Springfield Public Forum Tackles Key Presidential Campaign Issue of Immigration
Bill Richardson to Address “The Future of Immigration” on Sept. 20
Because of his Mexican roots and his past governorship of a border state, Bill Richardson is uniquely qualified to provide a look at what the future of immigration may be in the United States, a major flashpoint of the presidential campaign.
Richardson has been in the public eye for more than 30 years as a Congressman, Ambassador, Cabinet member, Governor, presidential candidate and author. He was most recently in the news for his diplomatic intercession with North Korea for the release of college student Otto Warmbier from Cincinnati, who was arrested earlier this year for “hostile acts” against the North Korean government while travelling there, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, and is still imprisoned.
Richardson’s two terms as the Governor of New Mexico, along with his distinguished public service and diplomatic career, have earned him four Nobel Peace Prize nominations and the 2015 Hispanic Hero Award from the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute. His negotiations on behalf of U.S. citizens have won their release from North Korea, Iraq, Cuba and the Sudan.
Added to his impressive public administration, negotiation and diplomatic skills, Richardson is uniquely positioned Between Worlds, as he named his autobiography. Born in Pasadena, Calif., to a Mexican mother and a U.S. banker father, he was raised in Mexico City until he was 12 and is fluent in Spanish. He then attended Middlesex School in Concord, Mass., and earned both a bachelor’s and a law degree from Tufts University.
Viewing immigration through the dual lenses of Richardson’s experience, he has said, “Here’s my position [on immigration]: I would not support legislation that divided families. I would not support legislation that builds a wall, a Berlin-type wall between two countries….” (Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College , Jun 3, 2007).
Richardson will address the current state of immigration and where that debate may take us in the future. Join us on Sept. 20, 2016, 7:30 p.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall and learn more about this compelling and far reaching issue. As with all Springfield Public Forum speaking events, admission is free.