William S. Boyd School of Law will be hosting two important conferences the weekend of October 6-7.  Both focus on the topic of immigration.  Over 150 professors from all over the world will descend on the UNLV campus for the LatCrit XI annual conference, titled Working and Living in the Global Playground: Frontstage and Backstage.  LatCrit academics research issues of social justice, globalization, poverty, race, gender and sexual orientation.  The LatCrit two-day conference will be held in conjunction with a local conference, Las Vegas as a Global Gateway: New Challenges, New Perspectives, held Saturday, October 7, from 8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M at Tam Alumni Hall and William S. Boyd School of Law.  

The topic of immigration is central to Southern Nevada.  Immigration has re-shaped communities and economic relations all over the country, but this is particularly the case for Southern Nevada, which now can be described as a global city.  In the last decade and one-half, Clark County has had one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in the country.  Nevada ranks 6^th among all the states in percentage of residents that are immigrants at 16%, behind California, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii and Florida.  Nevada’s immigrants represent 118 countries and 99 major language groups.  The single largest group of immigrants is Mexican (52%), followed by Filipino (9%).  Immigrants of Latina/o origin make up 63% and those of Asian Pacific make up 22% of the 400,000 immigrants who have settled in Southern Nevada.

Immigration has been important to Law Vegas, fueling economic growth.  The new demography of Southern Nevada has meant that Las Vegas has become increasingly a minority city.  From 1990 to 2005, Clark County was the top county in the country in its growth of Latina/os.  Latina/os, which is 80% immigrant, now make up one in four Clark County residents and two in five students enrolled in Clark county schools.  Asian Pacific is the fastest growing sector of the immigrant population.  In its schools Las Vegas is already a majority-minority community. 

Both the LatCrit conference and the local Nevada gateway conference will explore the many ramifications of immigration growth.   

The opening plenary panel Saturday morning will discuss the implication of what it means to be a global city.  This panel will be followed by a legal panel discussion in which Ms Serena Hoy from Senator Reid’s office will discuss immigration reform and Immigration Law Clinic co-Director, David Thronson and law students will present research findings on how legal practice is changing in Las Vegas.  This panel is held concurrently with a social science panel, presenting recent research on Las Vegas immigrant communities conducted by UNLV researchers, Kerie Francis (Sociology Dept), Sylvia Lazos (Law), Mirna Torncoso (Public Health) and Nevada State College colleague Lori Navarrete (Education).  The noon panel will feature labor organizers who will discuss how the challenges of immigrant growth is changing the way that labor organizes itself and interacts with employers.  The afternoon panel presents an important array of research that features Boyd Law Professors Appell, Howarth and McGinley.  Finally, Professor Anita Revilla will be presenting in a concurrent session on the immigration marches that took place in Las Vegas March and April 2006.  As well, participants in the Saturday conference will have access to LatCrit panels on the impacts of Katrina, challenges in education, labor markets, and language.  In sum, the program is rich.

We look forward to your attendance.