It Takes a Village: One Family’s Journey to Safety

By Cliff DuRand

One day in April, a Central American family seeking asylum prepared to cross the border from Mexico to the U.S. Learn about their arduous journey and how dozens of dedicated advocates and humanitarians played vital roles in getting them to safety. Immigration attorneys, Rebecca Eichler and Careen Shannon are joined by award-winning documentary filmmaker, Victoria Bruce. This powerhouse team is behind the upcoming feature-length documentary, “Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis.”

Rebecca Eichler has over 20 years of experience practicing immigration law in the Washington DC area and providing disaster legal aid around the world, working with clients seeking protection under U.S. and  international law. She currently lives and works in Mexico as a human rights advocate, advising deportees from the U.S., migrants in transit, and asylum seekers at the U.S. border. In fall 2018, she spearheaded central Mexico’s legal aid response to the migrant caravans, providing individual consultations and know-your-rights presentations to hundreds of migrants on what to expect at the border.

Careen Shannon is an attorney, writer and former law professor who has focused on U.S. immigration law and policy for nearly 30 years. She is the co-author of several books, and the author of hundreds of articles, about immigration law and global migration. She has made numerous trips to the U.S.-Mexico border to provide pro bono legal services to immigrant families held by the U.S. government in detention camps in New Mexico and Texas. She also sits on the Board of Directors of Safe Passage Project, a New York-based nonprofit that provides free lawyers to immigrant youth and the Latin American Relief Fund, which supports Albergue ABBA, a migrant shelter in central Mexico.

Victoria Bruce is a documentary filmmaker and author with a passion for human rights and a long history of working on dramatic and sometimes dangerous nonfiction stories in Latin America. She has had her films in over 50 film festivals including IDFA and Sundance, and has had films acquired by HBO, CBS, History Channel, Netflix, Hulu and PBS. She is the recipient of many film festival awards as well as a DuPont-Columbia University Award. Victoria has made several trips to the U.S.-Mexico border while producing “Las Abogadas.”

This webinar is part of a weekly series featuring thought provoking speakers on a variety of social issues. The Center for Global Justice is devoted to research and learning for a better world.  We offer these webinars every Monday at 1pm. Tune in at www.globaljusticecenter.org. You can also view past programs there.  

Webinar

It Takes a Village: One Family’s Journey to Safety 

With Rebecca Eichler, Careen Shannon and Victoria Bruce 

Mon, May 23, 1pm  

Sponsor: Center for Global Justice   

Free 

Webinar

It Takes a Village: One Family’s Journey to Safety 

With Rebecca Eichler, Careen Shannon and Victoria Bruce 

Mon, May 23, 1pm  

Sponsor: Center for Global Justice   

Free