Upcoming Speakers Forum

ICE In Our Back Yard  

 

Indivisible Weston Speakers Forum 

Sunday, February 1st from 4 - 5:30 p.m. 

Weston Community Center, 20 Alphabet Lane, Weston, MA 02493 

 

 Space is limited for this in-person only event.

RSVP is recommended.

Click to RSVP

 

We might not see it, but ICE is in our back yard.

  • Why are they here?  Are they rounding up criminals and freeloaders, or are they terrorizing hard working, taxpaying, law-abiding neighbors?

  • What are the historical precedents for anti-immigrant sentiment and policy in the U.S.?

  • Who is and who is not entitled to due process in the U.S.?

  • What does ICE activity in our neighboring towns mean for the families of those who are detained?  How have their lives changed?

  • What does the crackdown on immigration mean for American society? 

To help us see and better understand the reality and context of ICE’s incursion into our community, this forum will feature a scholar, a clergyman, an attorney who is the CEO of a 100+ year-old immigrant and refugee settlement organization, and a volunteer at Waltham’s immigrant crisis response organization.

Moderator: 

Ripley Hastings is a Boston business lawyer and current Moderator of the Weston Town Meeting.  He has served in several local public offices over the past 45 years including multiple terms on the Weston Select Board and School Committee. 

Panelists: 

Rev. Andrew Harris is a member of the Bearing Witness organizing team and pastor at the United Church of Christ, Congregational, in Burlington.  Bearing Witness is a group committed to peaceful, nonviolent standouts in front of the ICE Detention Center. They bring people together across political differences to show broad collective support for immigrants’ rights 

Kelly Henderson is on several teams within FUERZA, a neighborhood watch committed to supporting immigrant neighbors in Waltham.  Guided by principles of solidarity, rapid response, and advocacy, FUERZA works to uphold the rights and safety of our neighbors, keep families together, and build a more just and inclusive community. 

Prof. Carrie Preston, a Weston resident, is Chair of the Department of English and the Associate Director of the Center on Forced Displacement at Boston University.  Her research and teaching interests include border and critical forced displacement studies.   

Jeffrey Thielman, Esq. is the President and CEO of the International Institute of New England which creates opportunities for refugees and immigrants to succeed through resettlement, education, career advancement and pathways to citizenship.  They provide family reunification, education, skills training, job placement and legal services. IINE’s work is critical to the growth of the region’s economy.  

Our Previous Forum

Challenges Facing our  

Constitutional Democracy 

Thursday, October 30th

6:30 - 7:00pm: Reception

7:00 - 8:15 pm: Forum followed by Q&A


First Parish Church in Weston Social Hall

349 Boston Post Road, Weston

(Parking on site, along the Town Green and at the Josiah Smith Tavern down the street.)

Space is limited for this in-person only event.

RSVP is recommended.

The presentation will not be recorded.

Two distinguished law professors and scholars will examine the constitutional and legal challenges raised by the current administration. From attacks on free and fair elections, to the erosion of the separation of powers, to the deployment of military troops in American cities, there are many issues that pose profound concerns for our democracy.

VINCENT D. ROUGEAU, President of The College of the Holy Cross, previously served as Dean of the Boston College Law School and the Director of the Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America. Prior to his role at Boston College, Rougeau was a professor of law at Notre Dame Law School. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he served as editor of the Harvard Human Rights Journal. He and his family live in Weston.

KENT GREENFIELD is the Dr. Thomas F. Carney Distinguished Scholar at Boston College Law School and an internationally recognized scholar of constitutional law. Having lectured at nearly 140 institutions in 45 different states and 11 countries, Greenfield has received four teaching awards at Boston College. A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he clerked for Justice David H. Souter of the United States Supreme Court and practiced at Covington & Burling in Washington, DC.