40th Annual Nathaniel L. Nathanson Memorial Lecture: Professor Hiroshi Motomura
The USD School of Law invites you to join us for the 40th Annual Nathaniel L. Nathanson Memorial Lecture Series on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 as Professor Hiroshi Motomura discusses "Immigration, Belonging, and the Constitution".
Hiroshi Motomura
Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law
Hiroshi Motomura will deliver the annual Nathaniel L. Nathanson Memorial Lecture. He is the Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. He is the author of Borders and Belonging (Oxford 2025), Immigration Outside the Law (Oxford 2014), and Americans in Waiting (Oxford 2006).
He is also co-author of the casebook, Immigration and Citizenship (West 10th ed. 2026). He has received several university teaching awards and is one of 26 U.S. law professors profiled in What the Best Law Teachers Do (Harvard 2013). Hiroshi has testified in the US Congress, is a Nonresident Scholar of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and is a member of the International Migration Review editorial board.
Hiroshi is also co-host of the podcast, Unsettled: Immigration in Turbulent Times and is featured in the Try Guys video, The Try Guys Try Immigrating to America. In July 2026, he was recognized by the Carnegie Foundation as a Great Immigrant, Great American.
"Immigration, Belonging, and the Constitution"
It’s convenient but misleading to talk about a constitution as if it governed a closed group of citizens. In this age of migration, the arrival of newcomers and their becoming residents complicate the essential question of “who belongs?” And what is the Constitution’s role in this inquiry?
Drawing on the conceptual framework in his recent book, Borders and Belonging, Professor Motomura will offer answers to these questions.
Free to attend and registration is appreciated
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
5:30 p.m. | Lecture/Q&A
7:00 p.m. | Reception
Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, Warren Auditorium
Parking for non-USD students, employees: information about parking will be emailed to registrants closer to the date of the event
This lecture series was established in 1984 to honor Nathaniel L. Nathanson, an esteemed law professor who devoted his life to the law and legal education. The series brings distinguished speakers to the University of San Diego to discuss issues of national significance.
Nathanson, a graduate of Yale University, Yale Law School and Harvard Law School, served as law clerk to the Honorable Julian Mack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as well as to the Honorable Louis D. Brandeis of the Supreme Court of the United States. He taught law at Northwestern University School of Law from 1936 to 1977, where he was named professor emeritus. That same year, he was named a distinguished professor of law at the University of San Diego. He spent alternate semesters at the two law schools until his death in 1983. Also receiving the benefit of his wisdom were Stanford University, Rutgers University, the University of Washington, Arizona State University and the University of Tokyo.
Nathanson was best known for his work in the areas of administrative law, constitutional law, civil liberties, international law and human rights. In these and other areas, he authored or served as editor of seven books and published almost 100 major articles, reviews and papers. He continued to pursue these interests through service to government, the American Society of Legal Studies, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Constitutional Convention of Palau, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
The University of San Diego greatly benefited from the presence of this eminent professor and is pleased to present this lecture series in his memory.
| Date | Speaker | Talk |
|
The 39th Lecture - February 3, 2025 |
Ralph Richard Banks, Professor & Faculty Director, Stanford Center for Racial Justice |
"Education and Opportunity after Students for Fair Admissions" |
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The 38th Lecture - February 1, 2024 |
Randall L. Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor of Law, Harvard Law School |
"Brown v. Board of Education at 70" |
|
The 37th Lecture – March 28, 2022 |
Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Dean, Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study | Civil Rights Queen – Constance Baker Motley |
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The 36th Lecture – February 25, 2021 |
Charles Barber, Author, and William Outlaw III, Community Activist |
Citizen Outlaw: One Man’s Journey from Gangleader to Peacekeeper |
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The 35th Lecture – January 22, 2020 |
The Honorable M. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
The Trees are Still Standing: The Backstory of Justice William O. Douglas as a Citizen Justice and Environmentalist |
|
The 34th Lecture - September 25, 2018 |
Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, Supreme Court of California |
Notes From the Near Future: Three Problems (or One?) In Law and Artificial Intelligence |
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The 33rd Lecture - September 28, 2016 |
Robert Stein, Everett Fraser Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School |
The Future of Capital Punishment in the United States |
|
The 32nd Lecture - August 25, 2015 |
Cass Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard |
Constitutional Personae: Same-Sex Marriage and Beyond |
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The 31st Lecture - February 19, 2015 |
Frederick Schauer, David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Virginia |
Is Law a Technical Language? |
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The 30th Lecture - November 19, 2013 |
Catherine A. MacKinnon, Elizabeth A. Long Professor of Law, University of Michigan |
Trafficking, Prostitution and Inequality |
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The 29th Lecture - April 4, 2013 |
William A. Galston, Senior Fellow and Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies, Brookings Institution |
The Claims of Conscience and the Rule of Law: Can They Coexist? |
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The 28th Lecture - January 23, 2012 |
Martha L. Minow, Dean and Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School |
Brown v. Board in the World: How the Global Turn Matters for School Reform, Human Rights and Legal Knowledge |
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The 27th Lecture - March 11, 2011 |
Robert C. Post, Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law, Yale Law School |
Academic Freedom as a Constitutional Principle |
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The 26th Lecture - April 26, 2010 |
Kent Greenawalt, University Professor, Columbia University |
Fundamental Questions about the Religion Clauses: Reflections on Some Critiques |
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The 25th Lecture - April 23, 2009 |
Jack Rakove, William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies, Professor of Political Science and, by courtesy, of Law, Stanford University |
Historical Qualms About “Public Meaning” Originalism |
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The 24th Lecture - March 11, 2008 |
Robert W. Bennett, Nathaniel L. Nathanson Professor of Law and former Dean, Northwestern School of Law |
Originalism: Lessons from Some Things That Go Without Saying |
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The 23rd Lecture - April 19, 2007 |
Daniel B. Rodriguez, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law and former Dean, University of San Diego School of Law |
State Constitutionalism and Modern Governance: What’s the Big Deal? |
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The 22nd Lecture - April 4, 2006 |
Georg Ress, Professor of International Law, International University, Bremen, Germany |
Property as a Human Right, According to the European Convention of Human Rights |
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The 21st Lecture - February 2, 2005 |
Gordon S. Wood, Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor of History, Brown University |
The Origins of American Constitutionalism |
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The 20th Lecture - April 7, 2004 |
The Honorable John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
Memories |
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The 19th Lecture - April 10, 2003 |
Victor G. Rosenblum, Nathaniel L. Nathanson Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University |
A Pertinent Message for Today from Yesterday’s Administrative Law Ruling |
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The 18th Lecture - February 20, 2002 |
John H. Garvey Dean, Boston College Law School |
A Plea for Complexity |
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The 17th Lecture - March 27, 2001 |
Lee C. Bollinger, President, University of Michigan |
Observations on the Modern Affirmative Action Debate |
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The 16th Lecture - March 29, 2000 |
The Honorable Mary Murphy Schroeder, U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
The Brandeis Legacy |
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The 15th Lecture - March 2, 1999 |
Gerhard Casper, President, Stanford University |
The United States at Fin de Siecle: The Rule of Law or Enlightened Absolutism |
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The 14th Lecture - April 15, 1998 |
The Honorable Shirley S. Abrahamson, Chief Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court |
Federalism, Let Fifty Flowers Bloom |
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The 13th Lecture - April 14, 1997 |
John P. Frank, Partner, Lewis and Roca |
Lincoln as a Lawyer |
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The 12th Lecture - March 20, 1996 |
Reflections on the Betrayed Profession |
Reflections on the Betrayed Profession |
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The 11th Lecture - March 27, 1995 |
Carl A. Auerbach, Distinguished Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law Dean and Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Law School |
Is Government the Solution or the Problem? |
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The 10th Lecture - January 13, 1994 |
Louis Henkin, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University |
An Immigration Policy for Just Society |
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The Ninth Lecture - April 7, 1993 |
The Honorable Harry A. Blackmum, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
An Address |
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The Eighth Lecture - April 9, 1992 |
The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
They Often Are Half Obscure: The Rights of the Individual and the Legacy of Oliver Wendell Holmes |
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The Seventh Lecture - March 19, 1991 |
Willard Wirtz, Distinguished Visiting Professor, USD School of Law, Former United States Secretary of Labor |
Human Rights in the Workplace |
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The Sixth Lecture - March 30, 1990 |
Willard H. Pedrick, Professor Emeritus and Founding Dean, Arizona State School of Law |
Dignified Death and Legal Liability |
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The Fifth Lecture - March 29, 1989 |
The Honorable Charles Fried, Solicitor General of the United States (1985-1988) Professor of Law, Harvard Law School |
The Supreme Court and Affirmative Action |
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The Fourth Lecture - March 17, 1988 |
The Honorable Abner J. Mikva, U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit |
The Rise and Fall of un-Americanism |
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The Third Lecture - April 30, 1987 |
Kenneth Culp Davis, Distinguished Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law |
Judicial, Legislative and Administrative Lawmaking: A Proposed Research Service for the Supreme Court |
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The Second Lecture - January 30, 1986 |
The Honorable Carl McGowan, U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit |
The President’s Veto Power: An Important Instrument of Conflict in Our Constitutional System |
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The First Lecture - October 18, 1984 |
The Honorable John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
Judicial Restraint |