FUSsa-talk Mailing List: Fw: [UUA Immigration] Petition to end pre-dawn raids, New Sanctuary Movement gathering, winning UU essay

[Carol Koepp (carolkoepp]

Washington Office AND Congregational Advocacy & Witness
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Unitarian Universalist Justice Action Network 
To: carolkoepp [at] comcast.net 
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 3:25 PM
Subject: [UUA Immigration] Petition to end pre-dawn raids, New Sanctuary 
Movement gathering, winning UU essay


     
            "Si el migrante no es tu hermano, Dios no es tu padre." - Sign at 
an interfaith prayer vigil
            UUA Immigration News
            www.uua.org/immigration
              1.. Immigration news 
              2.. Petition to end pre-dawn raids 
              3.. Petition for Reuniting American Families Act 
              4.. National conference call for interfaith immigration activists 
on August 3 
              5.. Save the date: NSM national gathering in NYC, Sept. 1 - 3 
              6.. General Assembly immigration recap 
              7.. UUA Immigrant Justice essay contest winner announced 
              8.. Unitarian Universalist Refugee and Immigrant Services and 
Education, Inc., launches new website 
              9.. AccesoHispano.org connects services with communities 
              10.. Ch-ch-ch-changes: New UUA president, farewell Lisa, & 
welcome back, Rob! 
              1.. IMMIGRATION IN THE NEWS

              On the hill: On June 25, Obama held a summit on immigration. 
Afterward, Senator Schumer (NY-D), who has announced that he will submit a 
comprehensive bill by Labor Day, released seven principles for reform. They're 
enforcement heavy, but Schumer has been an advocate for immigrant justice in 
the past. Is it a smokescreen? Several enforcement measures emerged in the 
Senate during the appropriations process for the Department of Homeland 
Security. Also, police chiefs pressed for immigration reform. 

              This week: Newly elected UUA president Rev. Peter Morales joined 
faith leaders in DC to lobby for immigration reform. Arpaio continues 
disrupting the lives of Phoenix immigrants, and the Department of Homeland 
Security refuses to make detention centers legally accountable. A new report 
says immigration agents broke agency rules in home raids in NY and NJ, and 
numbers show that enforcement is returning to Bush-level highs. Immigration 
activists are discouraged but not giving up.

              2.. SIGN PETITION TO END PRE-DAWN RAIDS

              Sign the petition calling for DHS to end pre-dawn raids, 
dis-empower civil rights abuser Sheriff Joe Arpaio, reform the detention 
system, halt E-Verify, and pursue comprehensive immigration reform. Enough is 
enough!

              3.. SIGN PETITION FOR REUNITING AMERICAN FAMILIES

              The Asian American Justice Center, one of our strongest coalition 
partners in supporting family unification, is working to collect one thousand 
signatures on a petition in support of the Reuniting American Families Act, a 
bill which would end the devastatingly long wait times for family members, 
guarantee equal treatment for stepchildren of immigrants, and end 
discrimination against same-sex couples.

              4.. JOIN NATIONAL INTERFAITH GRASSROOTS CONFERENCE CALL AUG 3

              On Monday, August 3, join the Interfaith Immigration Coalition 
(of which the UUA is a participating member) for their National Faith and 
Immigration Conference Call to hear about ways you and your faith community can 
participate in the ever-widening and ever-growing movement for just and humane 
comprehensive immigration reform. To join, dial 1-800-920-7487 and enter 
conference code 76723736 at 4 PM EST, Monday, August 3rd. To join the 
Interfaith Immigration Coalition email list, send a blank email to 
Interfaith_Immigration-subscribe [at] yahoogroups.com.

              5.. SAVE THE DATE: NSM NATIONAL GATHERING IN NYC SEPT. 1 - 3

              Members of the New Sanctuary Movement will hold a national 
gathering at the Riverside Church on 490 Riverside Drive in New York City 
beginning Tuesday, Sept. 1 through Thursday, September 3. Workshops will be 
offered so that attendees can learn from each others' experience in sanctuary 
work. A website with more information will be posted soon. For questions about 
the program, call Laurie Anderson at 816 560 4616. For questions about NYC and 
logistics, call Rachel Soltis at 646 395 2925. Members of Community Church UU, 
NYC, a New Sanctuary congregation, will be attending. To find out more locally 
contact Christie Jeffers of Community Church's New Sanctuary Task Force at 
christiejeffers [at] earthlink.net.

              6.. GENERAL ASSEMBLY IMMIGRATION RECAP

              If there was a sub-theme at General Assembly this year, it was 
the need for comprehensive, just and humane, family-based immigration reform. 
See "Building Strength for Immigration Reform" by Susan Leslie, Director of the 
UUA Office for Congregational Advocacy & Witness, for a recap of the interfaith 
rally attended by over 1,200 people for Standing on the Side of Love with 
Immigrant Families, the launching of the Standing on the Side of Love Campaign, 
a workshop on Welcoming Our Neighbors -The Path to Immigration Reform (with 
Rev. Alexia Salvatierra of the New Sanctuary Movement and others), the award 
winning work of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, an "off the 
grid" meeting for UU leaders working for immigrant justice, and more!

              7.. UUA IMMIGRANT JUSTICE ESSAY CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED

              Juliana Morris is a 24 year-old aspiring public health 
professional and lifelong UU who attends the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 
at Stonybrook. For the past year, she has been working as a research assistant 
on the southern Mexico border, learning about the health and vulnerability of 
migrants. She won the UUA's "Crash Course for Immigrant Justice" Essay Contest 
by writing about her experiences there. Read her essay at 
http://uuasocialjustice.blogspot.com.

              8.. 
              UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT SERVICES AND 
EDUCATION, INC, LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

              Unitarian Universalist Refugee and Immigrant Services and 
Education, Inc., (UURISE) has a beautiful new website! Check it out at 
http://www.uurise.org/ to learn about the wonderful work that they do

              9.. ACCESOHISPANO.ORG CONNECTS SERVICES WITH COMMUNITIES

              AccesoHispano.org has launched a tool for connecting service 
providers to the communities which seek them out, available online in Spanish 
or English, and by toll-free hotline at 1-800-473-3003. They currently list 
17,500 providers nationwide. If your congregation provides community services 
that aid immigrants, add your organizations' information to the site so that 
those looking for services of for a voice in favor of immigration reform can 
easily find you. The site also serves as a news platform and communication tool 
between service providers, promotoras (community health workers), and the 
public.

              10.. NEW UUA PRESIDENT AND STAFF CHANGES

              Rev. Peter Morales has expressed a deep commitment to working for 
comprehensive immigration reform, and has already come to DC to lobby for 
reform. After two wonderful years at the Washington Office for Advocacy, Lisa 
is heading off to law school at Northeastern University, where she hopes to 
gain more skills in advocating for immigrant justice. Rob Keithan, Director of 
the UUA Washington Office, is back in DC after a one year ministerial 
internship in Portland, Oregon, and he will be taking over the Washington 
Office's immigration work. You can reach Rob at rkeithan [at] uua.org. Susan 
remains ever-faithful in her position as the Director of Congregational 
Advocacy and Witness.

            In faith,

            Lisa, Rob, and Susan
           

--------------------------------------------------------------------

            Susan Leslie, Director of Congregational Advocacy & Witness
            25 Beacon St | Boston, MA 02108 | Phone 617.948.4656 | Fax 
617.742.03213 

            Lisa Swanson, Legis. Asst. for Economic & Racial Justice, 
Washington Office
            1100 G Street NW, Suite 800 | Washington DC, 20001 | phone: 
202.393.2255 x22 | fax: 202.393.5494

            email: socialjustice [at] uua.org | website: 
www.uua.org/socialjustice

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