As global forced displacement hits a record high 21.3 million refugees, awareness and action are key to fighting prejudice and building better legal frameworks that comply with international law. Come join Lisa Koop, immigration attorney, and Majd Alshoufi, Syrian MSA Candidate in Peace Studies and asylum seeker in the United States, to better understand asylum law in the United States and the very real human impact of Executive Order 13769.
Presented by the International Human Rights Society and co-sponsored by The Center for Civil and Human Rights.
Lisa Koop, associate director of legal services at the National Immigrant Justice Center, directs its asylum project, handles federal litigation, and provides representation and supervision in deportation defense matters. Prof. Koop specializes in litigation, policy, and direct services advocacy on behalf of immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. She heads NIJC’s Indiana office and is an adjunct professor at Notre Dame Law School.
Majd Alshoufi is a Syrian human rights activist and community-based trauma therapy expert with over 8 years of experience working in international development. Majd was a prominent activist in the Syrian nonviolent resistance movement of 2011. He was arrested, tortured, and exiled in 2012 and continues his efforts of nonviolent resistance and peacebuilding today from his exile in the US. In addition to founding New Syrian Human in 2014, he was the founder of the Psychosocial Support department at the Syrian Red Crescent in 2009. Majd is currently pursuing a Master's degree in international peacebuilding at Notre Dame.