People and Policy Adrift: A 21st Century Framework for Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Immigration Policy

Twenty people are forcibly displaced every minute as a result of conflict or persecution. Some 65.6 million people around the globe have been forced from home, a level not seen since World War II. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. As daunting as the worldwide refugee crisis is, it is just one of a host of contentious issues surrounding immigration and the global movement of people in the 21st century.

Governments and societies grapple with fundamental questions about how to balance longstanding and cherished commitments to human rights and individual dignity with equally compelling questions of border protection, national security, economic development, and the equitable allocation of resources and public services.

In the United States, these concerns are manifest in fractious national debates about border walls, travel bans, and the protections afforded to children of undocumented immigrants. Indeed, in January of this year, the U.S. government shut down due in large measure to a Senate impasse over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In Europe, a rising tide of reactionary and populist movements draws energy from public discontent with swelling numbers of refugees and the growing presence of immigrant communities.

How should national and international institutions approach the challenging policy questions raised by refugees, asylum seekers, and children of illegal immigrants? How can a diverse world recognize the importance of economic growth and development and security for all countries, along with the human rights and dignity of immigrants? Where should U.S. immigration policy go from here?

Join Penn President Amy Gutmann and a distinguished panel of experts for a wide-ranging discussion of immigration policy and ways to protect and advance the cause of human rights during a challenging and dynamic period for nations around the world and the international order.

Learn more at http://silfenforum.upenn.edu

Moderator

Amy Gutmann
President and Christopher H. Browne Professor of Political Science in the School of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication

Panelists

Hon. Joseph R. Biden Jr.
47th Vice President of the United States, Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor at the University of Pennsylvania

Hon. John Ellis “Jeb” Bush Sr.
43rd Governor of Florida

Michael Doyle
University Professor and Director of Columbia Global Policy Initiative, Columbia University

Dau Jok
C’14, Founder of the Dut Jok Youth Foundation

Anne C. Richard
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration

Registrations are closed

Silfen Forum, People and Policy Adrift: A 21st Century Framework for Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Immigration Policy