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6/27/18 Panel - Separating Children At The U.S-Mexico Border: A Roundtable Community Conversation

Today's Panel presents a conversaton about immigration.

Immigration has been a touchstone of the U.S. political debate for decades, as policymakers weigh competing economic, security, and humanitarian concerns. Congress has been unable to reach an agreement on comprehensive immigration reform for years.

Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump signed executive orders on border security, interior enforcement, and refugees. In mid-2017, Trump rescinded two programs created by President Obama to shield undocumented children and their parents from deportation. Most recently, a “Zero-Tolerance” policy was implemented causing children to be separated from their parents at the border.

Panelists:
Karen Beetle is a therapist in private practice in Albany, NY. She works with children, adolescents, and adults. Her specialties include trauma, PTSD, anxiety and depression in all age groups as well as mindfulness interventions for somatic regulation. As a therapist, she has conducted psychological interviews for Central Americans seeking political asylum in the US.

Vera Eccarius-Kelly is Professor of Comparative Politics and Political Science at Siena College. One of her areas of expertise is Central America, serving as an expert witness in immigration court in New York and has lived in various Central American countries.

Brooke Mead is Executive Director of the Berkshire Immigrant Center in Pittsfield, Massachusettes. She was formerly a high school Spanish teacher and holds her Masters degree in Spanish from Middlebury College.

Sarah Rogerson is an Albany Law School Professor. She directs the Immigration Law Clinic, an experiential course through which students represent immigrant victims of crime including child abuse and neglect, domestic violence and sexual assault. She is also co-chair of NYS Bar association committee on immigration representation.

Kathy Sheehan is the Democratic Mayor of the city of Albany, NY. She has been outspoken in her support of rights for immigrants and has defended the decision to declare Albany a sanctuary city, saying the addition of immigrants injects vibrancy and money into the city.

Setsuko Winchester is a ceramic artist, photographer, and former journalist at NPR. Her conceptual art work Freedom From Fear/Yellow Bowl Projectasks the question “Who’s an American?” and deals with the forced removal and mass imprisonment of Americans of Japanese ethnicity during World War II.

Scott Wong is the Charles R. Keller Professor of History at Williams College where he teaches a variety of courses in American immigration history, Asian American history, the history of the American West, history and memory, and American Studies.

Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.