Debating immigration is a perennial favorite in presidential elections, and perhaps never more so than in 2016, when border walls and banning Muslims push the boundaries of what proposals are considered acceptable to American voters. The artists on this panel vary in their mediums and perspectives, but they all contend with the immigrant experience. Guided by Eric Liu, we have asked them to explore individually and as a group how we can realize the aspirations promised by the words adorning the Statue of Liberty, whose “beacon hand glows worldwide welcome,” and begs for “your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
Lina Sergie Attar, Co-founder & CEO, the Karam Foundation
Maz Jobrani, Comedian; Actor; Author, I’m Not a Terrorist, But I’ve Played One on TV
Melvin Mar, Co-executive Producer, Fresh Off the Boat
Roberta Uno, Director, Arts in a Changing America, California Institute of the Arts
Jose Antonio Vargas, Journalist; Founder, Define American; Founder and Editor, #EmergingUS
Moderated by Citizen University Founder and director of the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program, Eric Liu
