ASU Law Civil Rights, Migration and Workplace Law Initiative launches 2026 spring event schedule

The Civil Rights, Migration and Workplace Law Initiative at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University has unveiled its robust 2026 spring event series, featuring leading scholars, advocates and national policy voices. The programs will offer meaningful dialogue on civil rights, immigration and the evolving social and legal landscapes shaping the United States and global communities.

“Our goal is to create generative spaces where community members, students and scholars can wrestle with the complex realities of civil rights, migration, and workplace law in America today. These events invite critical reflection while spotlighting the lived experiences of those most affected by our legal systems,” said David Lopez, distinguished professor of practice and director of the initiative. 

The season begins Jan. 20, 2026, with a luncheon from noon to 1 p.m. in the Beus Center for Law and Society (BCLS) Room 550, featuring a conversation co-hosted with the Arizona State University Center for Law, Science and Innovation, entitled “Bias and Artificial Intelligence," featuring Former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte Burrows, former EEOC Chair Jenny Yang, Jim Ko, founder and executive director of The AI Rights Project and ASU Law second-year JD student and Initiative Program Associate Abdi Lopez.

Programming continues with “Celebrating the Life, Legacy and Service of Dr. Martin Luther King,” held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in BCLS Armstrong Great Hall. This event invites attendees into a thoughtful discussion honoring King’s enduring impact on civil rights and justice, featuring ASU Law Vice Dean Angela Banks, former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte Burrows, former EEOC Chair Jenny Yang and ASU Law Alum and longtime community activist Daniel Ortega (JD ’77). Register by Jan.19. The event will also feature video remarks by Warren Stewart, retired pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix, about the battle for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day state holiday in Arizona and an archival presentation of King’s visit to Arizona State University in 1964. Civil Rights Attorney and former Arizona State Bar President Benjamin Taylor will be the master of ceremonies, and the event is sponsored by the ASU Student Bar Association.

On Feb.19, 2026, at 6 p.m. in BCLS, Armstrong Great Hall, the Initiative along with ASU Law’s Center for Constitutional Design will host American Bar Association President Michelle Behnke and former U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Hon. Bernice Donald for “The Critical Role of Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law: an in-depth exploration of the foundations, challenges and contemporary applications of the Rule of Law across domestic and international contexts. This event will be moderated by ASU Law Professor Justin Weinstein-Tull and Dean Stacy Leeds will make opening remarks.  Register by Feb. 18.

The schedule continues with a lunchtime lecture on March 18, 2026, titled “Religious Conscience in the Age of Punitive Immigration Enforcement,” which examines the complex intersections of immigration policy, religious liberty and civil rights. This event will feature  Scott Warren, the former ASU Geography Professor and immigration advocate with "No More Deaths" acquitted on smuggling and harboring charges which he defended partly based on religious conscience, and Elizabeth Reiner Platt, director the Union Theological Seminary's "Rights and Religion Project.” This event is co-sponsored by the ASU Law Center for Constitutional Design, and is part of a series of events featuring Warren cross-campus co-sponsored by the ASU School for Transborder Studies, Religious Studies, in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies (SHPRS), Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict (CSRC), Committee for Strategic Charter Initiatives in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (SHESC), School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (SGSUP) and No More Deaths ASU. Register by March 17. 

The spring series concludes on April 9, 2026, at 6 p.m. in BCLS, Armstrong Great Hall, with the  "Precarious Families: Punitive Immigration Enforcement through the Lens of Mixed-Status Families." This conversation with experts nationwide will elevate lived experiences and personal narratives that illuminate the realities of mixed-status households, the disruption for U.S citizens and lawful residents under current enforcement practices, and the historical role of extended family as a pillar in the immigrant rights movement. This conference will feature Vice Dean Angela Banks, Professor Rose Cuison-Villazor, and Professor Evelyn Cruz. The program follows an April 8 book talk at the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center (ALAC), featuring César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández’s, the Gregory H. Williams Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties who will discuss his newest work, “Welcome to the Wretched: In Defense of the Criminal Alien,” in conjunction with our community partner, the Arizona Latino Arts and Culture Center, located at 147 E Adams St, Phoenix, AZ

Register by April 8, 2026.

Stay connected and subscribe to the initiative’s email list to receive updates on future programming.