On Thursday, March 5, 2020 the Strauss Center will welcome Astrid Dominguez, director of the ACLU Border Rights Center. This Brumley talk will focus on Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the largest law enforcement agency in the nation, and how it is an integral part of Trump's immigration agenda. Dominguez will examine CBP's track record of conduct toward migrants and border residents, and discuss tactics used by the ACLU and allies to bring reforms to CBP.
Dominguez is the director of the ACLU Border Rights Center. She collaborates with Immigrant Rights Project staff our of the ACLU's national office, San Diego, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas affiliate staff on border-wide policy goals. In this role, she also manages the development and implementation of border-related policy, advocacy and communications strategies. Dominguez joined the ACLU of Texas in May 2012 as a Border Rights Fellow, coordinating the U.S.-Mexico Binational Abuse Documentation Project at the Texas border. Until October 2016 she led the Lower Rio Grande Valley office as Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, focusing her work on border residents' and migrants' civil and human rights. She played a leadership role in a coalition of community organizations committed to bringing transparency and accountability to CBP (Customs and Border Protection), the nation's largest law enforcement agency, and was at the front lines of ACLU's response to the increased migration of children and families from Central America.
Prior to joining the ACLU of Texas, Dominguez worked for the Mexican Foreign Ministry at the Consulates of Brownsville, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. During her time at the Mexican Foreign Ministry, she worked on civil rights violations issues at the border and in detention centers; she worked closely with the Mexican Communities Abroad. She also participated in negotiations leading to a local Memorandum of Understanding on the Safe, Orderly, Dignified and Human Repatriation of Mexican Nationals between the U.S. and Mexico.
This talk will be part of the Strauss Center’s Brumley Speaker Series.