MARGARET STOCK – Immigration Attorney, Lt. Colonel, US Army (ret.)
Donald Trump famously called Syrian refugees “a Trojan horse,” recalling how Greek warriors concealed themselves inside a wooden horse in order to enter and defeat the city of Troy. Historically, however, U.S. refugees are far more likely to be the warriors inside the horse, and on the side of Greece. Over the centuries, refugees to the United States have joined the U.S. Armed Forces in high numbers, have worked for the U.S. military as contractors, and have served in other Government agencies (including intelligence agencies) in key intelligence roles. Without the refugee asset, the United States would be a much less secure nation. This lecture will explore how refugees have contributed in measurable ways to U.S. national security, and how barring them from the United States undermines U.S. national security.
Margaret Stock focuses her practice on immigration and citizenship law. She is a nationally known expert on immigration and national security laws, and has testified regularly before Congressional committees on immigration, homeland security, and military matters. As a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Military Police, U.S. Army Reserve, Margaret has extensive experience with U.S. military issues. She has also worked as a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and as an adjunct instructor at the University of Alaska. Margaret is a member of the board of the Federal Bar Association’s Immigration Law Section and a former member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration. In 2013, she was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow (“genius grant” recipient) by the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
