8-02 Local Immigration Issues Facing the Church: What Can Be Done? What Can I Do?

This session will explore the intersection between what our faith teaches about welcoming the stranger, the decades-long stalemate in our U.S. Congress that has prevented change to the immigration law and system, and the tangible things we can do on in our local communities to break the Congressional stalemate and welcome individuals one-by-one.

After many years as a commercial trial lawyer, Linda Dakin-Grimm now focuses on pro bono representation of unaccompanied children, separated families and others who seek humanitarian immigration relief. In addition, she brings federal court challenges to unlawful immigration policies. She is a member of the Southern California Catholic Task Force on Immigration, a Trustee of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, CA, a member of the advisory boards of the Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center for Human Rights Policy in Cambridge, MA, and St. Pius X - St. Matthias Academy in Los Angeles, CA. Linda earned her B.A. from Yale University, her J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.A. in Theology from Loyola Marymount University. Her book, "Dignity & Justice: Welcoming the Stranger", was published by Orbis Books in September 2020.