Debate: Should Government Provide a Path to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants?

May 13, 2008 — On Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m., the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in partnership with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, will hold the fifth and final event of its 2007-08 National Discussion and Debate Series. Four participants will argue the resolution: "Our national interests require a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants presently here," in a debate moderated by Robert MacNeil, founder of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report.
 
Supporting the resolution will be Tamar Jacoby, president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA, and Eliseo Medina, international executive vice president of Service Employees International Union.

Opposing the resolution will be Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, and Vernon L. Briggs Jr., emeritus professor of industrial and labor relations at Cornell University.

More information, research and materials are online at www.millercenter.org/debates.
 
The debate will take place at the New York Public Library at 476 Fifth Ave. in New York City. It will be Webcast live and archived, along with the transcript, at www.millercenter.org. Produced for broadcast by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, the debate will air on PBS analog and digital channels nationwide (check local listings).

The conversation has already started online, via interactive group pages on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Google and Yahoo.
 
The National Discussion and Debate Series, the Miller Center's newest initiative, has addressed major issues facing the United States, including Iraq, privacy, religion and health care. Its aim is to examine these issues in depth, and to contribute to the national conversation with a genuine, thoughtful give-and-take that will both enlighten people and provoke dialogue.

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