Efrén Olivares in conversation with Laura Rivera – My Boy Will Die of Sorrow

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and A Cappella Books welcome author and Deputy Legal Director of the Immigrant Justice Project at Southern Poverty Law Center Efrén C. Olivares to The Carter Center for a discussion on his new book, “My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration From the Front Lines” on Wednesday July 27, 2022, at 7 PM. The author will appear in conversation with Laura Rivera, director of SPLC’s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI).

This deeply personal perspective from a human rights lawyer—whose work on the front lines of the fight against family separations in South Texas intertwines with his own story of immigrating to the United States at thirteen—reframes the United States’ history as a nation of immigrants but also a nation against immigrants.

This event is free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the venue. Masks are optional.

About the Author

Efrén C. Olivares is the Deputy Legal Director of the Immigrant Justice Project at Southern Poverty Law Center. He was the lead lawyer in a successful landmark petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of families separated under the Zero Tolerance policy. He previously directed the Racial and Economic Justice Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project. His writings on immigration policy have also been published by the New York Times, USA Today, and Newsweek, and he has testified before Congress and at briefings on Capitol Hill about immigration and border policies. Part of his work representing separated families was featured in the CBS News documentary “The Faces of Family Separation,” released in October 2019. He has also been interviewed as an expert attorney on immigrants’ rights issues on numerous TV and radio shows, and was featured in John Legend’s “Can’t Just Preach” series.

Olivares was the first member of his family to attend college. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School.

About the Conversation Partner

For the past decade, Laura Rivera has worked in partnership with immigrant and BIPOC communities in the South to advance and defend their legal and human rights. She has contributed to the movement to end the detention of immigrants by litigating class action cases against government agencies and directing a program that provides direct representation to detained immigrants in removal proceedings, the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center. She has also represented farmworkers in wage theft and trafficking cases as part of the Farmworker Division of the Georgia Legal Services Program.  Laura is committed to practicing community lawyering, centering directly impacted people in her work, and building coalitions. Previously, Laura worked as a journalist in New York and Puerto Rico. Laura is a proud native of Puerto Rico and is fluent in Spanish. She lives in Decatur with her wife and dogs and enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, and cooking.