On March 27, Caitlin Dickerson, a staff writer at The Atlantic, delivered a keynote address at the Center for the Study for American Democracy (CSAD)’s biennial conference on immigration. Titled “Life on the Move,” the talk focused on Dickerson’s experiences reporting on migrants crossing the Darién Gap on their way to the United States.
The lecture was the second keynote address of CSAD’s conference. The first one, “Immigration Control and the Open Society,” was given on March 26 by Chandran Kukathas, a professor of political science at Singapore Management University. The conference also featured four panel discussions centered on the ethical, legal and political issues surrounding immigration.
Dickerson delivered her lecture in Archon Auditorium with a full room of students and professors in attendance. CSAD Director and Professor of Political Science Joe Klesner introduced her as an award-winning investigative journalist who won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for her September 2022 cover story in The Atlantic, “We Need to Take Away Children.”
Dickerson began her talk by explaining that the Darién Gap, a narrow strip of rainforest bridging North and South America, was once known as a “no man’s land.” Cliffs, poisonous snakes, jungle cats and flash floods made it virtually impassable. Since 2015, however, more and more migrants have attempted the crossing.
“In 2023, more than half a million people made this journey,” Dickerson said. “That’s why I decided to go as an immigration reporter. I needed to see for myself what people were willing to risk to reach the United States.”
Dickerson explained that for years, the U.S. has encouraged its Latin American neighbors to cut off access to visas in an attempt to prevent them from entering the country illegally. Instead of reducing migration as intended, however, this approach exposed migrants to more danger by redirecting them to places like the Darién Gap.
Dickerson shared the stories of several people she met on her journey. Among these were a family of four who had fled Venezuela, a civil engineer from Ecuador traveling with his young son and a Vietnamese single mother whose 9-year-old son had been swept away in a flash flood.
Associate Director of CSAD Nancy Powers shared her thoughts on the keynote address in an email to the Collegian. “Dickerson humanized the immigration process with names, faces and family histories,” Powers said. “She showed us people making immense sacrifices to try to live with dignity and safety and revealed the constant exploitation and commodification that immigrants face in a global system that provides limited safe ways to seek a new life.”
The next CSAD event, an alumni panel discussion on climate policy, will take place on Thursday evening in Ascension Hall 220.