Please join me on January 25 for an in-depth panel discussion about the expansion of electronic monitoring of immigrants in the United States hosted by the American Bar Association. The session is titled "Electronic Monitoring of Migrants: Alternative to Detention or Just Another Form of Punitive Custody?”.

We will discuss the dramatic rise in the use of electronic monitoring of migrants, including through ankle monitors and phone app technology. We will address several key lines of research and policy questions:

whether electronic monitoring presents a positive move away from immigration detention for migrants or instead expands government deprivation of liberty
the cost and effectiveness of monitoring as a means of fulfilling the purported justification for both detention and monitoring
the role of private companies in the electronic monitoring of migrants
migrant perspectives on the experience of living with electronic surveillance
the negative consequences of widespread monitoring, including medical and other impacts

I am exceedingly grateful to be joining an excellent number of panelists, including:

Dr. Scott A. Allen – Medical Director, The Access Clinic, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine
Dr. Carolina Sanchez Boe – Carlsberg Fellow, IMC, Aarhus University, Affiliate of The Social Anatomy of a Deportation Regime, City University of New York
Dr. Dora B. Schriro – Special Advisor, ABA Commission on Immigration; Corrections Expert and Advisor

Huge thanks to our moderate Denise L. Gilman, Director of the Immigration Clinic at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law and the ABA for hosting. There will plenty of time for Q&A so bring your hard questions!

The event takes place on Jan 25, 2023 03:00 PM Eastern.

Registration + More Information

Other Upcoming Events

Here are just a few of the other upcoming events you might want to add to your calendar.

January 13 (Tomorrow!) — Asylum Betrayed: Biden’s Border Politics and Title 42, Panel Discussion

This webinar will examine the Biden policies and current court cases challenging Title 42 expulsions. We will hear from experts on why and how the right to asylum should be restored at the US southwest border. Panelists will include Eleanor Acer from Human Rights First, Alexandra Délano Alonso from the New School, Lee Gelernt from the ACLU, and T. Alexander Aleinikoff from the Zolberg Institute.

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January 17 — Before Borders: A Roundtable Discussion

Stephanie DeGooyer (@S_DeGooyer) has a new book out called “Before Borders: A Legal and Literary History of Naturalization.” The book examines what immigration and migration were like before the advent of the modern border regime in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This upcoming roundtable will engage with the core themes of her book and features David Armitage, Deidre Shauna Lynch, and Colin Yeo. The event takes place on January 17, 2023, 3:00 PM Eastern.

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February 17 — Me Again, But in Washington, DC

I will be speaking in person at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. on February 17. The talk is part of a series hosted by the Metropolitan Washington Workshop on Immigration & Race. The talk is titled Making Sense of Immigration Data: A Conversation with TRAC. It will be held from 12:00-1:30 PM in-person only on GWU campus (see event for details.)

Registration + More Information

New Books You Don’t Want to Miss

Asad Asad, a professor at Stanford University, has a new book out called “Engage and Evade: How Latino Immigrant Families Manage Surveillance in Everyday Life” which examines how undocumented immigrants navigate complex dynamics of surveillance and punishment, providing an extraordinary portrait of fear and hope on the margins. This resonates with my interest in electronic monitoring, so I’m very excited to read it.

Petra Molnar (@_PMolnar) has a forthcoming book with The New Press that I’m excited about called “Artificial Borders”. The book is a global story of the sharpening of borders through technological experiments while also introducing strategies of togetherness across physical and ideological borders. It’s not out until 2024, so it will be a while. You can still learn about it here.

Are there other new books about immigration, geography, or law that should be featured here? Let me know so I can include it. Self-promotion is more than welcome.

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Austin Kocher

Event Announcement: Panel Discussion on…