.
Contact: To schedule an interview, please contact AU Media at: 202-885-5950 or AUMedia@american.edu
About American University
In its 127-year history, American University has established a reputation for producing change makers focused on the challenges of a changing world. AU has garnered recognition for global education, public service, experiential learning, and politically active and diverse students, as well as academic and research expertise in a wide range of areas including the arts, sciences, humanities, business and communication, political science and policy, governance, law and diplomacy.
