October 13 — IUPUI Conference on social consequences of Mexican immigration to Indiana
A conference intended to foster networks of academic partners interested in Mexico, Mexicans in the US, and Mexican immigration; and to explore the impact of immigration on individuals and families in the Indianapolis community and the sending communities in Mexico.
When: Monday October 13, 8:30-5:00 PM
Where: IUPUI Campus Center, rooms 405, 450A and 450B
The event is free. Register here.
Themes that are being planned:
- Economic impacts of immigration between Mexico and the US
- Regious implications
- Educational implications
- human trafficking
- Transnational people
- Translation and interpretation in law and health
- Impact of immigration on diet and health
First keynote will be by Justin Heet of the Sagamore Institute, on “The Social Consequences of Immigration — The Flow from Mexico’s Heartland to the Heartland of the USA.”
The changes in the USA economy over the last 8 years, in particular the slowing of economic activity over the last 3 years, might have altered the incentives and niches that supported and sheltered the growth of immigration patterns. While the socio-demographic profiles, the branches of economic activity, and the various socio-economic levels of the immigrant workforce have greatly expanded over time, it is uncertain which ones of those pieces of the mosaic will continue to grow or decline during 2009. It is likely that the perceived impacts (positive and negative) of the immigrant workforce on the nation’s recovery will remain a matter of debate in the public arena. Ideally, an objective appraisal of the actual impacts should inform the shaping of labor, immigration, and social policies. What are the assets and benefits that the Latino immigrant workforce brings to the economy of the USA in general, and of the Midwest in particular? How are these inputs likely to change under the new economic climate, compared to the trends in the past 20 years?
The noon keynote speech, “The Social and Political Consequences of Immigration from Mexico to the USA,” is by Miguel de la Torre, director of the Justice and Peace Institute at the Iliff School of Theology:
Dr. De La Torre is the director of Iliff’s Justice and Peace Institute and serves as the associate professor for social ethics. The focus of his academic pursuit has been social and political ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. He specializes in applying a postmodern/postcolonial social theoretical approach to U.S. marginalized spaces to construct a theological and biblical ethics that challenges structures of oppression. This liberationist approach to ethical thought from the periphery provides a unique perspective to the normative discourse.
A summary of his topic:
The USA economy has suffered many changes in the last 8 years, both internal and affected by outside rearrangement of the international economic order. With an important change of administration looming at the end of 2008, the country must retool the vision of the future: the strength of its currency as a financial standard, the rising power of competing foci of political and economic power in the international scene, and the sources and costs of energy. Domestic issues, such as the cost of and access to health care, the shifts from manufacturing to service economies, the situation of the nation’s infrastructure (highways, etc.) and the overall competitiveness of the economy in the new millennium, will also shape many public attitudes and public policies in 2009 and beyond. Immigration issues will remain hot.
If you think this sounds interesting, be sure to check out …
A statewide discussion of Latino educational challenges and opportunities October 23.
And for your listening pleasure …
A highlight of the conference could be a live vidio discussion with Spanish researchers of the challenges their country faces with undocumented immigration from Morocco. The Spanish nuevo flamenco group Chambao addresses this topic in “Papeles mojados.”
