“Given (Gomez’s) legal expertise, being the head of the Immigrants Protection Project out of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, she was able to use her book more as a vehicle or a jumping point to discuss the immigrant experience,” Thibeault said. “(She is here) to educate us tonight about the background of immigration law and a just and human response.”

Gomez, who is an immigrant from Colombia, said she came to East Lansing to discuss how complex the lives of immigrants can be in a new country.

“Growing up as an immigrant with one foot in my own parents’ traditions and customs, and one foot in the customs and values of this country really allowed me to see the world in a more complex way,” Gomez said.

Gomez spoke about reform and encouraged MSU students to explore their own unique ideas, because through these ideas will come change, she said.

“To students who are either studying the realities of contemporary life and our changing demographics, or to students who are immigrants themselves: I say explore that because that is such a great opportunity to grow as a person that you have access to multiple-point-of-view diversity of thinking,” Gomez said.

Thibeault said the lecture is a chance to learn more about life through an immigrant’s eyes.

“The way (immigration) is addressed is very short-sighted,” Thibeault said. “This gives us an opportunity to learn more about immigration, to address more the experience of the immigrant and especially the immigrant views.”

Residential College in the Arts and Humanities senior Xavier Gonzalez is a former migrant worker and uses his past as an inspiration to become a participant in activities that promote immigration. With speakers who have direct ties to MSU, Gonzalez said he would like to see these events bring in more students from the university.

“I think it’s much more important for the youth to find out about this,” he said. “To come out to these types of events, to learn from other scholars.”