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The Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies announces:
Respecting Human Rights of Immigrants: A Teach-In
Thursday, May 9, 1996
1:00 -2:00 p.m.
On Thursday, May 9th, a teach-in concerning the issue of human rights and
immigrants to the United States will be held by researchers and staff at the
Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California-San Diego.
Featured guest speakers will include Wayne Cornelius of the Center for
U.S.-Mexican Studies, Roberto Martinez of the American Friends Service
Committee Border Program, Paule Cruz-Takash from the Ethnic Studies
Department at U.C.S.D., and Claudia Smith, Regional Counsel for California
Rural Legal Assistance.
The organizers of the event, concerned by a rising tide of violence and
public resentment against Mexican immigrants and Latinos, have invited these
local activists and border experts to share some of their experiences and
findings about long-term trends in immigration as well the overall human
rights record in the U.S. with respect to immigrants.
The event is an attempt to work against popular stereotypes, which often
portray the border as a dusty netherland filled with millions of poor
Mexicans wishing only to cross over and take Americans' jobs and social
services. Such stereotypes tend to prevent a more balanced, sober
consideration of the long history of low-wage Mexican labor in the
southwestern United States. Millions of Mexican workers have come and gone
from the U.S. over many decades; why a public backlash is rising now
requires a careful analysis of immigration as well as larger economic and
political trends.
The following four areas will be addressed in the teach-in:
1) basic facts about immigration flows
2) the U.S. record on human rights observance with respect to immigrants
3) various points of view about why hard-line public sentiment may be
emerging now
4) what concerned citizens can do to counter human rights abuses
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The event will be free and open to the public and will be held in the
auditorium at the Copley International Conference Center at the Institute of
the Americas Complex, 10111 North Torrey Pines Road. Parking permits are
required and can be purchased at the University's information booths. For
further information, please contact Heather Williams or Bong-Hyun Chun at
(619) 534-9749, fax 534-6447.
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