Immigration Summit: Hope in Solidarity

In the midst of this pandemic, we are working hard to maintain services to refugees and immigrants. Citizenship interviews may be on hold, but staff are busy helping clients (remotely) to prepare applications and tutors are helping them study for their interviews. ESL tutoring pairs continue to meet via Zoom, Skype, and other apps. Our elder clients are more isolated than ever, but staff keep in touch with them regularly and share crucial information about health, financial, and other support. So much has changed in the past few months, but our volunteers and staff are not going to stop working to make the world a better place for all of us, and a place where immigrants are valued, celebrated, and supported. Find out what we are up to in each of our programs. Visit our website for more information including resources for immigrants.

NWIRP's legal services are critical to helping thousands of immigrants in Washington State navigate the complexities of the United States immigration system so they can apply for asylum or other forms of immigration protection. Without appropriate legal assistance, the men, women, and children served by NWIRP may be less likely to obtain legal immigration status, and more likely to be returned to a country where they face ill-treatment, torture, or even death. Access to NWIRP's services can also be a major factor in providing economic and personal security. Without legal support, our clients are often unable to access medical assistance, housing, or other basic services, and many of them are afraid to call the police for protection from domestic violence or other crimes.

Archdiocese of Seattle – Immigrant & Refugee Ministry: Grounded by our belief in Jesus Christ and Catholic teaching, Immigrant & Refugee Ministry fulfills the commitment of the U.S. Catholic bishops to protect the life and dignity of the human person. We serve and advocate for immigrants, refugees, asylees, migrants, unaccompanied children, and victims of human trafficking. 
Get Involved: http://www.seattlearchdiocese.org/Ethnic/PC/Immigrant.aspx

The Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center's Justice for Women program: 

• https://www.ipjc.org/justiceforwomen/resourcesworkshops/.  Know Your Rights cards, family emergency plans, temporary parental custody consent agreements, etc. Materials available in Spanish. 

WSCC SUPPORTS:

• Just treatment of immigrants and refugees including those detained and waiting for status processing within the United States immigration system.
• Just and fair treatment for young persons under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) currently in our federal immigration system.

Learn More: https://wacatholics.org/immigration-support 

Catholic Immigration Legal Services (CILS) provides quality legal immigration assistance to low-income residents of Washington. Currently, CILS provides free citizenship/N-400 application assistance to people who are currently on public benefits or living in the city of Seattle. CILS has two office locations: Seattle and Mt. Vernon.

In 2004, the Catholic bishops of the United States committed to immigration reform as a priority of the U.S. Catholic Church, and to creating a culture of welcome in which all migrants are treated with respect and dignity. A diverse group of Catholic organizations with national networks joined the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign (JFI) in an effort to unite and mobilize a growing network of Catholic institutions, individuals, and other persons of goodwill in support of immigration reform. You can sign up for JFI’s emails regarding the latest news and events on the bottom of their homepage: https://justiceforimmigrants.org/

Embracing the Gospel value of welcoming the stranger, CLINIC promotes the dignity and protects the rights of immigrants in partnership with a dedicated network of Catholic and community legal immigration programs. The network includes faith-based institutions, farmworker programs, domestic violence shelters, ethnic community-focused organizations, libraries and other entities that serve immigrants. CLINIC offers several series of emails to keep you informed about immigration news, as well as new opportunities, resources, and programs, sign up here: https://cliniclegal.org/email

An interactive education program for teachers sponsored by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. https://discoveryourneighbor.org/past-guides/​

• OBJECTIVE: K-5 Students will be able to:
• EXPLAIN and give examples of how migration has impacted their lives.
• UNDERSTAND ways our faith calls us to respond in hope to the current realities of migration.
• CREATE AND PRESENT a roadmap and name hopes the students have for the world.
• ORGANIZE ACTIONS to be in solidarity with migrants as well as encourage awareness.
• DEMONSTRATE positive ways to be a sign of hope.

While scouring the Sonoran Desert for objects left behind by migrants crossing into the United States, anthropologist Jason De León happened upon something he didn't expect to get left behind: a human arm, stripped of flesh. This macabre discovery sent him reeling, needing to know what exactly happened to the body, and how many migrants die that way in the wilderness. In researching border-crosser deaths in the Arizona desert, he noticed something surprising. Sometime in the late-1990s, the number of migrant deaths shot up dramatically and have stayed high since. Jason traced this increase to a Border Patrol policy still in effect, called “Prevention Through Deterrence.” Over three episodes, Radiolab will investigate this policy, its surprising origins, and the people whose lives were changed forever because of it. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/projects/border-trilogy

Living Undocumented is a 2019 Netflix documentary series co-directed by Aaron Saidman and Anna Chai and executive produced by Selena Gomez, Mandy Teefey, Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Sean O’Grady and Anna Chai. The series documents eight undocumented immigrant families living in the United States. It was released on October 2, 2019. According to an op-ed written by Gomez for Time on October 1, 2019, Gomez said she was approached about the project in 2017 and decided to become involved after watching footage that captured "the shame, uncertainty, and fear I saw my own family struggle with. But it also captured the hope, optimism, and patriotism so many undocumented immigrants still hold in their hearts despite the hell they go through.” https://www.netflix.com/title/80209609

Farmworkers in California's Coachella Valley often face extreme heat and contact with dangerous pesticides. Now they're also facing the threat of deportation. We went there to see their plight firsthand.