Georgian Court Program Examines the Immigration Issue of Unaccompanied Minors

Lakewood, N.J., Jan. 23, 2007—Each year, more than 800,000 unaccompanied children make a dangerous voyage, attempting to reach the United States. Many of these children, mostly from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil and China, are trying to reunite with their parents, and others are trying to escape poverty or violence in their countries of origin. As part of its ongoing focus on immigration issues, starting with last semester's Immigration Awareness Week, Georgian Court will host “The Plight of Children: Unaccompanied Minors Crossing Our Borders,” on Tuesday, February 13, at 7:00 p.m. and on Wednesday, February 14, at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the Little Theatre on the Lakewood campus.

The program will be conducted by Liliane Alam, FMM, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas. Working in collaboration with the U.S. Justice Department, the center provides services to these children, helping them gain access to their basic human rights and providing them with needed services until their cases can be resolved.

“One of the things that we want to equip our students to do is to translate social change into action,” says Catherine Darcy, RSM, Ph.D., Georgian Court's director of service learning. “I think that people are unaware of many of the sub-issues of our nation's immigration policy. Programs such as this educate people and show that they can make a difference.”

The program is free, although reservations are required. For more information and reservations, please contact the GCU Office of Conferences and Special Events at 732.987.2263 or specialevents@georgian.edu.

Founded in 1908 and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, Georgian Court University is a comprehensive university with a strong liberal arts core and a special concern for women. A forward-thinking university that supports diversity and academic excellence, Georgian Court serves over 3,100 students of all faiths and backgrounds in a residential Women's College and a coeducational University College with undergraduate and graduate programs. Georgian Court's main campus is located at 900 Lakewood Avenue, Lakewood, N.J., on the picturesque former George Jay Gould estate, now named a National Historic Landmark. Georgian Court also offers classes at its site at 90 Woodbridge Center Drive in Woodbridge and at Coastal Communiversity in Wall and Cumberland County College in Vineland.

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