Sections and Divisions

The FBA’s 2022 Annual Immigration Conference in Detroit addressed visas, asylum, naturalization, and other topics over a two-day period from May 13-14 and featured 40 educational programs.

SECTION ON IMMIGRATION LAW

On May 13 and 14, 2022, the FBA’s Immigration Law Section (ILS) held its Annual Immigration Law Conference in Detroit. Over 40 educational sessions were offered during the multitrack program.

This year’s ILS conference, the first in-person annual conference after a threeyear hiatus, provided a variety of panels designed to explore a wide range of immigration topics—from asylum and detention to consular processing and employment-based immigration law. FBA President Anh Le Kremer warmly welcomed conference attendees at the commencement of the conference. Unique plenary sessions on Friday and Saturday included the following:

• Michele Oberholtzer Zimmerman, chief policy advisor, mayor’s office of the city of Detroit. • A conversation with David Gersten, immigration detention ombudsman (acting), U.S. Department of Homeland

Security. • A discussion with members of Building

Respect in Diverse Groups to Enhance

Sensitivity (BRIDGES) with Hon. Dawn

Ison, U.S. attorney, Eastern District of

Michigan; Valentina Seeley, OPE northern region director, ICE; Osama Siblani, editor, Arab American News; Andrew

Douglas, assistant director of field operations, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol; and Mayor Amer Ghalib.

The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) provided an update with Brandt Carter, director, Atlanta Processing Center, OFLC, U.S. Department of Labor; Bennett Savitz, Savitz Law Offices, P.C.; Brian Testa, director, Division of Policy and Regulation, OFLC, U.S. Department of Labor; and Bob White, Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd.

Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Tours were conducted by CBP on Thursday, and a wonderful pre-conference dinner at Pegasus Taverna in Detroit’s Greektown was enjoyed by conference attendees. The ILS awards reception was held in the beautiful Top of the Pontch rooftop restaurant on Friday evening. Attendees also enjoyed taking in a Detroit Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park and a sunset dinner cruise on the Detroit Princess Riverboat and took advantage of the many attractions Detroit offers.

A special thanks goes to conference cochairs Kelli Duehning, ILS programs chair, and Amiena Khan, ILS chair, as well as to all track co-chairs, speakers, and attendees. A note of thanks and appreciation to FBA national staff members Caitlin Rider, Ariel White, Mike McCarthy, and Deputy Director Yvonne Cockram for seamlessly administering the successful program. 