Ethics of Immigration Post 9/11 is Topic March 11

SALISBURY, MD---America’s response to immigration changed after September, 11, 2001. Foreigners who seek asylum in the U.S. experience new threats to their wellbeing as they attempt to escape political oppression in their home countries.

In an effort to raise awareness about the treatment of asylum seekers in our community, Salisbury University’s Amnesty International chapter hosts Zachary Dziedzic of Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services (ILS) Tuesday, March 11, at 7 p.m. in the Scarborough Student Leadership Center on Camden Avenue. His topic, “America, Refuge and Terror: The Ethics of Immigration Post 9/11” examines the current policy of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to detain asylum seekers who arrive in the U.S. without valid visas or passports.

Most asylum seekers are held in rural county jails with the general prison population until an immigration judge is able to hear their case. In Maryland, most asylum seekers are detained on the Eastern Shore. ILS is one of the few non-profit immigration law offices in Maryland that helps detained asylum seekers obtain legal status.

Dziedzic is raising awareness about the treatment of asylum seekers by bicycling nearly 500 miles from the ILS office in Baltimore to detention centers in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore. He meets with representatives from local churches, colleges, universities and community groups along the way.

Dziedzic is a Board of Immigration Appeals accredited representative who represents clients before the INS and the immigration court. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Georgetown University and a Master of Arts in philosophy from Fordham University. He accepts donations for his bike ride which benefit ILS’s work with asylum seekers. Donations may be sent to ILS/Zach’s Bike Ride, 430 S. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21231.

For more information, contact Bridgette Devaney at 410-742-9654.