Marquette University to co-host Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference, Sept. 13-14

Sept. 8, 2022

MILWAUKEE — Marquette University will co-host the 2022 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference with the Center for Migration Studies of New York in a hybrid format on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 13-14. The in-person programming will take place at the Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave.

The conference will also have in-person site visits to migrant ministries and programs in Milwaukee on Sept. 12.

Since its inception in 2013, the CIII Conference has sought to strengthen the individual and collective work of diverse Catholic institutions, programs and ministries with immigrants and refugees. This year’s event will feature plenary presentations, workshops and events on diverse topics, including:

  • Forming Catholic leaders on Catholic social teaching regarding migrants and refugees
  • Building a whole-of-church response to multiple displacement crises
  • International migration, the future of work and Laudato Si
  • Racism in U.S. immigration policy and practice
  • Lessons from the COVID-19 crisis in working with immigrants
  • Crafting holistic responses to the causes of forced migration
  • The work of Catholic institutions at international borders
  • Rebuilding the U.S. refugee and legal immigration systems
  • Building welcoming and inclusive parishes
  • Catholic responses to human trafficking
  • Immigrant youth participation and leadership in Catholic institutions
  • Immigrant integration in the Midwest

In-person speakers for the CIII Conference include Bishop Mark Seitz, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, and Monsignor Robert Vitillo, Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission.

Rev. Daniel Groody, CSC, associate professor of theology and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame, will deliver the Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration on the topic of his forthcoming book, “A Theology of Migration: The Bodies of Refugees and the Body of Christ.”

Dr. Andrew Kim, associate professor of theology and director of the Center for the Advancement of the Humanities, and Jacqueline Black, director for Hispanic Initiatives and Diversity and Inclusion Educational Programming, will moderate panels. Kim will lead the discussion, “Faith and Immigrant Integration in the Midwest,” with a panel that includes Dr. Sergio Gonzalez, assistant professor of Latinx Studies, and Jorge Montiel, Ph.D. candidate in philosophy.

Black will moderate “Understanding the Needs of and Best Practices for Serving Immigrant Students.” Among the panelists are Dr. Marla Guerrero, counselor and diversity coordinator in the Counseling Center, and Lizbeth Landeros, a Marquette student and planning committee member for the DREAMers Gala.

Visit the conference website for a full list of conference speakers and a schedule of events.

Registration is open and available online. Registration is $100 to attend in person and $25 for a virtual option. Media interested in attending the conference or speaking with conference participants should contact Kevin Conway, associate director of university communication, at kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.

The Center for Migration Studies of New York is a think tank and an educational institute devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and newcomers.

About Kevin Conway

Kevin Conway

Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.