In Our Community: Immigration News

On Wednesday, I attended the arrival ceremony at the White House for President Calderon of Mexico - you can see him pictured above with President Obama. For more on that and other updates, here it is, your immigration news from Monday, May 17 to Monday, May 24.

During a joint session of Congress, President Calderon spoke strongly against the new Arizona law which, as he said, "introduces a terrible idea: using racial profiling as a basis for law enforcement." His remarks on this subject were greeted with a standing ovation. Also during his visit, the United States and Mexico announced the creation of a joint committee on border-related activities.

In the pop culture world, immigration also got a shout-out: The new Miss USA is Rima Fakih, an Arab-American immigrant. She was born in Lebanon and came to the United States as a young child, eventually settling in Michigan. She is believed to be the first Arab American and Muslim to win the contest.

San Francisco is trying to opt out of Secure Communities, a Homeland Security program run by ICE in which fingerprints taken at local jails are run through a national database to check arrestees' immigration status. The city's sheriff has said that Secure Communities conflicts with the city's policy of only reporting foreign-born persons who are booked for felonies. Secure Communities doesn't align with ICE's objective of going after the "most dangerous criminals" - instead it casts a wide net regardless of individual circumstances - and we need cities like San Francisco (and DC) to push ICE to clarify the program's purpose.

As I was perusing the immigration blogs this past week, I came across this concerning clip: South Carolina has introduced a bill copying the Arizona law. The Wall Street Journal has an article on how immigrants are often reluctant to report domestic abuse, if going to the police means risking deportation. This problem, of states taking federal law into their own hands, is clearly going to get worse before it gets better.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL) recently endorsed a plan to include LGBT partners in immigration reform. Currently, LGBT Americans are unable to petition for their foreign-born partners. The inclusion of the Uniting American Families Act in immigration reform would end this long-standing denial of civil rights and equality.

Michelle Obama's visit to an elementary school in Maryland catapulted the question of family unity onto the national stage, when a second-grader expressed fears that her mother would be deported. You can watch the video here. According to the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, families can't wait any longer for a just, humane immigration reform bill.

Change Takes Courage and Faith

Don't miss out on the action! Over 100,000 supporters of immigration reform will gather this Sunday, March 21st, on the National Mall to witness the urgent need for immigration reform. Grab a friend, grab a sign, and join us!

Last week, President Obama met with Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) and Senator Lindsey Graham (SC), who are working together to draft a bipartisan immigration reform bill in the Senate. However, negotiations are ongoing and immigrant families cannot wait any longer. The time for immigration reform is now.

As people of faith, we can't sit by as the broken immigration system rips apart families and communities. Join us in Washington DC to urge Congress to pass just, humane immigration reform.

In Our Community: Immigration News

We have a busy week ahead of us here in Washington! In this post, you'll find some updates from last week and - more importantly - previews of this week's events! Grab your coffee cup and let's get started.

Last Thursday, President Obama met with Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) and Senator Lindsey Graham (SC), who are working together to draft a bipartisan immigration reform bill in the Senate. This high-profile meeting was met with cautious enthusiasm by immigration advocates, who are pressing Schumer and Graham to release a blueprint of their bill before the much-anticipated immigration rally this Sunday.

Following the meeting, President Obama issued this statement: "Today I met with Senators Schumer and Graham and was pleased to learn of their progress in forging a proposal to fix our broken immigration system. I look forward to reviewing their promising framework, and every American should applaud their efforts to reach across party lines and find commonsense answers to one of our most vexing problems. I also heard from a diverse group of grassroots leaders from around the country about the growing coalition that is working to build momentum for this critical issue. I am optimistic that their efforts will contribute to a favorable climate for moving forward. I told both the Senators and the community leaders that my commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering, and that I will continue to be their partner in this important effort."

Senator Schumer remains "optimistic" about advancing immigration reform while Senator Graham sees difficulties in hyperpartisanship. Schumer and Graham are on the search for a second Republican cosponsor of the bill, and they continue to seek a compromise between business and labor leaders about the future of worker visas. We encourage these senators to put pen to paper and share their plan for immigration reform publicly in the near future.

We have learned that Schumer and Graham's proposal for immigration reform may include a biometric national identification card. All U.S. citizens and green card holders would be required to carry this card, as would immigrants with other statuses. This is a concerning development that would raise all sorts of privacy and profiling concerns. We hope that clarification on this proposal comes swiftly.

A final vote on the health care bill is expected by the end of this week, but what's in it for immigrants? Immigrants' access to health care remains a hotly contested issue in the House. In the current version of the bill, undocumented immigrants cannot obtain health insurance even if they are willing to buy an individual plan with their own money. Advocates are hard at work trying to improve access and lift the 5-year bar for Medicaid, in which legal immigrants have to wait five years before they are eligible for the Medicaid program. It is unreasonable to expect anyone, regardless of their legal status, to wait 5 years for health care.

Immigration enforcement hit close to home this week. On Thursday morning, several simultaneous raids in Maryland resulted in 29 people being taken into custody by federal immigration agents. ICE claims that the raids are intended “to ensure that employers are held accountable for maintaining a legal work force.” However, raids, even when conducted in a humane manner, unfairly punish employees while letting employers off the hook.

So, what's in store for us this week?

It's not too late to register for Ecumenical Advocacy Days. Christians from across the country will gather in D.C. this weekend to discuss immigration reform, refugees, and displaced peoples. Join us for workshops, discussions, and advocacy training, as well as a day of lobbying on Monday, March 22nd!

The Reform Immigration For America campaign, in coordination with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, is organizing a huge immigration rally on March 21st! Over 100,000 people are expected to gather to witness the urgent need for immigration reform. We hope you can join us on the National Mall on Sunday afternoon!!

In Our Community: Immigration News

Hello again and welcome to this week's edition of In Our Community: Immigration News. Here are highlights from Monday, February 15th to Monday, February 22nd. Grab a cup of coffee and happy reading!

Electoral calculations are starting already and politicians on both sides of the aisle are taking note of growing Hispanic voting power. The Hispanic population in the United States is the fastest growing voting demographic. In the upcoming 2010 elections, politicians are going to need to take seriously the demands and concerns of immigrant communities. Two articles (available here and here) indicate that, in order to win votes, conservatives may need to shift from cracking down on the border to supporting comprehensive immigration reform. Recent polling shows that 82% of Hispanics feel strongly about immigration reform.

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition, of which FCNL is a member, launched an immigration reform campaign last week by delivering hundreds of thousands of postcards to members of Congress. This article in the Miami Herald discusses why immigration reform is important to people of faith. As one faith leader says, "This is important to us Christians, not just because we are immigrants or sons or daughters of immigrants... We have been called to treat the foreigners among us justly and to love our neighbor.''

Protestors regularly gather outside the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, WA, to protest the harsh treatment and unnecessary detention of immigrants at this jail-like facility. The NWDC has become one of the largest detention centers in the country. It holds about 1000 immigrant detainees at a time, the majority of which have never committed a crime and are being held for immigration violations only. FCNL supports alternatives to detention for these immigrants as they wait for their cases to be heard in immigration courts.

It is still not clear how the Department of Homeland Security defines "criminal alien," which is the term most commonly used for immigrants held in jail-like detention centers. Some say that an individual must be convicted of a crime to be considered a "criminal alien," while others say they just have to be accused of or suspected of a crime. If this is the measure by which enforcement programs are being justified, some clarity is urgently needed. In addition, reports show that the vast majority of immigrant detainees are noncriminal or have committed minor crimes, not the serious ones that you would be led to believe. For more information on how immigrants end up in detention, see two recent fact sheets - available here and here.

Think that areas with significant immigrant populations are more vulnerable to crime? Think again. This interesting article in The American Conservative sets the record straight, demonstrating that Hispanics have approximately the same crime rates as whites of the same age. Want to share this information with others? The Immigration Policy Center has a brief fact sheet breaking down the popular myth that immigrants are dangerous criminals.

In Our Community: Immigration News

Hello again and welcome back to your local source for immigration news! We're still digging out after more than 40 inches of snow fell in DC last week. To catch us up a bit, here are highlights from Monday, February 8 to Tuesday, February 16. Happy reading!

The faith community continues to push for comprehensive immigration reform, delivering tens of thousands of postcards to members of Congress and coordinating prayer vigils across the country. More than 100 faith events will be held in February, from South Carolina to Washington State. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition has made available an organizing guide so that you, too, can gather your community together to raise awareness about the need for reform.

Without comprehensive immigration reform, the broken immigration system creates headaches and difficulties for employers and employees alike. Two new articles - available here and here - document the challenges facing foreign farm workers, who would benefit directly from a comprehensive reform bill. Workers, compelled out of economic necessity to immigrate without the proper documents, face poor working conditions and low wages. Employers, under pressure to increase wages and fulfill Labor Department rules, struggle to keep their businesses viable. The one thing they all agree on? The time for reform is now.

Workers aren't the only ones suffering - families divided by immigration laws face serious hardships in raising their children. This heartbreaking article from the New York Times documents the life of Elizabeth Encalada. Her husband, an immigrant from Ecuador, was ordered back to his home country. He then killed himself upon learning that he would be unable to return to the United States to reunite with his family. The family visa system is clogged with applications, compelling families who play by the rules to turn to desperate measures.

The Immigration Policy Center has released a special report, "Many Happy Returns," on how remittances can help Haiti recover and strengthen the U.S. economy. Many of this country's immigrants send a large chunk of their earnings back to their families and communities in their country of origin. On the surface, it might seem like this money is just disappearing from the U.S. economy, but really, it boosts U.S. participation in the global economy.

A federal judge asks whether it's worth the cost of prosecuting non-criminal immigrants, and a new report by TRAC indicates that the majority of immigrants held in detention centers by ICE have never been convicted of any crime. Even though ICE claims to focus on non-citizens who pose a real threat to public safety, the numbers tell a different story. ICE's director, John Morton, says, "This isn't a question of whether or not we will detain people. We will detain people, and we will detain them on a grand scale." Morton's comment leads us to ask, "But why?"

But don't let me leave you with a rhetorical question - ask the government yourself! The Department of Homeland Security has created an "Open Government" website and they want your input. From now until March 19, you can submit ideas and questions to DHS about how to increase transparency about how the agency manages the immigration detention system.

Center for American Progress Releases Report on Immigration Reform and Communities of Faith

The Center for American Progress released a report today entitled "Loving Thy Neighbor: Immigration Reform and Communities of Faith." The report documents the activities of faith-based communities and organizations around the nation, as people within these communities reach out to one another and to the immigrants in their midst. Communities of faith are becoming an increasingly important voice in the public discussion on immigration reform.

As the report says, the recent increase in prominence of hate groups has "dehumanize[d] the stranger in our midst." Teachings from diverse faith communities encourage people to instead welcome the strangers in their communities. The report tells the stories of six communities that took action to protect the rights of immigrants and voice their concerns to their members of Congress.

I especially recommend reading the story entitled "Pilgrimage" (starting on page 15). Following the raid in Bellingham, WA, in February 2009, members of the community in which the raid took place gathered together to march peacefully to the detention center where undocumented workers from the raid were being held. This march, which took them across 143 miles and included more than 500 participants, demonstrates well the commitment of faith-based communities to uphold the rights and dignity of all of their neighbors, regardless of legal status.

The report also mentions that more than 100 peace vigils on immigration reform took place in February. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition organized these peace vigils, and will be organizing them again in 2010.

For the full text of the report, click here. To see an interactive map, designed by the Center for American Progress, documenting where around the country faith groups have taken action for immigration reform, click here.

Interfaith Peace Vigil Counters Hate Rhetoric

Yesterday, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition organized an interfaith peace vigil on the lawn of the Capitol, to counter the hate rhetoric of FAIR (the Federation for American Immigration Reform), an anti-immigration group that was holding an advocacy day. The faith leaders who spoke included Yvette Schock from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, Bishop Thomas Wenski, Archdiocese of Orlando, Dale Schwartz, Chair of the Public Policy Committee for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Bishop Price Singh, Episcopal Archdiocese of Rochester, and Bishop Minerva Carcaño, Desert SW Conference of the United Methodist Church. These faith leaders were joined by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL) and Rep. Jared Polis (CO). This peace vigil was recognized on the front page of the Washington Post! To see the photo of participants in the peace vigil on the front page, click here. For the full article, within which the peace vigil is mentioned at the end, click here.

A Growing Movement: People of Faith for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

There is a growing movement among communities of faith to stand with immigrants as they seek to come out of the shadows and become full members of our society.

This video made by America's Voice documents the growing participation of people of faith in the call for comprehensive immigration reform. Like the Reedwood Friends Church that saw a raid tear mothers and fathers from their children or the Mountainview Friends Meeting who saw one of their families separated due disproportionate immigration laws, people of faith have realized that immigration is an issue that deeply affects our communities and one which we have the moral obligation to respond to.



"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together."

Family unity is a human value. And we should be holding our members of Congress accountable to passing just and humane immigration reform that aligns our countries laws with our fundamental values.

TAKE ACTION

Neighbor-to-Neighbor In-District Visits

Following our campaign "Prayer, Renewal, and Action on Immigration" which generated over 170 prayer vigils throughout the country, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition has moved into the second phase of its campaign for comprehensive immigration reform.

Beginning yesterday and continuing throughout the Easter/Passover recess, we have asked communities of faith to answer the call to "welcome the stranger" and be a good neighbor by setting up "Neighbor-to-Neighbor In-District Visits" with their members of Congress.

These visits are designed to inform Congress of how communities of faith have welcomed the stranger--in their congregations, through teaching ESL classes, providing sanctuary, sponsoring refugees, etc--and asking their members of Congress to uphold their faith mandate to welcome the stranger by passing humane immigration reform legislation this year.

So far, the coalition has around 120 Neighbor-to-Neighbor visits in the works for the next two weeks. We're also coordinating with the immigrants' rights and labor advocacy communities. Together we hope to have over 300 visits take place across the country.

There is a growing movement for immigration reform. Would you like to take part?

To learn how to set up a Neighbor-to-Neighbor meeting, see the Interfaith Immigration Coalition's "Neighbor to Neighbor Handbook."

Update: More prayer vigils took place last weekend

Even more communities held prayer vigils last weekend as part of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition's campaign "Prayer, Renewal, and Action on Immigration." They called for the protection of immigrants, empowerment of the faith community, and moral courage for Congress to take action on immigration reform.

These vigils attracted significant media attention which I've added to my prior post on the prayer vigils here. I especially encourage you all to check out the TV clips, as they demonstrate the hope and determination of people of faith to overcome racism and xenophobia in their communities and our country.