Conference 

# Fifty Years after Reform: The Successes, Failures, and Lessons from the Immigration Act of 1965 

Date and Time 

October 2, 2015 9 AM - 1:30 PM EDT 

Location 

Hayek Auditorium 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring **Bill Richardson**, co-chair of the ACAlliance; formerly Governor of New Mexico, Secretary of Energy, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; **Jim Gilmore**, 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate, and former Governor of Virginia; **Ruben Navarrette, Jr.**, syndicated columnist and a member of the *USA Today* Board of Contributors; **Rep. Ruben Gallego** (D‑AZ); **Grover Norquist**, President, Americans for Tax Reform; **Matthew Kolken**, Managing Partner of the immigration law firm of Kolken & Kolken, and the author of the *Deportation and Removal* Blog; **Maria Gabriela Pacheco**, Immigrant Rights Advocate and Program Director of The​Dream​.US; **Richard Boswell**, Associate Dean for Global Programs, University of California Hastings College of Law; **Erika Lee**, Director of the Immigration History Research Center, and the Rudolph J. Vecoli Chair in Immigration History at the University of Minnesota; **Mark Hugo Lopez**, Director of Hispanic Research, Pew Research Center; **Philip E. Wolgin**, Associate Director, Immigration, Center for American Progress; and **Alex Nowrasteh**, Immigration Policy Analyst, Cato Institute Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. 

On October 3rd, 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Immigration Act of 1965 into law. Widely viewed as a component of the Civil Rights Movement, the 1965 Act liberalized immigration and replaced the last eugenics-inspired portions of the Immigration Act of 1924. For the first time in generations, immigrants from Western Europe were not given legal preference over those from Asia and the rest of the developing world.

This special conference, commemorating the passage of this landmark law 50 years ago, will bring together leading researchers, journalists, and policymakers to examine the effects of the law’s legal reforms and how they can help guide Americans in reforming our immigration system today. Major topics that will be covered include:

- How the Immigration Act of 1965 affected the demographics and economy of the United States
- Lessons learned from the 1965 Act since its implementation
- How these lessons inform discussions of immigration reform in the 21st century

Please join our distinguished speakers on Friday, October 2, to discuss these and related issues.

| 8:30 — 9:00 a.m. | **REGISTRATION** |
|:--|:--|
| 9:00 — 9:05 a.m. | **WELCOMING REMARKS** [**Alex Nowrasteh**](https://www.cato.org/people/alex-nowrasteh), Immigration Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute |
| 9:05 — 9:30 a.m. | **INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS** [Download a video of the “Welcoming Remarks” and “Introductory Address“](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-10-02-15-01.mp4) [Download a podcast of the “Welcoming Remarks” and “Introductory Address”](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-10-02-15-01.mp3) **Rep. Ruben Gallego (D‑AZ)** |
| 9:30 — 10:30 a.m. | **PANEL 1: THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1965, CAUSES AND EFFECTS** [Download a video of Panel 1](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-10-02-15-02.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 1](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-10-02-15-02.mp3) Introduction: **Alex Nowrasteh**, Immigration Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute **Richard Boswell**, Associate Dean for Global Programs, University of California Hastings College of Law **Mark Hugo Lopez**, Director of Hispanic Research, Pew Research Center **Erika Lee**, Director of the Immigration History Research Center, and the Rudolph J. Vecoli Chair in Immigration History at the University of Minnesota Moderator: **Philip E. Wolgin**, Associate Director, Immigration, Center for American Progress |
| 10:30 — 11:00 a.m. | **MORNING ADDRESS** [Download a video of the Morning Address](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-10-02-15-03.mp4) [Download a podcast of the Morning Address](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-10-02-15-03.mp3) Introduction: **Alex Nowrasteh**, Immigration Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute **Jim Gilmore**, 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate, and former Governor of Virginia |
| 11:00 — 11:15 a.m. | **BREAK** |
| 11:15 a.m. — 12:15 p.m. | **PANEL 2: THE CURRENT STATE OF THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE** [Download a video of Panel 2](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-10-02-15-04.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 2](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-10-02-15-04.mp3) Introduction: **Alex Nowrasteh**, Immigration Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute **Matthew Kolken**, Managing Partner of the immigration law firm of Kolken & Kolken, and the author of the *Deportation and Removal* Blog **Maria Gabriela Pacheco**, Immigrant Rights Advocate and Program Director of The​Dream​.US **Grover Norquist**, President, Americans for Tax Reform Moderator: **Ruben Navarrette**, syndicated columnist and a member of the *USA Today* Board of Contributors |
| 12:15 — 12:30 p.m. | **BREAK** |
| 12:30 — 1:10 p.m. | **KEYNOTE SPEECH** [Download a video of the Keynote Speech](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-10-02-15-05.mp4) [Download a podcast of the Keynote Speech](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-10-02-15-05.mp3) Introduction: **Alex Nowrasteh**, Immigration Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute **Governor Bill Richardson**, Co-chair of the ACAlliance; formerly Governor of New Mexico, Secretary of Energy, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations |
| 1:10 — 1:15 p.m. | **CLOSING REMARKS** **Alex Nowrasteh**, Immigration Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute |
| 1:15 — 2:00 p.m. | **LUNCH** |

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