Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights holds third annual symposium

On Friday, February 21, the Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights held its third annual symposium, “A Force for Change: Advancing the Rights of the Latino Community.”

Each year the symposium gathers academics, advocates, practitioners, and law students to discuss critical issues. This year, guest speakers discussed voting, anti-immigrant ordinances, and higher education, all with the purpose of highlighting how the rights of the Latino community are being advanced or defended.

Panel 1: A Vote, A Voice: The Importance of the Voting Rights Act

Moderator: Katherine Culliton-Gonzalez, Senior Attorney and Director of Voter Protection, Advancement Project

Panelists:

  • William Brewer, Partner, Bickel & Brewer Storefront
  • Nina Perales, Vice President of Litigation, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
  • Ana Reyes, City Council member for the City of Farmers Branch, Texas

Watch the discussion (1 hr, 38 min):

 

Panel 2: Lessons Learned from the Front Lines: Challenging Local Anti-Immigrant Ordinances in the Midst of a National Call for Reform

Moderator: Julia Preston, National Immigration Correspondent, New York Times

Panelists:

  • José Perez, Deputy General Counsel, LatinoJustice/PRLDEF
  • C. Dunham Biles, Partner, Bickel & Brewer Storefront
  • Andre Segura ’06, Attorney at the Immigrants’ Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Watch the discussion (1 hr, 24 min):

 

Panel 3: Realizing the Dream: Promoting Access to Education and Bar Admissions for Undocumented Students

Moderator: Alina Das ’05, Assistant Professor of Clinical Law and Faculty Director of the Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights at NYU School of Law

Panelists:

  • Cesar Vargas, Executive Political Director of the DREAM Action Coalition
  • Luis Angel Reyes Zavalza ’15, Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights scholar
  • Sergio Garcia, Undocumented Attorney

Watch the discussion (1 hr, 27 min):

Posted on March 6, 2014