A Minuteman Goes to Harvard

Cambridge , MA—Each year Harvard Law School hosts the annual Journal on Legislation (JOL) Symposium, and this year they have invited Jim Gilchrist, founder and president of the Minuteman Project, to participate on its panel scheduled for February 26 in Cambridge , MA . This year’s symposium at the Harvard Law School will focus on immigration law with invited panelists ranging from legislators and government officials to academics and private practitioners from across the political spectrum.

“The appearance at Harvard fits well into the goal of our mission,” Minuteman Project president Jim Gilchrist said, “to continue bringing national awareness to the consequences of unenforced U.S. immigration laws.”

The symposium will include two panels, one covering asylum and refugee issues, the second covering border issues and migrant workers. These issues are of particular relevance to the U.S. electorate, but given little reference by candidates in the recent presidential race. Past topics have included issues regarding the “middle class crunch,” national security law, and affirmative action.

The Journal specializes in the analysis of legislation and the legislative process. It focuses on legislative reform and on organizational and procedural factors that affect the efficiency and effectiveness of legislative decision-making. The Journal is especially interested in publishing articles that examine public policy problems of nationwide significance and propose legislation to resolve them.

“I am not surprised that Harvard would welcome the open expression of ideas from the Minuteman Project,” Gilchrist said. “Since its inception almost 400 years ago, Harvard has been a lodestar of free thought and speech. That is why it has cultivated so many extraordinary social, technical, scientific, and philosophical visionaries and innovators.”

Gilchrist, whose 5600-word essay on immigration was published by Georgetown University Law School (Wash. D.C.) last fall, has also been invited to submit an immigration-related article for publication by the Harvard Journal on Legislation.

Gilchrist, the president of the Minuteman Project, is a retired California CPA and a former newspaper reporter. He founded the “multi-ethnic” Minuteman Project in 2004 to encourage public debate on what he refers to as a chaotic and careless attitude by our nation’s political governors toward our nation’s physical security, its domestic tranquility and economic prosperity. He is a passionate defender of free speech and an avid supporter of law enforcement organizations.

For a copy of the Official Poster of the Symposium click here.

Tim Bueler is the media contact for The Minuteman Project. This news release was initially issued on February 11, 2009.

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