Speaker Lenni Benson, "Understanding Children Who Migrate Alone: U.S. Law and Policy"

[Baldy Center]

Event schedule and format subject to change, please check The Baldy Center event website for updates and registration: http://www.buffalo.edu/baldycenter/events/calendar.html

A CAS Distinguished Visiting Scholar lecture, cosponsored by The Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy and Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute (UB School of Social Work)

Lenni Benson (Distinguished Chair of Immigration and Human Rights Law, New York Law School)

"Understanding Children Who Migrate Alone: U.S. Law and Policy"

April 22, 2022
280 Park Hall; 11:00am-12:30pm

In this lecture, Professor Lenni Benson will discuss the recent history and legal treatment of how U.S. law characterizes and processes claims for protection by unaccompanied migrant youth. In fiscal year 2021, more than 122,000 children were apprehended at the southwest border. New York State is home to thousands of these children, as most are released to close relatives while others are detained in our state. What factors are leading to this unprecedented migration? Are our legal and institutional responses adequate to protect the rights of children? How can children navigate a complex legal system without adequate representation?

Lenni Benson is distinguished chair of immigration and human rights law at New York Law School. She founded the Safe Passage Project, which recruits, trains and mentors attorneys to assist unaccompanied youth who are facing deportation.

For more information, see the events calendar here.