U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) will participate in a panel discussion on "U.S. Immigration Policy: What's in the Future" Friday, March 27, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the MacDonald Moot Court Room of Myron Taylor Hall. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Smith, who chairs the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, authored and led the effort to enact the 1996 landmark illegal immigration reform law. Smith also serves on the House budget and ethics committees. He represents the 21st Congressional district in Texas, which stretches from San Antonio to the suburbs of Austin.

Smith will be joined in the panel discussion by Vernon Briggs, professor of industrial and labor relations and author of Still an Open Door? U.S. Immigration Policy and the American Economy (American University Press, 1994), and Ithaca attorney Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, adjunct professor of law, who has authored numerous articles and books on immigration law. Russell K. Osgood, the Allan R. Tessler Dean of the Cornell Law School, will serve as moderator.

Earlier in the day, Smith will speak to students in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations on immigration policy and its impact on labor.