The spring issue of our Newsletter focuses on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and you will find information on: the meaning of Comprehensive Immigration Reform; family unity as a core value of our immigration system; legalization: a central piece of a reform; prayer vigils for immigration reform; and legislative and administrative updates.

National Faith Conference Call Monday, April 6 at 4 pm EST. Organized by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. The call-in number is 800-920-7487and the code is 767237738.

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) is calling faith communities to hold “Neighbor to Neighbor” in-district meetings with their Members of Congress during the congressional recess April 6-17. During these meetings, faith communities can discuss how they have been good neighbors to our newly arrived immigrant neighbors and then ask the Member how he/she can be a good neighbor to immigrants through their stance on immigration reform. Establishing close relationships with your members of congress is crucial to enacting humane immigration reform. So, as we continue to send the message that the faith community is ready for comprehensive immigration reform to be passed this year, here are four things you can do this week:

1. Find a small group of people to attend the meeting with you.

2. Call your Member’s in-district office and schedule a meeting sometime when they are home during the April 6-17 recess 

3. Schedule a call or time for meeting participants to sit and talk over how the meeting should flow. The attached Neighbor to Neighbor Messaging document has some tips on structuring the meeting and how you can talk about this issue in a way that emphasizes the humanity of immigrants.

4. Keep us posted!! Just like the prayer vigils, it is so vital for us to know about the great work you are doing, so we can make sure that work gets amplified as much as possible to our allies and policymakers and even the Administration. So please, either enter your visit in the events page of the website, www.interfaithimmig ration.org.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, sent a letter to Episcopal members of Congress urging them to support HR 144 that would designate Haiti eligible for TPS. The letter notes that we made similar requests in 2004 and 2005. The House of Bishops sent a similar letter to President Obama requesting the TPS designation for Haitian immigrants. HR 144 was introduced by representative Alcee Hasting.

Gutierrez Familias Unidas Tour. A coalition of campaign partners are worked with U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and a network of evangelical Latino leaders on "The Families United/Familias Unidas National Tour."  Rep. Gutierrez will be touring more than 15 cities between March and the end of April.  The Interfaith Immigration Coalition, including the Episcopal Church, sent a letter to Rep. Gutierrez thanking him for this effort and for supporting the Interfaith Immigration Platform for Humane Immigration Reform.

Meeting with the White House

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition met with Joshua DuBois, Director of White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Wednesday, March 11^thto talk about what the Interfaith Immigration Coalition has been doing around immigration and our priorities for this year.  

Meeting with Hispanic Congregations of the Episcopal Church

Meeting with Hispanic Congregation of the Diocese of Washington:

I met with representatives of six Hispanic congregations of the Diocese of Washington to discuss immigration reform on Monday March 2. The event was organized by Rev. Simon Bautista at the Episcopal Church House, Mount Saint Alban.

Meeting with Hispanic Congregations of the Diocese of New Jersey:

Trenton, Saturday, March 7, more than twenty parishioners, priests, and Bishops Councell and Romero attended the meeting of the Immigration Task Force of the Hispanic Commission held at Cristo Rey Episcopal Church, sponsored by the Bishop's Office.  Several members of the Immigration Task Force of the Hispanic Commission were present.  The guest speaker was Ana White, Immigration and Refugee Policy Analyst of The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations in Washington DC.  Bishop Councell said The Episcopal Church's position was to respect the dignity of every human being.  He urged us to go forward in the name of justice and noted that the crisis affected not only Hispanic congregations but all of our parishes.  He said, 'The voice of the Church needs to be heard on the side of the immigrant people.  We work under Christ's law of love.'  Bishop Romero noted that God never gives us an easy task.  We always have work that is bigger than us, and this certainly is true in the current immigration actions that affect so many of our people.  We need God's help to walk in God's way.  We need to hear God's prophetic voice in the voice of the churches who are facing this crisis daily.

Joe ParrishSt. John's, Elizabeth, NJ

Prayer Vigil, Monday 23rd March, Episcopal Church Santa Maria Virgen, Oklahoma City. Interfaith ImmigrationCombating fear with faith

We as people of faith and members of the Episcopal Church of Santa Maria Virgen, in Oklahoma City, we ask you hear our call to join in prayer to ask God and his divine guidance that directs attention to the new administration and the congress of this country, to see the moral dimensions that lead to dictate the laws that may be offensive or divide families that for one reason or another, we had to come to this country in search of a way to live with greater peace of mind and dignity.

Legislative and Administrative Updates:

Reintroduction of the DREAM Act in both the House (HR1751) and the Senate (S729) on Thursday, March 26^th. The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Lieberman (I- CT), Mel Martinez (R-FL), and Harry Reid (D-NV) in the Senate and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Joseph Cao (R-LA), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Devin Nunez (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) in the House of Representatives.  This bipartisan legislation addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the United States years ago as undocumented immigrant children, and who have since grown up here but are being denied the ability to fully contribute to society. The DREAM Act would provide certain undocumented youth conditional legal status and eventual citizenship, if they attend college or join the military. It would also allow immigrant students access to higher education by returning to states the authority to determine who qualifies for in-state tuition.

Support the DREAM ACT!!!! CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS!

The Access to Justice Act was introduced by Representative James Moran (D-VA-8).  H.R.1651 would create a right to file a motion to reopen an immigration case if deficient performance of counsel can be demonstrated.  This bill seeks to overturn a decision made by AG Mukasey in the last days of the Bush Administration.

Extension of Religious Workers Visas: President Obama signed into law H.R. 1127, which extends the special immigrant non-minister religious worker visa program through September 30, 2009.  The bill (HR 1127) extends the R-1, non-ministerial religious-worker visa, which enables up to 5,000 missionaries, counselors and instructors to enter the United States each year. It also grants a waiver to the J-1 visa program, allowing foreign graduates of U.S. medical schools to skirt the requirement that they depart the United States for two years after graduation, if the graduates agree to work in underserved rural areas. The waiver allots 30 such visas to each state to respond to the growing need for doctors outside urban areas.

President Obama granted DeferredEnforce Departure (DED) for Liberians. To see White House statement click here and USCIS press release and Q&A. Since they arrived in 1989 after the civil war erupted in Liberia, the U.S. government has granted Liberians temporary authorization to remain in the U.S. (now known as "Deferred Enforced Departure" or "DED"), which has protected them and allowed them to rebuild their lives in the U.S. for the past 18 years. With little in the way of habitable buildings, electricity, water, health care, or education, the situation in Liberia has not improved enough to allow the country to absorb the estimated 3,600 Liberian refugees that are currently residing in the U.S. with DED. 

Equality in Immigration Family Reunification

H.R. 1024, introduced by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and others  and S. 424, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and others.  This bill would treat the permanent partners of citizens and permanent residents the same as spouses of citizens and permanent residents for immigration purposes.

The House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee is holded a hearing on March 10, 2009 on the “Secure Border Initiative & Control of the Land Border” at 10:00am in 2358-C Rayburn House Office Building.

Here are the scheduled witnesses:
Jayson Ahern, Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
David Aguilar, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol
Mark Borkowitz, Executive Director, Secure Border Initiative

A Members' Briefing on the invisible refugee crisis along the Ecuadorian border took place on Thursday, March 26, in room 2200 of the Rayburn House Office Building.  The briefing is open to members of Congress, congressional staff, the media and the interested public. The Colombian-Ecuadorian border of the Amazon basin has become the spillover area of human suffering caused by the bitter armed conflict raging in Colombia.  According to the United Nations, the Colombian refugee crisis is the third largest in the world, tied with Sudan, after Afghanistan and Iraq.  In Ecuador, an estimated 130,000-200,000 Colombians have crossed the porous jungle border seeking asylum over the past decade.  The expert panel included:Ambassador Louis Gallegos, Ecuador; a regional Representative from UNHRC; and Guillermo Rovayo Cueva, national director, Jesuit Refugee and Migration Service, Ecuador

Aryah Somers, formerly with International Catholic Migration Commission

Obama meets with CHC on Immigration: On Wednesday March 18th the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with President Obama to discuss several issues, including the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform. The meeting went very well, we are told, and the President made it clear he understands the need to act this year.  A CHC Press Release discussing the meeting can be found here.  The White House perspective on the meeting can be found here.  You can read the Forum's Press Release on the meeting here.

President Speaks on Immigration Reform in California: On March 19, President Obama was in Southern California conducting a "town hall" meeting.  There, he was asked about immigration reform.  The President said that he believes we have to get control of our borders "at the same time as we deal in a humane fashion with folks who are putting down roots here, have become our neighbors, have become our friends, they may have children who are U.S. citizens.  That's the kind of comprehensive approach that we have to take."  You can see a video clip of the President addressing this issue and a transcript of what he said on the Web site of America's Voice. 

ASSOCIATED PRESS: US judge strikes down policy on religious visas

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that trains local police to arrest illegal immigrants suspected of committing serious crimes has expanded without appropriate oversight, leading to the arrest of thousands for minor infractions, according to a study scheduled to be released Wednesday.

Women’s Commission report on unaccompanied children in detention