The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) turns 32 this month. As we celebrate 32 years of civil rights protections for disabled people, we must recognize some of the most marginalized within the disability community—including disabled noncitizens, especially those seeking asylum in the United States.
Disabled people have been disproportionately affected by efforts to curtail immigration in the United States. Disabled asylum-seekers, or people fleeing persecution, also face heightened barriers both during their journeys to the United States and in U.S. detention centers.
These barriers can have devastating impacts: Children with disabilities are often placed in the most restrictive detention settings, and adults with disabilities have been denied access to necessary accommodations during the asylum process. It is critical to shed light on the often overlooked experiences of disabled noncitizens and enact progressive policy change to improve the asylum process for disabled people.
Please join the Center for American Progress as we commemorate the ADA and discuss how the U.S. asylum system can better serve disabled noncitizens.
This event will be live captioned in English and Spanish and live-signed ASL on screen. Closed-captioned-enabled video will be posted following the conclusion of the event, and the video will include the ASL footage.
Panelists:
Michelle Garcia, Manager, Organizing and Community Development, Access Living
Professor Arlene S. Kanter, Director, Disability Law and Policy Program, Syracuse University College of Law
Anne Kelsey, Disability Rights Policy Analyst, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
Moderator:
Mia Ives-Rublee, Director, Disability Justice Initiative, Center for American Progress