(New Orleans)—Loyola University New Orleans President Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., recently announced the topics and scheduled speakers for the Spring 2007 President’s Forum on Current Issues and Controversies. “America’s Immigrants: New Perspectives from New Orleans on the National Debate” scheduled April 10, 2007, at 7 p.m., in Nunemaker Auditorium, will focus on immigration. The forum is free and open to the public.

“America’s Immigrants: New Perspectives from New Orleans on the National Debate” features Kevin R. Johnson, associate dean for academic affairs and the Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicano Studies at the University of California Davis School of Law; Donald M. Kerwin, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC); and Luz Molina, clinical professor of law at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

Immigration is an issue of great importance to the Catholic Church, and it is an issue on which the church has taken a leadership role not just in formulating policy but in assisting with the delivery of legal assistance to persons who have few rights and resources.

Additionally, immigration is an issue increasingly important to the city of New Orleans because amidst the devastation and damage to the area’s population and infrastructure, the presence of immigrant workers has resulted in some racial and ethnic tension. While the workers are necessary to the area’s recovery efforts, they have also been the target of fraud, abuse, and discrimination. Their presence has drawn local legislative and enforcement efforts to crack down on unauthorized immigrants. These efforts often end up targeting and exacting the cost on both unauthorized and authorized immigrants. The President’s Forum on Immigration will explore the issue of immigration in the context of the national and legal communities.

In announcing the spring forums, Wildes commented, “I hope these events will encourage productive dialogue as New Orleans moves forward in rebuilding a more just city for all its residents.”

Loyola’s President’s Forums seek to explore and discuss some of the most compelling contemporary issues facing us today. Featuring internationally recognized scholars, the forum’s goal is to develop a dialogue with the larger community that helps us deepen our understanding and challenge us to move toward a more just and enlightened society.

Loyola University New Orleans is a Jesuit-Catholic institution with a total student enrollment of 4,724 including 800 law students.

For more information on the President’s Forum, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (504) 861-5888 or publaff@loyno.edu or visit http://www.loyno.edu/presidentsforum/