Call for Papers

Strangers No Longer: Immigration Law & Policy in the Light of Religious Values
Fordham University School of Law, New York

Thursday February 24, 2005 | Inter-faith, interdisciplinary scholars’ workshop
Friday February 25, 2005 | Inter-faith, interdisciplinary conference for lawyers, social workers, community activists, clergy, and scholars.

The United States has welcomed more immigrants than any other country – more than 50 million in all – and still admits between 500,000 and 1 million persons a year. That we are “a society of immigrants” is, as President John F. Kennedy put it, “the secret of America: a nation of people with the fresh memory of old traditions who dare to explore new frontiers.”

Yet we also know that our immigration history is not without its shadows. Some of the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” have met not a “golden door” but racism, prejudice, and fear. The domestic and international events that have followed in the wake of the tragedy of September 11th have deeply challenged our identity as a “society of immigrants.”

Each year the Fordham University School of Law Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer’s Work sponsors an inter-faith interdisciplinary conference and scholars’ workshop to explore how religious values might shed light on and enrich a particular area of legal practice. Among other questions, Strangers No Longer hopes to consider:

• The ways in which religious values and commitments support and inform efforts to reform immigration law and policy so that they respect human dignity, human rights, and solidarity.

• The extent to which citizens’ religious values and convictions clash with current laws and regulations regarding immigrants and undocumented workers, and the impact of these conflicts on how they think about and relate to the law.

• The ways in which a deeper understanding of religious values and traditions may help to heal increased tensions and division in a post-September 11th world.

• The ways in which religious values can help open the horizons of US immigration law and policy toward a more comprehensive appreciation of the economic and political factors leading to immigration.

If you are interested in presenting a paper at either the conference or the workshop, please submit a two-page proposal describing how you would discuss any of the themes noted above. Please mail or email proposals by SEPTEMBER 15, 2004 to:

Amy Uelmen, Director, Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer’s Work
Fordham University School of Law, 140 West 62nd Street
New York, New York 10023 Email: [email protected]