Join American Reason at Public Space One for the first of a series of Little Village/KRUI roundtable discussions! At 4pm on Sunday, March 27th we will be tackling the immigration debate through the prism of the May 2008 Postville Raid.
For nearly three years, American Reason has endeavored to bring you insightful and intellectually honest dialog on the radio; we are now bringing this to the stage. If you are looking for a scream-fest or a snooze session, look elsewhere. Our goal is to investigate this issue with an open mind. Whether you believe in amnesty or enforcement, sanctuary or security, this discussion will elucidate the key points of this debate for you.
Vikram Patel and Matt Sowada of American ReasonWe will be joined by Rockne Cole, an Iowa City lawyer whose firm consists primarily of family based immigration; removal defense and criminal law, and Dr. Mark Grey, a professor of Anthropology at UNI who has done extensive work on Postville.
Mr. Cole graduated from Luther College in 1997 with a major in Economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time at Luther, Mr. Cole developed a strong interest in Latin American history, politics, and culture. He was a three year member of Latin American Concerns and studied abroad in Costa Rica in 1995 and in Cuenca, Ecuador during the Summer of 1997.
In 1998, in conjunction with the University of Iowa’s celebration of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Mr. Cole helped plan a human rights conference. He received his JD with distinction from The University of Iowa College of Law in 2000. He was also active in The University of Iowa’s Legal Clinic. For his efforts in the Clinic, he received the first Michelle R. Bennet Award for Outstanding Client Service.
Mark A. Grey, Ph.D is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Northern Iowa. He is also Director of the Iowa Center for Immigrant Leadership and Integration. The Center is an award-winning program that provides consultation, training and publications to Iowa communities, churches, organizations, law enforcement agencies, and employers as they deal with the unique challenges and opportunities associated with influxes of immigrant and refugee newcomers.
Dr. Grey received his Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has published extensively in academic journals and books on immigration in the Midwest. He has also published extensively for non-academic audiences. His handbooks include, New Americans, New Iowans. He co-wrote Health Matters: A Pocket Guide for Working with Diverse and Underserved Populations. Mark is also co-author of the book, Postville: USA: Surviving Diversity in Small-Town America. Dr. Grey has won numerous awards for his activities, including the One Iowa Award for Diversity, the Midwest Sociological Society Social Justice Award, the Remington Award (Iowa’s highest award the promotion of public health), the Iowa Friends of Civil Rights Award, the Iowa Council for International Understanding Vision Award, the University of Northern Iowa Distinguished Service Award, and the Iowa Regents Award for Faculty Excellence.
Rockne ColeFor more information, browse the American Reason archive on LittleVillageMag.com, listen to the show every Sunday from 4-5pm on 89.7FM KRUI or subscribe to our podcast by searching for “American Reason” in iTunes.
