Evening Branch of Women’s Alliance (EBWA)

February 24th – Immigration–The Maze: Leslie Thiele:  Immigration has been a political hot topic for over three decades, but most of the people commenting on it have little idea how the system for admission of immigrants, refugees and temporary workers actually functions.  Lack of knowledge leads to false judgments:  immigrants are accused of “not waiting their turn to emigrate” when the queue is 15+ years; they are accused of living on welfare when they are ineligible to receive it; and they are accused of being criminal, when the immigrant population crime rate is significantly lower than that of the general US population. The goal of this presentation is to improve the substance of our national dialogue on immigration by providing a basic understanding of how the U.S. immigration system is structured; how non-immigrants and immigrants may be admitted to the U.S. and the effects on the U.S. economy and labor force from current immigration policies.

Leslie is the founding partner of the Immigration and International Practice Groups at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, Albany’s largest law firm.  She has a graduate degree in law from Duke University, and she’s been an immigration & international attorney for 35 years.

All women are invited to hear her presentation at 8pm February 23.  To make reservations for the vegetarian meal served at 6:15pm, e-mail Gabrielle Reals at ellegr3@gmail.com by Monday, February 20 or call her by 8pm Tuesday, February 21 at 382-5685.  Gluten-free meals are available if requested with your reservation.  You may also bring your own meal or arrive at 7:45pm for just the program.  Arriving at 5:45pm for juice or wine allows extra time for socializing as does the networking (sharing) time after the meal and before the program.  Cost of the meal is $15; program only is $3.

Looking Ahead:  On March 30 Catherine Klatt, naturalist and photographer, will present her illustrated talk, “Moths, Birds, and Landscaping—the Night Shift.”