Join Wasserstein Fellow Michelle L apointe for a discussion of the current wide-ranging attacks on immigra nt communities and how the administration has weaponized statutes\, regulat ions\, and informal policy guidance to create the most hostile environment for noncitizens in decades. Resisting those efforts–which is also an exerci se in defending democracy–requires coordination among litigators\, organize rs\, policy advocates\, and communications experts. It also demands a long- term reimagining of the role of immigration and immigrants in our society\, towards a vision of inclusion. Michelle will discuss her work over two dec ades of advocacy for immigrant communities across multiple presidential adm inistrations\, primarily in the Deep South\, drawing on the courage and res ilience of her clients–from those who harvest and process our food\, to par ents separated from their children and detained by ICE\, to young people st riving for higher education in states that have thrown every hurdle in thei r way.
Lunch provided. To RSVP\, please sign-in using your HarvardKey and complete the RSV P form below. Open only to the HLS community.
Michelle Lapoi nte (she/her) is the Legal Director at the American Immigration Council\, w here she leads impact litigation and oversees the Council’s legal advocacy to advance the rights of immigrants and promote a fair and just immigration system. Prior to joining the Council in 2024\, Michelle served as a Deputy Legal Director at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC)\, where she l itigated immigrants’ rights cases and advocated for immigrant worker rights . At NILC\, she served as co-lead counsel on a class action arising out of a worksite immigration raid\, which resulted in a settlement of over $1 mil lion. Michelle began her legal career and spent nearly 12 years at the Sout hern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project. At SPLC\, she represen ted farmworkers and guest workers in class and collective actions for unpai d wages and other employment violations\, and litigated cases against feder al and state officials for violations of immigrants’ civil rights. Michelle received her law degree from American University Washington College of Law in 2008\, where she was a Public Interest/Public Service Scholar\, and her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College.
If you or an event part icipant requires disability-related accommodations\, please contact HLS Acc essibility Services at acces sibility@law.harvard.edu two weeks in advance of the event.
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