Students will have the opportunity to engage with immigrant activist and resource groups from Brandeis and from the greater Boston area at Brandeis Citizenship Day on Tuesday, April 4. The event will be hosted by The Right to Immigration Institute (TRII), a nonprofit organization created by Brandeis students.
In attendance will be representatives from Project Citizenship, Brandeis’ International Students and Scholars Office, the American Civil Liberties Union, Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative, Watch CDC and Newcomer Academy. The two-and-a-half-hour event in Sherman Function Hall will facilitate discussion between students and activists from two communities.
“Our two main goals are supporting those in need of resources and supporting those who are searching to help others,” wrote Jonathan Goldman ’19.
A panel will discuss the political and social climate surrounding immigration and address how students can get involved in educating and spreading awareness about resources. “We hope for the panel to be an opportunity for people to get inspired and recognize that immigration is something that is far more nuanced than the cliches that we see on our Facebook feeds,” Goldman wrote in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.
The event will be open to Brandeis students and members of the Boston-area community and will provide education and assistance. “About one month before the Trump administration passed the first travel ban, me and the rest of the TRII board were sitting and waiting as we were setting up our bank account. We were discussing potential ways to reach out to people who had misconceptions about immigration and could use resources that we weren’t providing,” Goldman wrote. “From this, Brandeis Citizenship Day seemed like the perfect event to fill those gaps.”