TELL YOUR SENATORS: LGBT families must be included in immigration reform!

As UCCers, our Christian tradition teaches us to welcome and care for our neighbors with love and compassion. Of the many great injustices in this broken immigration system, family separation is one of the most egregious. Immigration policies should make expeditious family reunification a top priority and should include all families as part of that foundation.

Under current immigration law, gay and lesbian people cannot sponsor their foreign-born partner for an immigration visa, no matter how long they have been together or how committed their relationship. With no ability to sponsor their partners, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents are being forced to live abroad, disrupting their careers, uprooting their children, and breaking ties with family, local communities and places of worship. No one should be forced to choose between their country and the person they love. It is time that U.S. immigration laws kept families together instead of tearing them apart.

 

TELL YOUR SENATORS: LGBT FAMILIES MUST BE INCLUDED IN IMMIGRATION REFORM!

The Senate’s immigration reform framework does not explicitly include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families — but this framework is not yet a bill.

 

Now is the time to act! Contact your Senators and let them know that you want a fair, humane, and inclusive bill that will allow all families to remain together.

Good News for Dreamers

Protestors supporting the Dream Act

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that as of August 15, 2012 “The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Policy” took effect. For young immigrants who were brought to the US as children, often referred to as Dreamers, this provides opportunities to apply for a two year work visa enabling them to be protected from deportation. These permits are renewable in two year increments. This work visa will permit these Dreamers to apply for Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and open bank accounts.

Those who are eligible must meet the following requirements:

• Applicants must have been in the U.S. before their 16th birthday,
• Continuously resided in the U.S. since June 15, 2007 up to present time,
• Under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012,
• Currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained general educational development certificate or an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the U.S. and
• Must not be convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, and don’t pose a threat.

This deferral period gives these immigrants time to prepare for securing US citizenship.

The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota has been holding workshops throughout our state for those interested in applying. These workshops will provide accurate information about applying for the Deferred Action policy. The Center encourages everyone considering pursuing DREAMer Deferred Action to attend one of their workshops or to obtain qualified legal advice from an attorney specializing in immigration law before submitting any information to the Department of Homeland Security. If there is anything incorrect or incomplete on the application the Dreamer loses this opportunity. Contact The Immigrant Law Center for dates and places where workshops are being held.

The cost per application is $465.00. The Minneapolis Foundation has launched the Minnesota Dreamers Fund to help those interested be able to apply for this. You can go on line to add your support to this fund.

Photo by Antonio Villaraigosa

Witnessing the Body of Christ in Pelican Rapids

The Pelican Rapids suspension bridge

Pelican Rapids in northern Minnesota, is a thriving community of 2296 people many of whom migrated from places far away such as Cambodia, Somalia, Mexico, Laos, Bosnia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Kurdistan to become a community with people whose families migrated from Norway and Sweden often two or three generations ago. For more than twenty years this lovely community along the Pelican River has been welcoming people to their town often to work in the local turkey factory. Their story is worthy of note!

Johanna Christianson, a Dutch woman, came to Pelican Rapids after meeting and marrying Jim Christianson, a man who had grown up in Pelican Rapids and decided to work in Europe after high school graduation.

Joan Ellison of the Multicultural Committee speaks to the Immigration Team about her experiences with immigrant communities in Pelican

Johanna and Diane Kimm and Joanie Ellison from Pelican Rapids began to mobilize their town into action as waves of immigrants came there to work. Refugees from Vietnam were the first, followed by migrant workers from Mexico, and than Bosnia and a host of others. Johanna describes the transformation of this town by using the Biblical image of the body of Christ. She shares the involvement of Lutheran Social Services (a branch of which opened in their town). They were joined by individuals who saw needs and provided household items and rides to stores and doctor appointments. The school and the community education programs offered ESL classes and the Multicultural Committee was formed to find ways to welcome the newcomers. The Community Resource Center and the Rotary Club became very active as did the Chief of Police who became educated about the various cultures that were represented by the newcomers. He became trusted by students and others in the community and educated his police officers about how to gain trust of these new people. He understood that having a cup of coffee and talking for 45 minutes was an important bridge to building trust. Teachers saw needs in their community for some activities for the children and noticed that the Hispanic students often got together to play soccer in a parking lot. Their part in the body of Christ led to them creating an after school soccer program for the 200 children that indicated an interest and to create a high school soccer team. The team of 15 included 11 Hispanics, a Bosnian refugee, two American boys and one girl. They did not all understand each others languages but this first year team went on to win second place in the state, losing only to Woodbury.

Focus groups were held with the Multicultural Committee and the various cultural groups to talk about what the needs and concerns were of each and how they could all work together to solve these. Johanna, a member of one of the local Lutheran parishes, sees her part in the towns’ transformation, as just one part working together with the rest of the body of Christ. The results of all the parts working together have led to a vibrant, thriving town where one third of the residents are new citizens of this country. They are living proof that when the individual parts of the body are doing what they are gifted to do, amazing things can happen.

– Diane Haines

‘Food is Memory’ in Pelican Rapids

Mexican Grocery Store in Pelican Rapids, MN

They came for security; they came for freedom; they came for jobs. The work was hard and dirty and dangerous, but the wages were relatively good for people who had been struggling to survive in zones of war and grinding poverty and over-crowded refugee camps. So, over the decades, waves of immigrants have found their way to Pelican Rapids to work in the local turkey processing plant.

Food played a big part in our visit to Pelican Rapids the weekend of July 13-15, 2012, just as it has in nearly all of the efforts of the Pelican community to welcome and include
the immigrants. No sooner had we arrived in town than a taco stand food truck parked on the main street captured our attention. Following the outdoor naturalization ceremony for 23 new U.S. citizens, we made a beeline to the taco truck for lunch. We were not disappointed.

After lunch, we were guided on a walk around town by Joanie Ellison, one of the
founding leaders of the Pelican Rapids Multicultural Committee. Joanie took us to visit two of the three local businesses owned by immigrants – a Mexican food market, where we bought Mexican sodas, sweet breads and an enormous papaya for breakfast; then on to the Somali ‘halal’ meat market, where the owner served us steaming cups of sweet tea with milk. He told us that the large room adjoining the Somali market housed Pelican’s only mosque.

Pelican Rapids Festival

On Saturday morning, we returned to Pelican’s city park to attend the town’s annual summer festival. The park was filled with antique cars and people from the many ethnic communities that have settled in Pelican. Flags of each of their nations of origin adorned the bridge spanning the Pelican River. The air in the park was heavy with the smoke and savory aroma of 80 turkeys being barbecued on a huge brick grill, faithfully tended since 4:30 that morning by members of the Pelican Rotary Club. As we munched turkey sandwiches, we learned more from Johanna Christianson and Sally Williams, also leaders of the Pelican Rapids Multicultural Committee. Sally proudly shared with us one of the most recent products of the committee, a cookbook entitled “Many Cultures, One
Community: A book of stories and recipes.”

“Food is memory,” I quote from the Introduction to the cookbook. Yes, food is memory, food is politics, food is substance and spirit of the One that welcomes and nourishes and connects us – immigrants all – in the One Body. This we experienced in multiple and
profound ways in Pelican Rapids.

– Don Christensen

New documentary on immigration reform

The Task Force recommends “Papers – Stories of Undocumented Youth,” as a good documentary for churches and youth groups in particular. It is an inspiring documentary film that interweaves the stories of undocumented students from many nations, the DREAM Act, and the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

Film is in English, has Spanish subtitles.  Showings are Free.  88 minutes – adaptable for shorter time periods.  Learn more at, http://www.papersthemovie.com/about_papers/trailer.html

Immigrant Freedom Seder

The UCCMN Task Force on Immigration would like to invite YOU to Jewish Community Actions‘ 9th Annual Immigrant Freedom Seder, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds to share the story of Passover and its message of freedom.

The Seder takes place on Sunday, March 27, 2:00 pm at Mount Zion Temple in St Paul. The Immigration Task Force has sponsored a table and FOUR MORE PEOPLE can go for FREE!

For more information email Alison Killeen (ajkilleen at gmail dot com).

Download SEDERflier.

Oscar Romero Commemoration – March 27, 2011

We’ll be there! Will you?

Immigration Task Force Meeting – 1/8/11

We had a productive meeting today! Read our minutes below:

Present at the Meeting: Don Christensen, Bob Malles, Betty Jo Braun, Alison Killeen

• We began with a prayer from Walter Brueggeman’s “Prayer for a Privileged People”
• Our e-COMMAntary announcement elicited several responses for Immigration Sunday requests
• Alison noted 50 members on our communications list
• Blog is up and running 🙂
• Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM) – we will be involved in leading the monthly Ramsey County Vigil at the County Detention Center on March 6, 2011
• We will promote ICOM’s Latino Voices panels
• We’d like to do a Latino Voices workshop at the UCCMN Annual Meeting in June 2011
• We’ll keep an eye on legislation and will notify our list and the UCCMN if a bill needs response, either by written response or lobby day
• Alison trained us on using the blog
• Our next meeting will be March 6, 2011 after the vigil at the Ramsey County Detention Center

Come to the vigil this Sunday!

Faith Action for Immigrant Detainees

Interfaith Coalition on Immigration Monthly Faith Action for Immigrant Detainees

Sunday, December 5, 2010, 2:30-3:00pm
Ramsey County Adult Detention Center
425 Grove Street, St. Paul MN

Host: Church World Service—Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Join community members of faith and conscience who advocate for immigrants and immigration reform as we gather to show support to those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Ramsey County Detention Center. Help call attention to our nation’s broken immigration system and the need for immigration reform now.

The Center is on Grove Street, 2 blocks north of East Seventh Street, at Lafayette Road, on St. Paul’s East Side. (Take the Seventh Street exit from east-bound Interstate 94 and proceed east to Lafayette Road, then turn left onto Lafayette; free parking in lot in front of detention center.)

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Sponsored by: Church World Service—CIR, Jewish Community Action, Edina Community Lutheran Church, El Milagro/The Miracle Lutheran Church, Faith Mennonite Church, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Interfaith Center for Worker’s Justice, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, Interfaith Coalition on Immigration, Immigration Task Force for MN UCC Conference, Misseo Dei Community, Resource Center of the Americas, St. Luke Presbyterian Church, Advocates for Human Rights, Justice Commission of the Sisters of St. Joseph, WAMM Immigration Committee