AILA Public Statements, Press Releases

AILA Announces 2018 Annual Conference Will Be Held in San Francisco

6/21/17 AILA Doc. No. 17062134.
CONTACTS:
George Tzamaras
202-507-7649
gtzamaras@aila.org
Belle Woods
202-507-7675
bwoods@aila.org

 

Conference Moved from Texas Due to SB-4

 

WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) announced today that the Association's 2018 annual conference will be held in San Francisco, CA, June 13-16, 2018. The conference had been set for Grapevine, TX, but AILA's Board of Governors voted to move it earlier this month after weighing the potential impact of SB-4. The AILA Annual Conference takes place over the course of three and a half days and is the largest yearly gathering of immigration lawyers and legal professionals in the United States.

AILA President-Elect Annaluisa Padilla, who will be installed as AILA president tomorrow during the 2017 Annual Conference, explained, "As a professional association of attorneys it is our responsibility to stand firm against the kinds of injustices and bigotry that are the basis of laws like SB-4. It was no trivial matter to cancel the venue for our largest conference, where thousands of our members come together, but we could not in good conscience send our resources and our members to a state that disregards our nation's foundational commitment to fairness and due process. By moving our conference to a welcoming community, AILA is living up to its principles in a way that makes me extremely proud to lead this organization this year."

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.