MONTEREY >> Former presidential candidates Asa Hutchinson and Rick Perry will be among the experts discussing the challenge of immigration April 1 at the Panetta Lecture Series.
“There is no question that the U.S. immigration system is badly broken,” said former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who will lead the panel at the Monterey Conference Center. “America is a land of immigrants inspired by the message on the Statue of Liberty, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ The challenges is
whether this nation can live up to that promise, protect our national security and give everyone a chance at the American Dream.”
The lecture will start at 7 p.m. at the Conference Center, 1 Portola Plaza. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased by calling the Panetta Institute at (831) 582-4200.
Scheduled to join Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, and Perry, the former governor of Texas, are Julián Castro and Janet Napolitano. Castro is the former secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and mayor of San Antonio. Napolitano is the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and governor of Arizona.
“Record levels of migration are straining an immigration system that requires comprehensive systematic reform,” Panetta said in a press release. “Cites are struggling to absorb the influx of new arrivals and the legal system meant to handle immigration cases is in chaos. Frustrated with the lack of action in Washington, states are beginning to
take matters into their own hands.”
This is the second of four lectures this year under the overall theme of “Challenges to Democracy at Home and Abroad.” The two remaining Monday lectures include:
*May 13: “The Challenge of War in the Middle East – Will There Be Peace or More War?”
*June 3: “The Challenge of the 2024 Election – A United or Divided America?”
Leon Panetta Lecture Series subscriptions include tickets to all the remaining events and are available. To order a subscription or individual ticket, call the Panetta Institute at (831) 582-4200 to pay with a credit card.
