A Greek Tragedy: Immigration and the Refugee Crisis from the U.S. Border to the Sea

Monday, June 15
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Hosted by Verbatim Books
This is a free event. No tickets are necessary for entry. Doors open at 6:15 PM.

Join award-winning journalist Jeanne Carstensen for a conversation on immigration and displacement with immigration reporter and Daylight San Diego co-founder Kate Morrissey, moderated by Marco Werman, host of The World and journalist-in-residence at UC San Diego.

Bringing together global reporting and local expertise, this panel connects the realities of the refugee crisis abroad with the lived experiences of migration at the U.S.–Mexico border. Carstensen’s A Greek Tragedy reconstructs a deadly 2015 shipwreck off the coast of Lesvos, while Morrissey’s work documents the complexities of asylum and immigration in the San Diego region. Together, their reporting offers a rare cross-border perspective on how displacement is experienced, governed, and understood.

From the Mediterranean to San Diego, the conversation will examine the human stakes behind immigration policy, the structure and limits of asylum systems, and the ethical challenges of documenting trauma and survival. It will also reflect on how migration has evolved over the past decade and what new insights emerge when these crises are considered side by side.

Moderated by Werman, the discussion will move between local and global perspectives, offering a thought-provoking look at how migration is reported, debated, and lived in our own community and beyond.

For more information on this event or other events hosted by Verbatim Books, check out Verbatim’s events page here: https://verbatimbooks.com/events/