5th Annual Templeton Lecture: Immigration and Economic Liberty

The Fifth Annual John M. Templeton, Jr., Lecture on Economic Liberties and the Constitution will consider the debate over immigration, which commanded national attention in 2006, affected the outcome of the mid-term elections and promises to be a contentious issue in the 110th Congress in 2007. The participants include Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, and Douglas Kmiec of the Pepperdine University School of Law. The Annual John M. Templeton, Jr. Lecture showcases the best constitutional minds in America as they discuss economic liberties in a forum open to the public.

The issue of immigration and immigration reform engage a clash of many American values, and transcends conventional liberal-conservative ideological lines. President Bush found some of his stiffest opposition to reform from members of his own party in 2006. The need for a diverse, willing employment base in the service industry and agriculture often conflicts with the requirements of immigration law itself. And the values of “We the People”–America’s traditional welcoming of new immigrants to its shores–have been strained by security concerns since 9/11.

The lead lecture will be delivered by Cardinal Roger Mahony, an outspoken advocate for what he calls “just immigration reform.” Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony was appointed the fourth Archbishop of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II on July 16, 1985 and installed on September 5, 1985. Pope John Paul II created him a cardinal on June 28, 1991. Cardinal Mahony is the first native Angeleno and the third Archbishop of Los Angeles to be created a cardinal. Born in Hollywood, Cardinal Mahony was ordained to the priesthood May 1, 1962. He was appointed Titular Bishop of Tamascani and Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno January 7, 1975 and appointed Bishop of Stockton February 26, 1980. In 1995, he announced plans to build the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to replace the earthquake-damaged former St. Vibiana's Cathedral. Cardinal Mahony has spoken about immigration reform on CNN, MSNBC, CBS and NPR. In one action, Cardinal Mahony called on priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese to ignore a proposed federal law that would require churches to ask immigrants for residency documents before administering help.

Responding will be Edwin Meese, who served as Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan and who was deeply involved in the immigration reform legislation of 1986, which he recently called a failure in The New York Times. Mr. Meese was among President Reagan's most important advisors, playing a key role in the development and execution of domestic and foreign policy. During the 1970s, Mr. Meese was Director of the Center for Criminal Justice Policy and Management and Professor of Law at the University of San Diego. He earlier served as Chief of Staff for then-Governor Reagan and was a local prosecutor in California. Mr. Meese is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of United States Studies, University of London. He earned his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently serves as the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation.

Douglas W. Kmiec will moderate the event. He is a Professor of Constitutional Law and the Caruso Family Chair in Constitutional Law at the Pepperdine University School of Law. Previously, he served as Dean and St. Thomas Moore Professor of Law at Catholic University for two years prior to returning to Pepperdine University in 2003. He taught at the University of Notre Dame’s Center on Law and Government. Kmiec served Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush during 1985-89 as constitutional legal counsel (Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice). Kmiec serves on the executive committee of the National Constitution Center’s Distinguished Scholars Advisory Panel.

John M. Templeton, Jr., M.D. is President of the John Templeton Foundation, and directs all Foundation activities in pursuit of its core mission to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discovery in areas engaging life’s biggest questions in science and philosophy. He works closely with the Foundation’s staff and international board of advisors of more than 50 leading scholars, scientists, researchers and theologians to develop substantive programs in this endeavor. Dr. Templeton has been actively involved in the Foundation since its inception in 1987. In 1995, he retired from his medical practice to serve full-time as president of the Foundation. His more than 25-year career as a physician and long-held spiritual beliefs provide both the formal science training and the commitment to advance the Foundation’s work.

After receiving a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Dr. Templeton earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Boston. He completed his internship and residency in surgery at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and subsequently trained in pediatric surgery under Dr. C. Everett Koop at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. After serving two years in the U.S. Navy, he returned to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1977, where he served on the staff as pediatric surgeon and trauma program director. He also served as professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

Explaining his commitment to the National Constitution Center, Dr. Templeton said:

“The success of this fragile American Experiment called ‘Constitutional Government’ will depend entirely on how much of the heritage bequeathed to us by our founding fathers can be successfully passed on to present and future citizens. The National Constitution Center is one of the key elements in preserving this heritage.”

Programs of the National Constitution Center begin promptly and latecomers may not be admitted to the program. Please note that this program is subject to change. For reservations please call: 215.409.6700. For comments or feedback only please write to: programs@constitutioncenter.org.