Conference Program

International Conference on Im/migration, AI and Social Justice

March 10-11, 2025

12th Floor Lounge, Lowenstein E. Gerald Corrigan Conference Center
South Lounge, Leon Lowenstein building, Plaza Level
Lincoln Center Campus, Fordham University
113 West, 60th Street, New York

Organized by:
Fordham University
Sophia University (Japan)

Sponsored by:
Fordham Office of the Provost
Fordham Office of Research
Fordham Graduate School of Social Service (GSS)
Fordham GSS Her Migrant Hub
Fordham Strategic Research Consortium on Global Studies
Fordham Working Group on AI and Fordham-IBM Partnership
Fordham Initiative on Migrants, Migration, and Human Dignity

10:00 – 10:15 am Opening Session (12th Floor Lounge)

Chair: George Hong, Chief Research Officer and Associate Provost for Research

  1. Dennis Jacobs, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Fordham University
  2. Yoshiaki Terumichi, President, Sophia University, Japan

10:15 – 12:00 pm Keynote Speech Session I: Interactions between AI and Im/migration (12th Floor Lounge)

Chair: Jonathan Crystal, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Fordham University

Keynote Speakers:

  1. Djallel Bouneffouf (Senior Research Scientist, IBM), “AI and Immigration: Better AI for Smarter Immigration or Better Immigration for Smarter AI?”  
  2. Sarah Blackmore (Senior Associate, Fragomen), “Navigating the Intersection of AI and Immigration Systems”
  3. Tetsuo Morishita (Professor of Law and Vice President for Global Academic Affairs, Sophia University), “Challenges Concerning AI and Immigration: Roles of US and Japanese Universities”

12:00-1:00 pm Lunch (12th Floor Lounge)

1:30-3:00 pm

Panel Session I: Im/migration and Social Justice (12th Floor Lounge)

Chair: Marciana Popescu (Professor of Social Service and Co-director, Her Migrant Hub, Fordham University) 

  • Mario Russell (Executive Director, Center for Migration Studies), “The Undocumented in the US Immigration System: Purpose and Perception Towards Just Policies”
  • Kevin Jackson (Professor of Law and Ethics, Fordham University) and Emma Foley (Research Assistant, Fordham University), “AI and Moral Worth: The Ethics of Digital Borders”
  • Carey Kasten (Associate Professor of Spanish, Fordham University), Aurelien Clavaud (Student, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, 2025), Penny Joseph (Student, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, 2025), and Elena Wright (Student, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, 2027), “Migration and Accompaniment at Fordham: Student Perspectives”
  • Mary Beth Quaranta Morrissey (Associate Professor and PhD Program Director, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University), “Migration Crisis: Lived Experience of Trauma and Vicarious Trauma”

Panel Session II: The Impacts of AI Applications (Lowenstein South Lounge)

Chair: Frank Hsu (Clavius Distinguished Professor of Science, Fordham University)

  • Tad Gonsalves (Professor, Faculty of Science & Technology, Sophia University), “Building a Conscience for AI”
  • Jie Ren, (Associate Professor of ITO, Fordham University), “Unveiling Gender Dynamics for Mental Health Posts in Social Media and Generative Artificial Intelligence”
  • Jun Imai (Professor, Sophia University), “The Impacts of the Expansion of Online Labor Platforms in Japan”
  • Evans Owusu (Ph.D. Student, Fordham University), “Robust Intrusion Detection with Combinatorial Fusion and Generative AI”

3:00-3:30 pm Tea Break (12th Floor Lounge)

3:30-5:00 pm Roundtable Discussion on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Im/migration (12th Floor Lounge)

Chair: Greg Donovan (Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Fordham University)

  • Dana Alonzo (Professor of Social Service, Fordham University; Co-Director, Her Migrant Hub)
  • Lauri Goldkind (Professor of Social Service, Fordham University)
  • Yuko Miki (Associate Professor of History and Latin American and Latinx Studies; Co-Director of the Strategic Research Consortium on Global Studies, Fordham University)
  • Alma Rodenas-Ruano (Associate Professor, Neuroscience; Director of Integrative Neuroscience Program, Fordham University)
  • Aseel Sawalha (Associate Professor of Anthropology; Co-Director of the Strategic Research Consortium on Global Studies, Fordham University)
  • Trena Yonkers-Talz, DMin (Director, Community Center, Outreach, and Accompaniment, Belmont Catholic Community)

March 11, 2025

9:30-11:00 am Keynote Speech Session II: Immigration and AI Research (12th Floor Lounge)

Chair: Fuhua Zhai (Professor of Social Service and Co-Director of the Strategic Research Consortium on Global Studies, Fordham University)

Keynote Speakers: 

  1. Marciana Popescu (Professor, Fordham University, GSS, Co-director, Her Migrant Hub, GSS), “Reclaiming Sanctuary: The Legality, Constitutionality, and Adherence to Human Rights of US Migration Policies”
  2. Gregory Donovan (Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Fordham University), “Accompaniment or Alienation? The Promise and Peril of AI for Communities in Migration”
  3. Frank Hsu (Clavius Distinguished Professor of Science, Fordham University), “Detecting and Mitigating Bias: Harnessing Responsible and Trustworthy AI for Social Justice”

11:10 am-12:30 pm

Panel Session III: Responsible AI and Immigration (12th Floor Lounge)

Chair: Carey Kasten (Associate Professor of Spanish, Fordham University)

  • Nashrah Haque (Student, Fordham University), “FairScore: A Bias Mitigation Framework for Gender-Equitable AI Hiring in Migrant Employment”
  • Naseem Machlovi (Student, Fordham University), “Towards Safer Moderation: Evaluating LLM Moderators Through a Unified Benchmark Dataset and Advocating a Human-First”
  • Maryam Saleki (Ph.D. Student, Fordham University), “Influencing the Role of GPT-Generated Responses in Shaping Gender Perceptions: Insights from the Middle East and Beyond”

Panel Session IV: AI and Social Justice (Lowenstein South Lounge)

Chair: Yasuhisa Tamura (Professor of Science and Engineering, Sophia University)

  • Tetsuo Morishita (Professor of Law, Vice President for Global Academic Affairs, Sophia University), “Some Key Aspects of Regulation of AI and International Cooperation”
  • Ruhul Amin (Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science, Fordham University), “Designing for Diverse AI Audiences: A Psycholinguistic Investigation of Demographic Variability and Empathy in Responses to Hate Speech”
  • Jingyan Xu (Ph.D. Student in Computer Science, Fordham University), “Enhancing SDG-Text Classification with Combinatorial Fusion Analysis”

12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch (12th Floor Lounge)

1:30-3:00 pm

Panel Session V: Immigration and Global Impact  (Lowenstein South Lounge)

Chair: Tad Gonsalves (Professor, Faculty of Science & Technology, Sophia University)

  • Luisa Fernanda Sandoval Cortes (Ph.D. Student, Fordham University), “Historical Trauma of the Women Asylum Seekers of the Garifuna Community and Their Forced Migration Process”
  • Isaie Dougnon (Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Fordham University), “Migration for Water and Land in the West African Sahel”
  • Jane Kani Edward (Associate Professor of African Studies, Fordham University), “Race, Religion, and Experiences of South Sudanese Refugees in Egypt”

Panel Session VI: Im/migration Policies: Education and Gender (12th Floor Lounge)

Chair: Holly Curtis (Assistant Provost for Corporate Relations, Fordham)

  • Yasuhisa Tamura (Professor of Science and Engineering, Sophia University), “Bridging Educational Gaps: A Data-Driven Analysis of Disparities Between Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Students”
  • Fadi Skeiker (Professor of Theatre and Chair of Theatre and Visual Arts, Fordham University), “Exploring Migrant Narratives Through Applied Theatre”
  • Catalina Alvarez (Assistant Professor of Art & Engagement) and Soojung Han (Urban Studies Fellow, Cornell University), “Modes of Transport: AI, Art and Choo Choo Research”

3:00-4:30 pm Closing Session

Chair: George Hong, Chief Research Officer and Associate Provost for Research

Facilitators: 

  1. Tetsuo Morishita (Professor of Law and Vice President for Global Academic Affairs, Sophia University)
  2. Marciana Popescu (Professor of Social Service and Co-director, Her Migrant Hub)
  3. Frank Hsu (Clavius Distinguished Professor of Science)
  4. Gregory Donovan (Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies)
  5. Fuhua Zhai (Professor of Social Service and Co-Director of the Strategic Research Consortium on Global Studies)
  6. Rebeca Franco (Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, Fordham University)
  7. Marcy Funaro (Senior Director of Institutional Giving, Development and University Relations, Fordham University)

Closing Remarks: Linda White-Ryan, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University

Organizing Committee Members

  1. Tihana Abiala, Associate Director for Research Initiatives, Office of Research, Fordham University
  2. Gregory Donovan, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Fordham University
  3. David Heston, Program Coordinator, Office of the Provost, Fordham University
  4. Frank Hsu, Clavius Distinguished Professor of Science, Fordham University
  5. George Hong, Chief Research Officer and Associate Provost for Research, Fordham University
  6. Tetsuo Morishita, Professor of Law and Vice President for Global Academic Affairs, Sophia University
  7. Marciana Popescu, Professor of Social Service and Co-director, Her Migrant Hub, Fordham University
  8. Fuhua Zhai, Professor of Social Service and Co-Director, Strategic Research Consortium on Global Studies, Fordham University