“Crimmigration and the Ethics of Migration”

by José Jorge Mendoza, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington

Many aspects of immigration law and its enforcement, in the United States and elsewhere, fall short of what justice demands. Some aspects of immigration enforcement—like family separation—are especially egregious and the easiest to criticize. But it is far more challenging to formulate a coherent vision of what immigration policy should be beyond just what it should not be. Equally challenging is determining the ethical responsibilities of policymakers and law enforcement officials who must act under nonideal conditions. Moreover, histories of colonialism, racial discrimination, and violence and their lasting legacies complicate the requirements of justice for present-day immigration policy.

The Symposium on the Ethics of Immigration Enforcement—which will take place Thursday, March 17 and Friay, March 18, 2022, at Penn State University Park—will explore these and other issues. This interdisciplinary event aims to bring together researchers at Penn State in the humanities, law, and social sciences engaged in research at the intersection of immigration and policing.

Sponsors for the event are the Rock Ethics Institute, Penn State Law Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, Latina/o Studies program, Department of Philosophy, and Schreyer Honors College.