American University — Country Conditions in Central America and Asylum Decision-Making: Public Forum
As part of a Central American Migration Research Initiative, American University‘s Center for Latin American & Latino Studies is convening a workshop, Country Conditions in Central America and Asylum Decision-Making, to share insights across disciplinary perspectives in order to enhance scholarship and better inform lawyers and other practitioners working with Central American asylum seekers. With support from the National Science Foundation, the workshop seeks to connect social scientists with expertise on conditions driving migration from Central America with legal scholars and practitioners engaged in innovative thinking around ways to bridge the gap between complex forms of persecution in Central America and protections offered under U.S. immigration law.
Public Forum: The opening workshop sessions (see forum flyer attached) on January 12, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., are open to the public. An introductory panel will discuss challenges to deeper cross-disciplinary collaboration on asylum representation. Late morning and early afternoon panels on country conditions in the Northern Triangle will present field research on a wide range of relevant issues, including gangs and insecurity; state and community responses to violence; state capacity; returned migrants and reintegration; family violence; gender-based violence; forced recruitment; and religion and political opinion-based persecution.
Please note that space is limited and that available lunch vouchers will be distributed to guests who RSVP on a first-come, first-served basis.
9:00am – 9:15am Welcome and Introductions
9:15am – 10:45am Challenges to Deeper Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration on Asylum Representation Lenni Benson, New York Law SchoolUniversity of Baltimore Law School
11:00am – 12:15pm Country Conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras: The State of Research (Part 1) José Miguel Cruz, Florida International University; Alex Segovia, INCIDE; Ricardo Barrientos, Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales; Mauricio Gaborit, Universidad Ceontramericana “José Simeón Cañas” Moderator: Clare Seelke, Congressional Research Service
12:15pm – 1:30pm Lunch Presentation – A Flawed System: Structural Challenges Facing Central American Asylum Seekers Stephen Manning, Immigrant Law Group PC
1:30pm – 2:45pm Country Conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras: The State of Research (Part 2) Elizabeth Kennedy, San Diego State University
KJ