Alumni:
This lecture will detail the impact of the prominent rhetoric of "attrition through enforcement," which seeks to discourage undocumented migration by using forceful policing and denying access to basic services in order to make life so intolerable for undocumented migrants that they will choose to leave the US or not migrate in the first place. In doing so, this lecture will highlight the way in which modern immigration controls compel asylum seekers and undocumented migrants into a space outside of legal protection thereby undermining their basic rights and normalizing violence against them. Importantly, this practice of legal violence is broadly accepted by American citizens, and so the aim of this lecture is to critically engage with that commonsense. The lecture draws on comparative research of immigration controls in the US and South Africa.
Faculty Member: Ryan Solomon, associate director of service and social innovationDiscussion Date: Tuesday, March 28 at 1 p.m.
Ryan Solomon facilitates community engagement opportunities for students at Grinnell College, both through funded programs, like Service-Learning Work Study, and volunteer opportunities. Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Ryan completed his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, after which he taught at Colgate University and the University of Chicago. Ryan specializes in community dialogue work, but he has run a range of community engagement programs, from migrant rights programs to anti-racism projects. Ryan is a keen believer in the role of community engagement in building democratic skills and attitudes