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March 13, 2021 • 1–2:30 p.m.
Associate Professor Ming Hsu Chen, Colorado Law
The law says that everyone who is not a citizen is an alien, but the social reality is more complicated. In this CU on the Weekend lecture, Associate Professor Ming Hsu Chen, an expert in immigration law, will discuss the “spectrum of citizenship,” a concept that explores what membership and belonging mean for immigrants seeking to become citizens. Chen supports pathways to citizenship that enhance equality for immigrants and through her research has built a case that formal citizenship status matters more than ever during times of immigration enforcement.
To understand citizenship from the perspective of noncitizens, Chen worked with a team of Colorado Law students to interview green card holders, refugees, military service members, temporary workers, international students and undocumented immigrants about their daily experiences and their attempts to integrate during a modern era of intense immigration enforcement. Chen will describe both the key findings and the process of collaborative research that led to the publication of her book “Pursuing Citizenship in the Enforcement Era” and the launch of Colorado Law’s Immigration and Citizenship Law Program.
Read more about Chen’s research
About the presenter
Ming Hsu Chen is associate professor of law and faculty-director of the Immigration and Citizenship Law Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. She teaches courses in immigration, citizenship and administrative law. Her scholarship brings an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of regulatory agencies that facilitate equality and inclusion for racial minorities and immigrants. Beyond the academy, Chen serves as co-editor for the ImmigrationProf Blog, and her research has been featured in Axios, BBC The World, CBS, CNBC, Colorado Public Radio, The Conversation, Denver Post, Salon, Time Magazine, and The Washington Post. Her book, “Pursuing Citizenship in the Enforcement Era” (Stanford University Press 2020), was featured at TedxMileHigh in December 2020. For more information, visit Chen’s website.