CGU professor to headline Iowa Latino Conference in October

Claremont Graduate University's School of Educational Studies associate professor William Perez will give the keynote address at the Iowa Latino Conference, according to a CGU news release.

 

The University of Iowa hosted conference will take place Oct. 15 and 16 in Iowa City.

Undocumented students, immigrant justice, health, Latino culture and identity, violence prevention and education will be discussed at the conference.

"The state of Iowa is one of the key destinations of what is know as the 'Immigrant Diaspora,' states that historically have not been immigrant destinations but are so now due to the demand for their labor in the agricultural and meat packing and processing industries," Perez said in the news release. "In this current anti-immigrant climate, immigrant families, particularly undocumented families, face a variety of challenges and increasing hostility in these new immigrant receiving communities." 

How national anti-immigration sentiment affects education policy and immigration will be the focus along with other topics including immigrants' economic contributions. 

Perez, who researches immigrant youth's psychological and social development, recently wrote the book "We ARE Americans: Untold stories of undocumented students in pursuit of the American Dream." 

The book details undocumented immigrant youths lost in the United States' boundaries of culture and laws. 

Perez, who also studies Latino students' access to higher education and academic achievement, is in support of the Dream Act, "a proposed federal law that would create a path to citizenship for some undocumented children who are raised in the United States and serve in the U.S. military or graduate from college," according to the release.