Immigrant Rights
Archive from 2006-2007

This note comes to us from the Rev. Trina Zelle, who works with Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona – and also serves as Co-Moderator of the Witherspoon Society

Hi Doug -- I thought I'd send you a copy of the letter we've been circulating here in protest of a hotline set up by the County Sheriff so people can turn in others that they suspect of being undocumented immigrants. So far we have 40 plus signatures including the United Methodist Bishop and many clergy. AP has already picked up a story on it as has the local paper. We are continuing to gather signatures and will present it to him in person early next week. If you want to publish it on our website that's fine. If people want to add their names to it, they can contact me:

Rev. Trina Zelle
Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona
2510 Rural Road
Tempe, AZ 85284
tzelle@iwj.org

"Immigration, Identity, and God's Providence"
[6-20-07]

Witherspoon member Dr. David True offers a very helpful theological look at the current debate (or as he calls it, "shouting match") on immigration. He notes that "[t]his is a strange debate; one in which the word ‘amnesty’ has become a form of slander. Fear and loathing seem the order of the day."

One problem is that three different languages are being used here: "the moral languages of law and order, cultural cohesiveness, and liberation and compassion." Further, "One of the striking things about this debate is the nearly complete absence of talk about God. The dominant languages have been content to focus instead on human identity. ... The lack of God-talk reflects our failure as people of faith to reason together about what our fundamental convictions have to say about our situation with respect to immigrants. More specifically, belief in God's providence ought to cause us to at least question appeals to fear and anxiety."

This failure is because we have reduced God’s providence "to an individualized spirituality in which God functions as a personal fetish. ... [W]e Americans are big fans of a personal Jesus, but we seem to lack any sense of God's fundamental goodness, benevolence, or love expressed in a providential care for the natural world, including the peoples of the earth. This loss of faith or confidence makes it difficult to resist the language of fear, which helps explain why so many citizens of the world's sole remaining super-power talk, organize, and vote as if we were literally under siege from our neighbors to the south. The recovery of a fuller notion of God's providence would aid in forming a more accurate interpretation of our circumstances and responsibilities."

This essay is being published shortly in the journal Political Theology
But right now, with Dr. True's kind permission, you can read it here >>

David True is Assistant Professor of Religion at Wilson College, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He also serves as one of the editors of the international journal Political Theology. His interests include twentieth-century figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Reinhold Niebuhr, and Walter Rauschenbusch. Currently he is working on several projects including an essay on immigration and another comparing Michael Walzer and Reinhold Niebuhr. He is also doing research for a book on the political theology of twentieth century progressive Protestants. He earned a PhD at Union-PSCE in theology and ethics and is an ordained minister in the PC (USA). 

Here are some helpful sources for information on the legislative issues    [6-18-07]

This comes from a note posted on the e-list of Presbyterians for Just Immigration, slightly edited

As we enter a critical juncture in the immigration reform debate, here are some useful websites for tracking and learning about the legislation.

Congressional websites:

The Library of Congress' THOMAS website is the portal to all of the official Federal/Congressional websites with links to all Members of Congress, Congressional committees, documents (including bills, reports, and public laws), bill status, etc.: If you want to read what Senators have actually said about the Senate immigration reform bill (S. 1348) and its amendments, search on the Congressional Record website.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is an arm of the Library of Congress, which conducts/provides excellent non-partisan legislative/policy research for the Congress, including immigration. Congressional staff rely heavily on CRS reports to learn about issues and relevant subject matter, especially more technical matters. CRS does not post their reports online, but a number of organizations have begun posting many of them. Here are links to some of them:

As examples, here's a link to a recent CRS report relating to the permanent admissions of lawful permanent residents, and one dealing with immigration of foreign workers:

Here's a link the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' webpage with U.S. immigration laws, regulations, and policies.

Non-governmental organizations:

The Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) is a coalition of pro-immigration organizations.  They have been hosting informative weekly conference calls on immigration reform that anyone can call into on a toll-free number. Go to their website to sign up for email alerts, including notices on these conference calls.

The National Immigration Forum is another pro-immigration coalition, which maintains an informative immigration reform webpage.

Other helpful groups:

National Immigration Law Center (NILC).

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Note that NILC and AILA staff are among the most knowledgeable and that their materials are technically accurate. To access some of the information on AILA's website, you have to register as a user, but registration is free.

Anti-immigration groups:

The Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR) is the leading anti-immigration advocacy organization:  They track immigration legislation very closely, and their website has current information on bill status.

What 'These People' Contribute Remains America's Saving Grace
[6-13-07]

Pierre Tristam, writing in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, calls the current raging against undocumented immigrants just what it seems to be: bigotry. That’s what led to the defeat of the immigration bill in the US Senate. "The defeat is attributable to one thing: Americans don't want more Mexicans and other brown-skinned people here. ‘These people came in the wrong way, so they don't belong here, period,’ was how one Monique Thibodeaux ... summed it up in the Sunday paper."

But, he argues, "these people" are largely responsible for the United States’ population growth over recent decades, and therefore its economic growth as well.

He continues:

The full article >>

The Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Assistant Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary, and a member of the Sojourners/Call to Renewal Board, has written a thoughtful response to the widely noted comments by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, as he equated bilingual education with learning "the language of living in a ghetto."

Noting that Gingrich is not alone in holding this attitude of "jingoism," he adds that the real issue today is "Who gets to define what America looks like in the 21st century? Should every effort be made to maintain a white majority that reflects the current Western European culture and ethos of American society?"

He closes:

As an evangelical Christian, I look towards scripture for my guidance. In my study of scripture, I have yet to find a single passage which supports the right to bear arms. ... I have, however, found numerous references (50+ and still counting) calling believers to care for the alien among them. Why is it then that I am more likely to find members of the NRA in a typical American evangelical church than I will find those who advocate for an immigration policy that shows compassion for the immigrant among us? How much of our view on immigration is driven by a political and social agenda rather than a biblical one?

On April 21st the Presbytery of New York City is hosting a conference titled Immigration, Justice and Christian Hospitality. The conference will be held at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan: 7 West 55th Street. A flyer is attached (we will have versions available in Spanish and Korean in a few days).

Please note that the plenary presentations are being offered with simultaneous translation into Spanish and Korean.

We invite all of our Presbyterian sisters and brothers to join us. We have organized this conference with the hope that it will prove useful to churches and Presbyteries in the greater metro NYC region - including on both sides of the Hudson River! The goal of the conference is to educate, equip and inspire both clergy and "people in the pews" so that they can ACT relative to immigration: through providing links to resources, through activism, and through other forms of solidarity.

We are delighted that Julia Thorne is joining us as the featured speaker of the conference!

For more information, contact:

Annie Rawlings, M.Div.
Interim Associate Executive Presbyter for Social Witness
Presbytery of New York City
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 240
New York, NY 10115
212/870-2221, ext. 4249
socialwitness@presbynyc.org

“Locking up family values”      [2-23-07]

This is the title of a study published today by Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services and the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, about detention of immigrant families including three-year old children in prison-like conditions. 

A press release describes the report as follows:

Groundbreaking report finds significant problems with U.S. treatment of immigrant families in detention

Washington, DC, Feb. 22, 2007: Refugee advocates found prison-like conditions at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) facilities that house immigrant families, including asylum seekers, who are in immigration proceedings. The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) describe their findings in a report released today, Locking Up Family Values: The Detention of Immigrant Families, which also lays out steps that DHS can take immediately to ensure that families in U.S. detention are treated humanely.

This is a 72-page PDF document, so you may need a little time to download it if you don’t have a fast connection. Click here to get it >>

"Christian Hospitality and National Borders"

New York attorney Jonathan Robert Nelson has prepared a very thorough listing of study materials on immigration issues as seen through the lens of Christian hospitality -- and he provides links to all of them as well.  He plans to update the listing soon in light of the recent elections.   [11-9-06]

A Biblical perspective on the current immigration situation    [10-30-06]

"Immigration has been one of the most contentious issues in United States politics during this past year. It cuts across the typical liberal/conservative divide." So begins an essay by Dr. Lindy Scott, Associate Professor of Spanish at evangelical Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. He gives evidence of this himself, tracing the Biblical roots of a Christian perspective on immigration.

He begins with the basic affirmation that "God is the absolute owner of the earth," and then that "every human being has an intrinsic dignity." He traces the immigrant history of Israel through Abraham, the Exodus, Ruth and Esther, the prophetic tradition, and finally Jesus as "the immigrant par excellence."

He then looks at the contradictions in American policy – a nation of immigrants oppressing and displacing the "natives" for generations; a nation of capitalists demanding the free flow of capital and products, but not of labor.

The Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto voted in June 2006 to endorse a statement in support of comprehensive immigration reform. We encourage members of our congregation and community to read that statement and act upon it through prayer, communication with elected leaders, and direct involvement in the struggle for immigrant rights.

Thanks to Gail Thompson, of First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, CA, for this news.

Click here to view the complete statement.

Washington, DC, October 17, 2005

October 14, 2005

We, the undersigned faith-based leaders and organizations, join together to call upon President Bush and our elected officials in Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation that establishes a safe and humane immigration system consistent with our values. Our diverse faith traditions teach us to welcome our brothers and sisters with love and compassion.

The Hebrew Bible tells us: "The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Leviticus 19:33-34)." In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to welcome the stranger (cf. Matthew 25:35), for "what you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me (Matthew 25:40)." The Qur'an tells us that we should "serve God…and do good to…orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer that you meet, [and those who have nothing] (4:36)."

We call for immigration reform because each day in our congregations, service programs, health-care facilities, and schools we witness the human consequences of an outmoded system. We see and hear the suffering of immigrant families who have lost loved ones to death in the desert or immigrants themselves who have experienced exploitation in the workplace or abuse at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers and others. In our view, changes to the U.S. legal immigration system would help put an end to this suffering, which offends the dignity of all human beings.

We call upon our elected officials to enact legislation that includes the following:

• An opportunity for hard-working immigrants who are already contributing to this country to come out of the shadows, regularize their status upon satisfaction of reasonable criteria and, over time, pursue an option to become lawful permanent residents and eventually United States citizens;

• Reforms in our family-based immigration system to significantly reduce waiting times for separated families who currently wait many years to be reunited;

• The creation of legal avenues for workers and their families who wish to migrate to the U.S. to enter our country and work in a safe, legal, and orderly manner with their rights fully protected; and

• Border protection policies that are consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect, while allowing the authorities to carry out the critical task of identifying and preventing entry of terrorists and dangerous criminals, as well as pursuing the legitimate task of implementing American immigration policy.

While we support the right of the government to enforce the law and protect the national security interests of the United States, we recognize that our existing complex and unworkable immigration system has made it nearly impossible for many immigrants – who seek to support their families or reunite with loved ones – to achieve legal status. Reforming the immigration system to address this reality would allow the U.S. government to focus its enforcement efforts on real threats that face all Americans – citizens and immigrants alike.

We urge our elected officials to conduct the immigration reform debate in a civil and respectful manner, mindful not to blame immigrants for our social and economic ills or for the atrocities committed by the few who have carried out acts of terrorism. A polarized process that is lacking in civility would hinder deliberative discourse and not serve the best interests of our nation.

As faith-based leaders and organizations, we call attention to the moral dimensions of public policy and pursue policies that uphold the human dignity of each person, all of whom are made in the image of God. We engage the immigration issue with the goal of fashioning an immigration system that facilitates legal status and family unity in the interest of serving the God-given dignity and rights of every individual. It is our collective prayer that the legislative process will produce a just immigration system of which our nation of immigrants can be proud.

Los Angeles, May 30, 2006 – The National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) expressed disappointment at the complicated Senate "compromise" immigration bill passed in the Senate last week. The Senate’s immigration reform bill is inhumane and unrealistic, and will foolishly fasten into law strategies that have failed repeatedly to fix the nation’s broken immigration system, leaders say.

NALACC is a network of over 80 Latin American and Caribbean immigrant-led organizations working to raise the quality of life in their communities, both in the United States and in their countries of origin.

The Senate yesterday passed landmark but contentious immigration legislation that would tighten security on United States borders while allowing guest workers to enter the country and give millions of illegal immigrants a path toward gaining US citizenship. The vote sets the stage for a summer clash with House conservatives, who passed a starkly different immigration measure in December.
The Washington Post reports >>

Some are saying that in the end, no immigration bill would be better than what’s likely to emerge from House-Senate conference

David Bacon writes that when the US Senate yesterday passed its version of "comprehensive immigration reform," Senators from both sides of the aisle claimed that despite the enormous controversy it has generated, passing a bill with flaws was better than passing no bill at all. Outside the beltway and its coterie of lobbyists, however, a groundswell of community groups now argue that Congress would do better to pass no bill than a bill that reconciles the proposal just passed by the Senate and that passed last December in the House of Representatives.

Theologian Dr. Choan-Seng (C.S.) Song argues from the story of the Tower of Babel that diversity is a divine gift.

He concludes his brief essay:

Cultural pluralism is a challenge to the arrogance of any one human community. But more than that, our diversity is a God-given means by which human communities correct and enrich one another. God created cultural diversity, for our good.

Dear Immigrant Rights Advocates:

Please continue to make your voice heard and help pass comprehensive immigration reform by participating in the We Are America Nationwide Lobby Day. Come to Washington, DC to meet with your Senators and Representatives or engage them in your home state through visits, calls, letter deliveries, etc.

WHEN: Wednesday, May 17^th, 2006

WHERE: Washington, DC or your home state

WHY: To make your voice heard in the debate around immigration reform

This is the first nationally coordinated event of the "We Are America Alliance." With the Senate expected to take up immigration reform again next week, it is more important than ever for our elected officials to hear from us. A We Are America Rally will be held in Washington, DC late afternoon also on the 17th.

If you are interested in coming to DC or your organization plans to engage members of Congress in your home state, please fill out the registration form so that we can amplify this national effort as well as prepare for those of you who will come to DC.

Email the registration form to Kate Shaughnessy at kate@cirnow.org. The schedule for the DC Lobby Day follows:

DC SCHEDULE

Please feel free to pass this announcement along to immigrant advocates who may wish to participate in this Lobby Day.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A late update: There may be progress!

It appears that an agreement has been reached in the Congressional stalemate on immigration issues. Senator Kennedy's announcement is below. The Senate is expected to take up the issue again next week. It is important to continue with advocacy activities, because no bill or agreement is final until it has gone through debate and voted.

Statement by Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the leadership agreement on immigration legislation

Washington, D.C. - May 11, 2006 – Today, Senator Edward M Kennedy released the following statement on the leadership agreement on immigration reform:

"Today's agreement is a major step forward in our fight for tough but fair immigration reform, and I applaud the leadership for reaching a consensus. Business and Labor, Democrats and Republicans, Religious leaders and the American people strongly support our plan to strengthen our borders, provide a path to earned citizenship for those undocumented workers who are here and put in place a realistic guest worker program for the future. Now is the time to fix our broken system once and for all and I'm optimistic we can get the job done."

###

The Rev. Eun-hyey Park, who lives and works in Louisville, KY, first wrote this note on the PFJI e-mail network. (PFJI is the network of Presbyterians for Just Immigration.)

One of the articles I ran across this morning was a compilation of opinions from an interview with KY senators and representatives on the online Courier Journal. Nothing much new, but it was striking to see it put all together in one place for constituents to see.

What struck me was how little my elected officials talked about the dynamics of race, and the history of racism in "legal" immigration policy in our nation's history (e.g. the Chinese exclusion act of the late 19th century).

To me, their voices seem representative of middle class, White America. Yesterday, on the way back from the march, I was stopped by a man who saw me with one of the signs we had made. He asked me, "So, you're for illegal immigration?" He went on to say how he is for immigrants who learn to assimilate, and don't insist on holding on to their "Hispanic nation." Again, on some of the coverage of the May 1 rally on talk shows and news last night, I heard one of the commentators saying how he was disturbed at the celebration of differences in yesterday's rallies. He would much rather have Americans celebrate what they have in common. In other words, to be American, we have to act, talk and think like the dominant culture.

I have spent most of my life not paying attention to sentiments like that, thinking that most thinking people could not really agree. But after hours and hours and pages and pages of similar sentiments expressed by a lot of the American public, I realize none of us, who disagree with them, can afford to ignore those sentiments. Instead, I'm going to have to spend more time understanding how they have come to their conclusions, and how to help them see me as a human being/full person.

In the next twenty years or so, I hope to have figured out how to engage people who have tuned out the voice of reason and faith with regard to race issues and how they relate to immigration. Until then, may God have mercy.

National Farm Worker Ministry encourages you to participate in ongoing marches and rallies to promote the rights of all immigrants, including farm workers. A national coalition for comprehensive immigration reform is calling for coordinated actions on May 1. It is important that a significant number of non-immigrant supporters be visible at these events.

There are reports from various places around the U.S. about active police efforts to detain undocumented immigrants, visiting factories, setting up highway check points, and more.

The ACLU has prepared very helpful pamphlets in English and Spanish, offering information to people on "what to do if..... You are stopped by immigration agents or police while on foot; your car is pulled over by immigration agents or police; immigration agents or police come to your home."

Download the flier in PDF format ...

More than a million people, mostly immigrants, have taken to the streets recently to rally for a compassionate, respectful and comprehensive immigration law. They carried signs that boasted: "We are America;" signs that asked "Do not criminalize us" and begged; "Do not deport my parents." There were more than 140 rallies across the U.S. for a National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. Protesters against the pending harsh immigration laws chanted, "Today, we march; tomorrow, we vote." The anger of future voters has struck fear in the hearts of politicians, on both sides of the aisle.

Not all the marchers are undocumented. Some are registered voters or will be old enough to vote in the next Presidential election. Although the Senate was poised to vote in the spring, the force of these protests may delay any vote until after the fall midterm election. In the meantime, people of faith can take time to reflect upon this issue from a theological perspective. As quoted in the opening, ‘The solution of one problem,’ i.e., the estimated 12 million undocumented persons in the U.S., ‘brings us face to face with another:’ Do we march all 12 million to the border and push them out, or do we develop a path to citizenship?

Urgent Alert from the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

PresbyAction Network: Immigration Alert
Immigration: Politics Trumps Policy     [4-11-06]

Take Action!

As the debate on immigration policy continues to rage in the U. S. Senate, you and your congregation may find help in a study guide developed by The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), based on a Resolution Calling for a Comprehensive Legalization Program for Immigrants Living and Working in the United States, which was approved by the 216th General Assembly (2004).

Action Alert from the Presbyterian Washington Office

For the latest in the rapidly shifting legislative actions on immigration, our Presbyterian Washington Office provides a great deal of helpful information: contacts, suggestions for action, background information and more.   It's all here >>

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Interfaith Worker Justice provides good resources for use in congregations this weekend or next

What You Can Do To Support Humane U.S. Immigration Reform Law, an action bulletin insert

Remember the Immigrant, a responsive reading

What Faith Groups Say About Immigration Reform

In addition, you can find Celebrating immigrants, an interfaith immigration service, on our website.

Please take a moment using the attached link to send a letter to your Representative and Senators urging support for an immigration bill that supports a path to citizenship, family unification and strong worker protections, and opposition to punitive approaches that criminalize hard-working immigrants and people of faith who support them.

The rallies of the past few days and the unwavering support of the religious community has truly been inspiring. Let's continue to engage members of our congregations. God bless you in this work.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Goes to Senate Floor. Make Your Voices Heard...Call your Senators Today!
[3-29-06]

The Presbyterian Washington Office sends this, in cooperation with other immigrant rights groups:

On Monday, March 27^th, the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a historic bipartisan vote, passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that begins to address our broken immigration system in a realistic and humane fashion.

The committee's bill creates an earned path to citizenship for the current undocumented population and new workers; provides a way for future workers to safely migrate to the U.S. and work with labor and worker protections; and addresses the family backlog so that families can be reunited.

This significant and historic step forward would not have been possible without the tremendous support and mobilizing of a broad and diverse coalition of organizations and individuals from our faith, immigrant, labor, civil rights, civic and business communities.

As the full Senate begins deliberating immigration reform this week, we must continue to make our voices heard! Contact your Senators today and let them know you support comprehensive immigration reform and the Judiciary Committee bill.

Contact your Senator by calling (202) 224-3121.

Here is a list of Senators who voted with us on Monday; they deserve a special thanks!

CALIFORNIA Senator Feinstein (202) 224-3841

DELAWARE Senator Biden (202) 224-5042

ILLINOIS Senator Durbin (202) 224-2152 KANSAS Senator Brownback (202) 224-6521

MASSACHUSETTS Senator Kennedy (202) 224-5251

NEW YORK Senator Schumer (202) 224-6542

OHIO Senator DeWine (202) 224-2315

PENNSYLVANIA Senator Specter (202) 224-4254

SOUTH CAROLINA Senator Graham (202) 224-5972

VERMONT Senator Leahy (202) 224-4242

WISCONSIN Senator Kohl (202) 224-5653 and Senator Feingold (202) 224-5323

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Wage War on Poverty, Not Immigrants    [3-29-06]

The only way to stop the flood of immigrants is to help lift their standards up, rather than drive ours down. We can spend billions trying to lock immigrants out and hold those that come in down. Or we can devote energy and resources now wasted on a civil war in Iraq to help lift our neighbors up, gain real trading partners and significantly reduce the misery that drives people from their homes, writes Jackson.

From the Presbyterian Washington Office:

Presbyterians are welcome to come first to Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church at 201 Fourth Street, SE. There will be coffee and doughnuts before the group heads off together for the West side of Capitol and a prayer vigil at 11:00am.

We are expecting a large group of Presbyterians gathering and going to the event announced below. The Washington office and the New Immigrant Ministry of the PCUSA will be present to assist and give information.

March 27, 2006 @ 11 AM
West Lawn of the United States Capitol

Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that will decide how immigrants will be treated for decades to come. New laws are needed that will provide for legal immigration in a safe, orderly and just manner.

Together we can influence our national leaders to pass laws that ensure immigration reform that is comprehensive.

Join other faith-based and community groups as we call for:

Legalization and Path to Citizenship for the Undocumented

Family Reunification

Humane & Just Treatment for Workers

DREAM Act

A call to support immigrants' rights, by opposing Sen. Frist’s purely punitive immigration bill

[3-22-06]

For background articles, scroll down this page.

Several advocacy organizations and denominations are sending out this same information. Immigration continues to be an extremely hot issue. It is an issue driven by the grass roots--that's you out there. Bishops in the Lutheran and Catholic church have asked if their clergy are at a risk of being labeled a criminal simply because they give communion or food or shelter to someone who may be undocumented. The answer is yes, if the punitive House bill is passed in the Senate or if Senator Frist's version continues to be an enforcement only bill.

We have shared the announcement about the March 27, 2006 events. Because a number of Presbyterians are expected to participate, we are trying to arrange a gathering place for those who may want to come together . Stay tuned to our information and we will give the location. In the meantime, you may want to call Senator Frist - who is a Presbyterian - to share your concern for a compassionate immigration approach.

If you are a resident of Tennessee , you may be able to send an email to Senator Frist from the PresbyAction Center at www.pcusa.org/washington. Just put your zip code in the GO box to the right. (People from other states may try to use the GO box to contact Senator Frist, but the Senator's email address may only accept the message from those in his state. Many members do this understandably, in order to hear from their own constituents. You are certainly welcome to use it to contact your own Senators.)

================================================================

Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee made significant progress in crafting a bipartisan agreement on an immigration reform bill that addresses several key issues, including an earned path to citizenship for the current undocumented population and future immigrant workers. The agreement also includes strong worker protections. The Senate Judiciary Committee will resume its debate and will vote on legislation on Monday, March 27th.

While the Judiciary Committee members were working hard to reach a thoughtful, bipartisan consensus on this complicated issue, Senator Bill Frist (R-TN), Senate Majority Leader, bypassed the Committee and introduced his own enforcement - only bill!

Let's make our voices heard and let Senator Frist know how we feel about his push to enact enforcement-only legislation. Call Frist's Washington and Tennessee offices on Wednesday and Thursday with a strong message:

1. I OPPOSE Senator Frist's decision to bypass the Judiciary Committee and put his enforcement-only bill on the Senate floor!

2. I SUPPORT a comprehensive and humane solution to our broken immigration system. REAL REFORM includes a path to citizenship for the undocumented population, family reunification, and a new worker program that provides strong worker protections and a safe and secure way for workers to come to the U.S. in the future.

3. I SUPPORT the work of the Judiciary Committee and they should have as much time as they need to complete their work on this critical issue.

SENATOR BILL FRIST:

Washington, D.C. 202-224-3344

Nashville, TN 615-352-9411

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National Action at the Capitol for Immigrant Rights 
~~~~~~~

March 27, 2006 @ 11 AM West Lawn of the United States Capitol

Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that will decide how immigrants will be treated for decades to come. Criminalization of 11 million undocumented immigrants and those who help them could become law!

BUT immigrants and other reform-minded Americans together can stop this anti-immigrant attack and turn the tide towards humane and fair solutions.

Join us as we call for: Legalization and Path to Citizenship for the Undocumented Family Reunification Worker Rights Civil Rights & Civil Liberties DREAM Act

Immigrants Make America Strong!

Sponsors include the Center for Community Change, the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, the Gamaliel Foundation, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the National Capital Immigrant Coalition, the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, the New American Opportunity Campaign, the New York Immigration Coalition, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, and more

Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director, Washington Office
Presbyterian Church (USA)
100 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Suite 410
Washington, DC 20002

202-543-1126
202-543-7755 (fax)

There’s still time to support immigration reform   [3-17-06]

This News Release, from the National Immigration Forum, gives us an update of events in Washington related to the hearings and status of the bills. The many phone calls, vigils and email from concerned advocates across the nation seem to be working. Keep up the good work!!! It looks like the issue will be around until March 27th and can still use the voices of those who have not yet contacted their Senators. This is not the time to ease up on the pressure. Your Senators may be in their home districts to attend Saint Patrick Day celebrations. What better day to talk with them face to face about compassion in immigration. There are many Irish walking around Washington wearing T-shirts that ask for compassion in immigration.

Again, if you have not contacted your Senator, you may do so through our PresbyAction Center at www.pcusa.org/washington Just put your zip code in the GO box on the right. If you have contacted your Senators, pass this message along to those who may not have.

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Turning Point Reached on Immigration Reform
May 16, 2006


Senate Judiciary Committee Moves Toward Approval of Comprehensive Immigration Reform In Preparation for Upcoming Floor Debate

Washington, DC * Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee took a dramatic step forward towards a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. Having spent most of two weeks dealing almost exclusively with enforcement issues, and faced with an arbitrary deadline imposed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), today the Committee decided to take more time to complete its deliberations, made significant progress on how to treat the 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States, and signaled a potential compromise on the issue of how to structure worker visas for those admitted in the future. The following is a statement by Frank Sharry, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigrant advocacy organization based in Washington.

Yesterday, we feared that Chairman Specter would allow the clock to run out on the Senate Judiciary Committee's efforts to report out a comprehensive immigration reform bill. It turns out that our fears were unjustified. Today, Senator Specter stepped up to the plate and followed through on asserting his Committee's expertise and jurisdiction on immigration reform. His insistence that his Committee be allowed to complete its work makes it much more likely that a comprehensive and effective immigration package will be the starting point for Senate floor debate later this month.

Once he had made his demand for finishing the Committee process clear, Chairman Specter moved quickly to make progress on the most important issues remaining before the Committee: 1) the fate of the estimated 12 million people already living in the U.S. illegally; and 2) visas for "future flow" immigrants to be admitted legally in order to fill available jobs, within realistic and enforceable limits and with robust worker protections.

As a result of today's discussions, it appears that there are bipartisan majorities in favor of workable strategies on both fronts. On the issue of the 12 million undocumented immigrants already here, Chairman Specter signaled support for a bipartisan approach based on the McCain-Kennedy bill, on the following condition: that undocumented immigrants who come forward for earned legalization receive their green cards only after those waiting in line outside the country. On the issue of how to structure a workable temporary worker program, there are encouraging signs that a bipartisan compromise may be at hand that would combine incentives for circularity for those who want to come and work and then go home, as well as provisions for a path to permanent residence for those who eventually sink roots in the U.S.

Creating consensus on an issue more closely associated with conflict is a great achievement for Sen. Specter. In the face of pressure from colleagues and the media to short-circuit their deliberations, the Committee made a decisive move towards creating sound policy.

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March 9 – call-in day on immigration reform bill

[3-8-06]

The Senate debate on immigration reform has begun! The Senate Judiciary Committee began consideration of Senator Specter's (R-PA) draft bill ("Chairman's Mark") on Thursday, March 2 and will continue reviewing and revising the bill on March 8, 9 and 16. The Chairman's Mark has some very serious problems, including not providing a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, creating a permanent caste of second class workers, and limiting due process and judicial review.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR SENATORS HEAR FROM YOU! CALL YOUR SENATORS ON THURSDAY, MARCH 9 and urge passage of a realistic, humane comprehensive bill that contains a path to earned citizenship for the undocumented population, extends labor rights and protections to all workers, reunites families, and does not limit judicial review and due process. It is especially important to call if your Senator is on the Judiciary Committee!

You can contact your Senators' offices through the Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121. Toll Free: (888) 355-3588 (Note: This toll free number may change without notice.)

You can also find contact information for your Senators here >>

For a list of Senators who serve on the Judiciary Committee >>

For updates and more information >>

Visit this web address to tell your friends about this important action!

GA actions ratified (or not) by  the presbyteries   

A number of the most important actions of the 219^th General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries, confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.

We provided resources to help inform the reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.

Our three areas of primary interest have been:

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PVJ's Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, PVJ's Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

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