Interdisciplinary Migration Summit Highlights Immigrant Integration
By Laura Pachón
On April 29, 2022, the DePaul Migration Collaborative (DMC) launched its very first immigration summit, Strategies for a Migrant Planet. Bridging the initiatives of DePaul’s Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (RFMS) program, the DMC engages scholars, practitioners, students, and alumni to find solutions to society’s most pressing problems in the areas of migration, mobility, and human rights.
The conference was interdisciplinary, featuring faculty who currently teach and work on issues central to migration and mobility and who bridge diverse areas, including law, psychology, social work, conflict resolution, Latin American and Latino studies, religious studies, public health, and communication. Attendees chose from panels including Prioritizing Immigrant Health Services, Climate Change and Migrant Mobility, and many more. As a student in DePaul’s Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (RFMS) program, attending the conference helped me better understand how the work I’m doing engages a wide range of professional and academic fields.
I learned a lot from all of the panels I attended, but one of the most memorable was titled Protection and Integration: Building Community in the Shadow of Federal Enforcement. The panel attracted a large audience, including students, other conference panelists, community members, and representatives from nonprofits. Panelists August DeVore Welles from the Syrian Community Network (SCN); Nubia Willman from the Mayor’s Office of New Americans (ONA); and Karyn Bass Elher, Assistant Chief Deputy in the office of the Attorney General of the State of Illinois spoke about the work taking place at the three levels of immigrant integration: community, city, and state.
Each panelist shared the work their office does to ensure proper integration into the community–and the larger community that is Chicago–as well as the work they do to protect immigrants’ human rights at the state level.
In the United States, historically, the concept of assimilation too often assumes the abandonment of cultural ties and expressions of the immigrant’s home country. But these advocates are all working to integrate immigrants into an American society that celebrates differences and the new cultural views that immigrants bring into this nation of immigrants.
The first panelist, Welles, discussed the importance of the Syrian Community Network’s work to integrate Syrian refugees and build them a community right here in Chicago. Originally founded to ease this transition, the SCN offers Syrian Chicagoans programs including (1) case management/family well-being; (2) youth & adult education; (3) immigration support; (4) advocacy. Their immigration program is particularly key for refugees, as it is accredited by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and offers citizenship class and asylum work authorizations to name a few of the pathways they offer.
Welles emphasized the passion that informs SCN’s work, as the organization relies heavily on volunteers to work with the members of their community. (To inquire about volunteer opportunities, see their website.)
Willman spoke next, noting that the Mayor’s Office of New Americans focuses on well-being, economic development and education, and civic integration catered towards Chicago’s diverse immigrant and refugee communities. Their work involves three pillars, which they refer to as “protective,” “reactive,” and “creative.” From protecting the documentation status by not requiring proof for access to certain services, to retaining a Chicago Resiliency Fund for undocumented and mixed-status families who were unable to receive the COVID-19 federal stimulus check, the ONA offers various avenues to ensure equity in their communities’ success.
When I spoke with Willman after the panel, she shared how integration and the celebration of cultures in Chicago helps to continue Chicago’s legacy as one of the most welcoming cities to immigrants and refugees. The ONA’s initiatives make migrants feel wanted and safe while enabling others to break down defensive walls towards the socially-constructed “other.”
Elher spoke last. As Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General of the State of Illinois, Elher explained the state laws in place to protect the civil rights of immigrants and refugees, as well as initiatives her office takes to be more inclusive.
One of the state’s initiatives that stood out to me seems simple, yet often overlooked. To protect the diverse communities of Illinois, whenever there is a discrimination complaint or legal action being filed on behalf of the immigrant, the Attorney General’s office makes sure to meet residents and witnesses in a variety of settings. This is important because immigrants and refugees don’t always have a guaranteed trust in government institutions. Therefore, many residents and witnesses are less likely to follow up on complaints if this requires them going into a government building. Finding a neutral or comfortable space for the client is essential.
Additionally, I learned about the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). The IHRA has a list of protected classes when it comes to differences of race, sexual orientation and gender identity, and work authorization, to list a few. The IHRA also lists discriminatory actions and hate crimes that can be prosecuted under Illinois state law.
Following the conference, I attended a happy hour that brought together for the panelists and the student workers who successfully helped execute the DMC conference. Students such as myself had the privilege of connecting with the Director of the National Immigrant Justice Center, Mary Meg McCarthy, and with the panelists mentioned above.
My greatest takeaway? The interdisciplinarity of a conference like this one allows us to connect and collaborate across fields to come up with better solutions to address the challenges of immigration and migration. When we collaborate with others, we can advocate powerfully for the world’s most vulnerable population.
Laura Pachón is a 2021–22 Student Fellow with HumanitiesX.
