By Ifeanyi OnwumahWhen President Obama was campaigning for presidency, immigration policies were one of the major topics of debate and he promised that he would implement immigration reform. This issue has taken the backseat to Health Care reform and no major bills have been passed yet, so we are still looking forward to when this issue will take the spotlight. As an immigrant I feel obliged to take an interest in this issue, so I decided to learn more about the arguments and real issues surrounding immigration and what exactly the American people want in an immigration reform bill.
Due to this self-imposed obligation, a couple other SXU students and I attended a conference at DePaul University titled “Perspectives on Immigration” on Oct. 23. The trip was sponsored by the Mercy Students for Peace & Justice and Sister Joy Clough served as the chaperone.
Other colleges besides SXU and DePaul were on hand for the conference, including Loyola and Dominican University. Altogether there were approximately 250 guests that attended the conference, which I thought was a success. All the speakers knew did their homework and tried as much as possible to make their presentations entertaining, informative and professional. There were speakers who shared personal stories about how current immigration policies in America have affected their lives for the worse and how the policies needed to be changed in order for America to be a better place.
Food and refreshments were served (who doesn’t like free food?) and there were plenty of opportunities to mingle and meet new people who shared the same interests as themselves. Everything flowed and there was intake of a lot of information (at least, I did!) but I have to say that the highlight of the conference was when Sen. Dick Durbin graced us with his presence. The senator is known as a champion for immigration reform especially through the “Dream Act.” A bill he has been pushing for the last nine years which would allow college students of illegal immigrants to stay in America and complete their college education even if their parents were deported back home. Sen. Durbin spoke about his passion for immigration reform and why we (especially college students) should do our parts so other college students who might just happen to be our close friends don’t get kicked out of the country just because their parents brought them over here illegally at a very young age. He stressed that these young adults had no choice and they shouldn’t have to be punished.
On the flip side of things, I have to say that the title of the conference was a misrepresentation of what the conference is actually about. Again, the conference was titled “Perspectives on Immigration” and to me this meant all perspectives. I went in expecting to hear all sides of the debate. I wanted to hear from those who supported the deportation of illegal immigrants and those who didn’t and why each party felt the way they did and I also wanted to know the facts that they used to support their cases. I was a little disappointed as there was only one viewpoint. Also, a majority of the speakers and the issues discussed revolved around South America, making it seem as if immigration reform concerned only immigrants from that region. I understand that a majority of illegal immigrants come in from that area but issue far exceeds that region and I think the discussion should have been broader to include everyone.
Other than that, I had a good time and I would love for the conference to be held annually because very interesting issues and topics were addressed and there is always knowledge to be acquired from an event such as this. Activities like this that engage college students and incorporates them in their programs encourage these same students to do their part and make a difference because this issue affects everyone, immigrant or not.
Ifeanyi Onwumah is a sophomore philosophy major from South Holland. He participates in several campus clubs. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
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