LOS ANGELES - The Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law co-hosted the Symposium, 25 Years After 9/11: Reimagining Freedom, Justice, and Security, because we believe that discussing the government’s response to the 9/11 attacks is essential to understanding our current immigration system. The government’s response to the events of that tragic day led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which is now by far the largest federal law enforcement agency. It has also had other enduring impacts on immigration law and policy. These include the expansion of religious and racial discrimination in immigration enforcement, the narrowing of lawful migration pathways, the militarization of the border and interior enforcement, the under-funding of the asylum system, and the massive growth of immigration detention.

We are deeply disappointed by the baseless attacks on our Symposium. We now join the Symposium’s Co-Chairs in adopting this statement in response to the distorted characterizations of the event made by the media and subsequently by our university’s Chancellor.

To view the opening remarks made during the conference please visit:

Ahilan Arulanantham’s Sept. 11 remarks

Jasleen Kohli’s Sept. 11 remarks

** This statement reflects the consensus of the Miñana Center and should not be taken as a position of the Law School, the University, or the campus, as a whole.

Founded in 2020, the Miñana Center at the UCLA School of Law expands the law school’s role as a national leader in immigration law and policy, generating innovative ideas at the intersection of immigration scholarship and practice and serving as a hub for transforming those ideas into meaningful changes in immigration policy.

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