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Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) held its 9th Annual CDU President’s Breakfast at Colburn School’s Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles on February 29, 2024. CDU President and CEO, Dr. David M. Carlisle served as the event’s host and moderator of the panel discussion.

The theme of this year’s gathering was Immigration Reform: A Moral Imperative. “The choice of this theme reflects our institution’s dedication to fostering conversations that are not only timely but also timeless in their significance,” said President Carlisle in his opening remarks. “Immigration reform, with its complex web of social, economic, legal, and humanitarian considerations, challenges us to reflect deeply on our values, our responsibilities, and our aspirations as a society.”

The event commenced with introductory remarks by President Carlisle where he also provided the framework for the morning’s discussion.

Caitlin Dickerson, a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter and feature writer for The Atlantic, served as the event’s keynote speaker. Dickerson also joined a distinguished panel of experts that led the audience through a thoughtful conversation on the urgent need for immigration reform. The panel included Nana Gyamfi, Efrain Talamantes, and Sonja F. M. Diaz.

Nana Gyamfi, Executive Director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration, a Black national organization that fights for the rights of Black migrants and African Americans, testified to the unique challenges faced by Black migrants within the broader immigration system. She inspired the audience to view immigration as a humanity defining issue. 

“When we talk about ‘othering’ and ‘belonging,’ it’s really a question of who is human,” said Gyamfi. “If we root ourselves in the understanding that migration is human then we understand that denying people the capacity to migrate is dehumanizing.”

Dickerson, whose upcoming book focuses on the systemic impact of deportation on American society, pointed out the national discourse on mass incarceration and its connection to discussions around deportation. As a journalist, Dickerson has often found herself listening to the stories of families whose lives have been disrupted by deportations. 

“As a Black woman listening to these stories, I’m thinking of mass incarceration… we have a national dialogue around this story when it comes to mass incarceration that we don’t currently have around deportation when as you just heard, there is such a strong connection between the two,” explained Dickerson. “Very often these same families who had loved ones who were caught up in the criminal justice system based on specious charges or very low-level criminal offenses end up not only doing time in the criminal justice system but then being deported… We understand the systemic challenges the families left behind then face, the economic impact of losing an anchor of your family, the emotional impact of losing an anchor of your family…”

Sonja F. M. Diaz, Founding Director, UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute, addressed the intersections between immigration reform and voting, pointing out a recent Gallup poll that identified immigration as top issue at 28% whereas a recent UnidosUS poll indicated that immigration is not one of the top issues amongst Latino registered voters.

“Why for Latino registered voters is immigration not an issue,” posed Diaz. “Because of inflation, because of the lack of affordable housing, because of issues with accessing healthcare, because there’s a multitude of issues that so many of us face year after year.”

Efrain Talamantes, MD, Senior Vice President and COO of Health Services at AltaMed, highlighted the physical and psychological impact of immigration policies. 

“Often we see policies that are exclusive and only embolden structural racism. A lot of the immigration policies create not only structural racism but social, economic, political inequalities that create a physical and psychological impact on people…,” shared Dr. Talamantes. “We have to think about these policies in a broader lens, we have to see them as a human problem and we have to take a leadership role as a country to do better.”

The President’s Breakfast is an annual event that serves as a platform for informed voices to engage in thoughtful conversations about topics aligned with CDU’s mission, vision, and goals. Click here to view the program booklet from the event.