Migrant Families at the Border: Working Towards Local Solutions

In the U.S. we're seeing military action taken against asylum seekers at the southern border, extended family and child separation practices, bans on asylum seekers from certain countries, and more. At this conversation, we intend to discuss the impact of current practices affecting migrant communities with a focus on what local actions can be taken to promote and protect the human rights of people who come to this country seeking safety. In particular, attention will be given to local resources and initiatives including information on UB law school's recent trip to work with detainees near the border in Dilley, Texas.

The UB School of Social Work invites you to join a discussion on migrant human rights as a part of our Community Conversations series. The goal of this series is to promote multidisciplinary critical evaluation of an issue, and to make space at the School of Social Work for conversations about timeless and timely issues affecting our community. The secondary goal is to formulate a response, action, or other outcome from the conversation.

We are seeking to engage those interested in and committed to participating in cutting-edge conversations about challenging social issues. While we are open to a wide range of participants, we envision that the people who self-select to attend these community conversations will be a small number of committed and engaged individuals.

Guiding Questions for this Conversation:

• Question #1: What is the impact of the human rights violations we are currently seeing towards migrant families?

• Question #2: What are current local challenges in support migrant families that you are aware of, or are trying to solve?

• Question #3: In light of the current legal and political landscape, how might we mobilize local efforts to ensure the human rights of migrant families?

Many attendees may be familiar with some answers to these questions, but we intend to use these concepts to spur the conversation forward. All input is valuable!