Wallace House Presents a Conversation with Caitlin Dickerson of The Atlantic

DEPORTATION NATION: Chronicling Our Current Chapter in a Long History of Exclusion

The Trump administration’s deportation campaign is having a profound impact on American institutions, from local governments and businesses to churches and schools, and has helped to cement immigration enforcement as one of the key civil rights issues of our time. But the system through which these mass deportations are being carried out has been in place for decades, and many of the issues drawing headlines — from overcrowded detention centers, to family separations, and deportations without due process — are nothing new.

In this conversation, Dickerson will debunk common misconceptions about how the American immigration system works and how it doesn’t. She will also discuss the United States’ complex history with immigrants, which includes a deeply ingrained, race-based fear that, for centuries, has been directed toward virtually every group of American immigrants, fuelling moments of intense backlash like the one we are in now.