The Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, is bringing The New Yorker’s Jonathan Blitzer to campus later this month for an in-depth discussion about immigration.

Blitzer's talk, “Getting Beyond the Border: How Immigration Became a Political Crisis,” will take place at 4 p.m. on Feb. 26 (Wednesday) in the auditorium of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. The event is free and open to the general public; no tickets are required.

Mary Gallagher, the Marilyn Keough Dean and professor of global affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs, will introduce Blitzer at the event. After the lecture, Blitzer will take audience questions and have a conversation with Jennifer Mason McAward, associate professor of law at Notre Dame Law School and director of the Klau Institute.

Blitzer’s presentation ties in with the Klau Institute’s Migration Initiative, which launched last year through collaboration with other experts from across the Keough School and the University as a whole. The Migration Initiative is supported in part by the Notre Dame Poverty Initiative, a University-wide effort to expand knowledge about what works to alleviate poverty.

“We are thrilled to host Jonathan Blitzer for this timely discussion on immigration,” McAward said. “His reporting from the U.S.-Mexico border offers important perspectives to help us understand the human experience, and the issues of human dignity, related to migration.”

Blitzer, a staff writer for The New Yorker, has won several awards for his immigration reporting.

His book, “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis,” is a deeply reported history of the political conflicts, policy choices and corruption that have led to the current crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. He tells this history through personal stories of Central American migrants as well as American activists, government officials and politicians. “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here” has received widespread praise and was named one of the best books of 2024 by The New York Times and several other publications.

A reception with hors d’oeuvres will follow the event. “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here” will be available for sale, and Blitzer will remain on hand to sign copies of the book.

The event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Latino Studies, Institute for Social Concerns, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics and Democracy.

Originally published by Kevin Allen at klau.nd.edu on Feb. 14.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu