The Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights, part of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, sponsored the 2026 Midwest Migration Conference on April 20, 2026, as part of the institute’s Migration Research Initiative.
The conference brought together 11 external migration scholars and nine Notre Dame faculty — spanning sociology, economics, political science, law, and policy — from institutions including the University of Chicago, Vanderbilt University, Duke University, Indiana University, and the University of California, Berkeley, to share cutting-edge research and perspectives on one of the most urgent issues of our time: migration in the United States and across the world.
Scholars tackled a broad range of timely and consequential themes, from asylum politics and anti-immigrant backlash to the role of faith in decisions to migrate, the reintegration of returnees in Central America, and the experiences of racism among Chinese immigrants in France alongside broader questions of immigrant identity, intergenerational change, and U.S. immigration enforcement.
Rather than following a traditional lecture format, the conference adopted an innovative workshop model designed to spark substantive dialogue with researchers presenting works in progress, receiving expert feedback, and engaging in open cross-disciplinary exchange.
The conference reflects the Klau Institute’s enduring commitment to scholarship that advances civil and human rights and upholds the dignity of every person, wherever they call home.
Caitlin Patler, an associate professor of public policy at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and a faculty affiliate of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative, said the conference offered an invaluable opportunity to receive generative, constructive feedback on ongoing work from a brilliant, interdisciplinary group of scholars.
“Given the salience of immigration issues nationally and the urgency of policy-relevant research, the conference could not have been more timely,” Patler said.
Matthew Boaz, an assistant professor of law at the University of Kentucky, said the work of the Klau Institute is vital to gaining an understanding of how immigration law and policies affect immigrants and the communities in which they reside.
“I was grateful to share in this opportunity to learn more about what my colleagues in a variety of interdisciplinary fields are observing, unearthing, and considering in their own research,” Boaz said. “I walked away with a better grasp of the experiences of those traveling to, arriving in, and attempting to integrate into the United States. I can think of no better way to spend my time than in collaboration with those who seek to better comprehend our current system, evaluate its shortcomings, and propose new and just visions that promote the dignity of our neighbors in a thriving nation.”
Learn more about the Klau Institute’s Migration Research Initiative.
Originally published by at klau.nd.edu on May 15, 2026.