The Future of Immigration in the 2024 Elections

Immigration in the United States has always been a heavily politicized topic, especially around election cycles. Although public opinion toward immigrants has remained favorable during the last decade, immigration and the “crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border have been at the center of the public debate recently. 

Ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, this conference brought together leading experts to examine the current political landscape around immigration. They explored how shifting policies have reshaped migration to the U.S.-Mexico border and discussed prospects for immigration reform. 

This event was part of the Baker Institute Migration Initiative — a collaboration between the Center for Health and Biosciences, Center for the U.S. and Mexico, and Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East — that focuses on the economic, legal, health, and social and environmental aspects of migration. It was co-presented by the Houston Chronicle. 

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Featured Speakers

Jeremy Robbins, J.D., is the executive director of the American Immigration Council. Previously, Robbins spent over a decade building New American Economy — a think tank and advocacy organization founded by Michael Bloomberg to make the economic case for smarter immigration policies. He has also served as a policy advisor and special counsel with the New York City mayor’s office, a judicial law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals, a Robert L. Bernstein International Human Rights Fellow working on prisoners' rights issues in Argentina, and a litigation associate at WilmerHale in Boston. Robbins received a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Brown University. 

The Most Reverend Mark J. Seitz, D.D., is the bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas. Originally from Wisconsin, Seitz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Dallas in 1980. He was pastor of parishes in Garland, Waxahachie, and Dallas, Texas. Bishop Seitz taught liturgy and sacramental theology at the University of Dallas and served as vice director and director of the Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. In 2013, Bishop Francis appointed Seitz as the sixth bishop of El Paso, to serve the borderlands community along with El Paso’s sister city, Ciudad Juárez. Bishop Seitz has worked with some of the most vulnerable communities, including migrant families and refugees who have made the region their home or who choose the community of El Paso-Ciudad Juárez as their point of passage. Bishop Seitz believes that migrants add inestimable value to the communities where they choose to live and that parishes and community members should welcome them with compassion, love, and solidarity.

Agenda