Who Gets To Be an American? will be the topic at a forum at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Blacksburg Municipal Building.
A free event sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, NAACP Montgomery-Radford City-Floyd Branch, and the Lifelong Learning Institute at Virginia Tech, the panel brings together three Virginia Tech faculty members, Karen Hult and Nicholas Goedert, both of the department of political science, and Melinda Miller, department of economics.
The moderator will be David Clubb, Director of Cranwell International Center.
Immigration is a contentious issue, said Carolyn Rude, president of the League. “Questions of whether some immigrants are slow to assimilate or taking away jobs from citizens or an engine of entrepreneurship and a source of strength in diversity, are in the news,” she said.
The panel members will help focus some of the issues. Hult will explain the roles and activities of the presidents and federal agency officials; Goedert will review the role of Congress and the courts in implementing and enforcing immigration policy; and Miller will bring in the history and economics of immigration.
The League is a nonpartisan community organization. Its mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government. It works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. It does not support or endorse any political party or candidate.