UH Experts Available to Discuss Immigration Issues, Texas Border Crisis

Faculty experts are available to address issues related to the dilemma along the Texas border. An influx of detainees (many are unaccompanied children) is overwhelming the Border Patrol and its resources. To address the crisis, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is bolstering the presence of law enforcement officers along the border. Today, the governor visits a federal facility for unaccompanied minors in Weslaco, Texas.

To schedule interviews with these UH professors, contact Mike Emery at memery@central.uh.edu or 713-743-8186. Additional experts may be made available later this afternoon.

RELIEF FOR ADOLESCENT DETAINEES

Geoffrey Hoffman, director of the UH Law Center’s Immigration Clinic, can address the potential relief efforts for children detailed at Border Patrol facilities. He heads the UH Immigration Clinic and specializes in immigration-related federal court litigation, deportation defense, asylum cases, and appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals. He has served as counsel or co-counsel in over 40 appellate and trial court cases. Contact Mike Emery at 713-743-8186 to coordinate.

POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE CRISIS

Brandon Rottinghaus, associate professor of political science, can address how the crisis at the border will impact Texas Republicans and the Obama administration. Likewise, he can discuss how this situation will affect possible immigration reform. He has spent his career researching presidents and governors and their interaction with legislatures and courts, as well as political scandal, media and public opinion. Rottinghaus can be reached at 713-743-3925 or bjrottinghaus@uh.edu

“The heated rhetoric around immigration reform – especially a nod to “amnesty,” which may have cost Representative Cantor his seat – limits the ability to get something comprehensive passed.  The President is pursuing some modest unilateral options but these will only go so far,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, associate professor of political science at the University of Houston.

SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF IMMIGRATION

Jessica A. Brown, interim director of UH Center for Immigration Research,
conducts qualitative research in the areas of immigration, transnational sociology, gender, and race and ethnicity. She can be reached at 713-743-3958.