Law, Religion, & Immigration Webinar
Photo of the United States Supreme Court by Domenico Convertini (CC BY-SA 2.0).
On October 28th, Canopy Forum will convene a virtual conference that will focus on the intersection of law, religion, and immigration. With the new Trump Administration, many changes and political issues have arisen regarding immigration policy as related to law and religion. In January 2025, The “Sensitive Locations” policy prohibiting ICE agents from entering churches, schools and hospitals was rescinded via Executive Order, resulting in a coalition of several churches suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Kristi Noem. In the past few months, several additional cases relating to immigration and religion have been brought: immigrants in ICE custody are being denied their right to religious worship, a detained international student has alleged civil rights infringements against her, and the activist Mahmoud Khalil who is facing deportation after his protests were deemed “antisemitic”.
On an international level, immigration is rising as immigrants flee to escape conflict, violence, and even climate change. In June, The New York Times reported a significant shift in Europe toward anti-immigration policies reflecting rising anti-immigration sentiments. This summer, Poland announced a law limiting asylum immigration claims. While a bill calling for tougher stances proposed by the right-far party narrowly missed passing in Germany, laws have recently been put in place to end fast track-citizenship. Denmark, once criticized for its harsh stance on immigration, is now a leader in anti-immigration policies, influencing other EU nations. At the European Union level, the new Pact on Migration and Asylum was signed last year.
With controversies and polemics swirling around immigrants, immigration laws, the role of the state in connection to religious immigrants, and religious protection questions, Canopy Forum is hoping to address questions of global immigration, religious plurality, and the relationship between states and religious actors. We are accepting submissions and presentations on the following:
Legal & Religious Actors on Immigration
- What are (or ought to be) the roles of law and religion in immigration policy?
- What are roles of scholars, religious organizations (e.g. churches, temples, mosques, and their affiliated organizations), as well as other educational, civic, and social institutions in drafting or reforming immigration policies? To what extent can scholars collaborate in creating inclusive and welcoming policies regarding immigration?
- How do different religious, social, and civic organizations address immigration, whether through reform or activism? What roles do these churches and religious organizations play in welcoming, aiding, and/or incorporating immigrants and migrants into their new communities?
Immigrant Detention & Deportation
- How do immigration detention centers, including pre- and post-detention practices respect/or deny immigrants’ ability to practice their religion? What religious services are available to immigrants in detention centers and how do religious groups engage with immigrants in detention centers?
- How is the legal landscape regarding immigration and deportationchanging with respect to religious liberty claims? How do religious liberty and criminal matters intersect in these detention and deportation cases? How can previous cases like United States v. Kwai Fun Wong, Rodriguez v. Sessions, and He v. Freden inform current issues?
- How is the legal profession responding to executive orders on immigrant detention when it comes to immigration and religion? For example, the EO on birthright citizenship, limiting religious asylum, and the use of the Alien Enemies Act to detain immigrants
International Dimensions on Immigration
- How are international actors and international courts, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Organization for Migration, and other INGOs, responding to the shifting landscape of migration?
- What roles, if any, do international treaties, regional agreements, and UN resolutions on migration play in the evolving environment? What is their effect on religious groups and communities?
- How are currrent policies around immigration affecting migrants from the Global South, especially Latin America and Africa?
- What is the international legal status of and justification for third-country detention agreements? What particular challenges do such agreement present?
Participants will deliver a short virtual presentation (via Zoom) and submit a 1500-2500 word article on their chosen topic or theme. Conference proceedings will be livestreamed and published on Canopy Forum, CSLR’s online publication, which has thousands of readers spanning every country in the world. An example of this conference format can be viewed here.
We are accepting essay submissions until October 1st; however, we are flexible with submission dates. The webinar will take place October 28th with the time to be announced.