STEP OUT Migration

60 MInutes on Sunday

The persecution of Christians in

Iraq

will be broadcasted on 60 MINUTES Sunday Dec. 2 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The segment proposed title is  “The Purge”. Please tune in.

Conditions in immigration detention

Tomorrow night, Thursday, November 29th, at 10pm on the East and West Coast (don't know about CST or MST), Univision will run a long piece on medical care and deaths in ICE custody.  It should be enlightening!

Iraqi Student Project

Since the summer my clinic students and I have been working on a start-up not-for-profit organization, the Iraqi Student Project.

The Iraqi Student Project (ISP) aims to help university students from Iraq continue their educations during this period of turmoil in their country. The ISP hopes to achieve this by recruiting U.S. colleges and universities, who would sponsor two or more Iraqi students (through tuition waivers and, if possible, room and board). The students would need to meet the usual standards for admission to each college. Sponsoring these courageous students will allow them to complete their educations, attain a college or advanced degree and be well-situated to develop Iraq when its conditions improve. 

The future of Iraq depends on this generation's ability to help rebuild their country, and our universities and colleges can assist with this vital process.  As you know, most institutions of higher education in Iraq are in serious trouble. Insurgents target and kill academics and students.  Further, many of the refugees living in Syria and Jordan cannot continue their educations. (The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a major story entitled "Iraq's Universities Near Collapse," on May 18, 2007.)  I

ISP also believes that these Iraqi young people can add tremendous diversity to U.S. college campuses, particularly now when Iraq is such a prominent part of the national conversation. These students will undoubtedly bring new perspectives and new ideas to our campuses.

For more information, here is a link to the project's website: http://www.iraqistudentproject.org/.  I encourage you to learn more about the ISP and consider how you can support its efforts. 

Asylum: A Home for the Oppressed

A few weeks ago I was privileged to visit Pepperdine University School of Law to participate in a symposium about religious-based persecution, Asylum: A Home for the Oppressed.   The symposium was brilliantly organized by Professor Melanie Howard of Pepperdine's Herbert and Elinor Nootbar Institute on Law, Religion & Ethics.  Pepperdine, located on the beautiful Pacific coast in Malibu, is a delightful place to visit, especially coming from the east coast in November.

documentary film about Iraqi refugees

Kalyanee Mam and David Mendez, two filmmakers, are currently working on a documentary that will follow the hopes and struggles of Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria, as well as in the Kurdish regions in northern Iraq. The documentary is part of an effort by the filmmakers to raise awareness of the situation of Iraqi refugees and the dangers faced by displaced persons across Iraq and to mobilize action to support the increased admission of Iraqi refugees into the United States.  For more information about the documentary, please visit this website. (iraqrefugeedoc.com) 

Ann Arbor event about Iraqi refugees

For those of you near Ann Arbor, tomorrow there is discussion on the Iraqi refugee crisis:

Screening of "Between Earth & Sky" and
Panel Discussion on the Iraqi Refugee Crisis
Thursday, November 29th
4:00 - 5:30pm
Rm 100 Hutchins Hall, University of Michigan
Moderator: Professor James Hathaway
Panelists: Anwar Aljebir, Sarnata Reynolds (Amnesty International), Elizabeth Campbell (Refugee Council USA), Amelia Templeton ("Lifeline for Iraqi Refugees Project" at Human Rights First), Kirk Johnson (The List Project), Kalyanee Mam (Iraq Refugee Documentary)
Sponsored by: The Middle Eastern and North African Law Students Association, Student Network for Asylum and Refugee Law