January 6, 2012
Big news today! A new waiver process (for the 3- and 10-year bars) should help keep thousands of undocumented immigrants from being separated from their families in the U.S. From the Associated Press:
(AP) WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans a rule change to help reduce the time illegal immigrant spouses and children are separated from citizen relatives while they try to win legal status in the United States, a senior administration official said.
Currently, illegal immigrants must leave the country before they can ask the government to waive a three- to 10-year ban on legally coming back to the U.S. The length of the ban depends on how long they have lived in the U.S. without permission.
The official said Thursday the new rule would let children and spouses of citizens ask the government to decide on the waiver request before the illegal immigrant heads to his or her home country to apply for a visa. The illegal immigrants still must go home to finish the visa process to come back to the U.S., but getting the waiver ahead of time could reduce the time an illegal immigrant is out of the country.
The waiver shift is the latest move by President Barack Obama to make changes to immigration policy without congressional action.
Read more | Immigration resources
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Immigration, News Stories | Tagged: 3 and 10 year bars, immigrant families, Immigration, waivers | 
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Posted by Tammy Alexander
January 5, 2012
- Monday, January 9, 2012, 3:30pm Eastern Time
- RSVP here.
Please join the Interfaith Immigration Coalition on January 9th for the National Faith and Immigration Webinar on Secure Communities.
The webinar will provide concrete tools to launch a community campaign to demand your city or state to stop turning people over to ICE and to halt unjust deportations.
Lines will be limited, so register today!
- Monday, January 9, 2012, 3:30pm Eastern Time
- RSVP here.
See the full action alert announcement
here.
Immigration resources | State-level policy resources
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Leave a Comment » | Action Alerts, Crime and Justice, Events, Immigration, Issues | Tagged: deportation, ICE, Immigration, Interfaith Immigration Coalition, MCC, MCC U.S. Washington Office, Secure Communities | Permalink
Posted by emilywh
October 24, 2011
Emily Wilson-Hauger reflects on the importance of advocating for environmental justice in the Third Way Cafe.
I recently helped draft a petition letter to President Obama and Congress urging them to support the integrity of the Clean Water Act and halt any efforts to undermine this important environmental law. As I sat at my desk on Capitol Hill and reflected, I wondered if this letter really could effect change.
Photo by Tammy Alexander
The following weekend, I traveled to West Virginia to enjoy autumn in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the country. Sunday afternoon our group set out on a hike along a small river. As we hiked down into the streambed, the postcard-worthy downstream view immediately distorted. The bedrock was an uncharacteristically coppery color; the strange milky color of the water had piles of strange floating foam; and the awful sewage smell made us want to retreat back up the trail. On the drive out, we then observed houses with foundations visibly crumbling and families living in severe poverty.
After some research on the North Fork Watershed of the Blackwater River, I found that…
Read more here.
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Posted by emilywh
October 10, 2011
Tammy Alexander reflects on the stories we tell about immigration ten years after September 11th in Third Way Cafe.
Photo by flicker/pixor.
The Bible is full of stories of migration, of people moving back and forth for food or safety, for opportunity and family connections. Ruth didn’t have to go through a border patrol checkpoint and show her papers to enter Judah.
In fact, in Moab Ruth and Naomi benefited from an Israelite law, spelled out in chapter 24 of Deuteronomy, which instructed farmers to leave part of their harvest in the field for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
Today, especially during a time of recession, there is a feeling that there isn’t enough to go around – not enough money, jobs, food. But such an attitude of scarcity and fear makes us blind to the abundant gifts immigrants bring. Study after study shows that immigrants have a net positive economic benefit to the U.S., that they bring more in economic gain than they consume in services.
Read more here.
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Posted by jesseeppfransen
November 23, 2010
Join people of faith across the country on December 1 in calling your members of Congress in both the House and the Senate to urge them to pass the DREAM Act (S.729 in the Senate; H.R.1751 in the House).
The DREAM Act would allow high school graduates who were brought to the U.S. as minors and do not have legal immigrant status to pursue higher education and legal citizenship.
Read the action alert.
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Posted by Tammy Alexander
October 4, 2010
Witness for Peace is inviting action in the month of October as part of their Migrating Toward Justice campaign, which calls for trade and immigration policy reform. U.S. trade policies have had a detrimental effect on communities in Latin America. Millions have been forced to leave their homes and migrate to the United States while U.S. domestic policies have continued to separate families and treat immigrants as criminals.
More information on Migrating Toward Justice
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Leave a Comment » | Global Economic Justice, Immigration, Latin America/Caribbean | Tagged: Immigration, migration, trade justice | Permalink
Posted by Theo Sitther
September 16, 2010
The MCC Washington Office is inviting submissions for our 12th annual high school essay contest. This year’s grand prize is $500 with three regional winners each receiving $100. Students can choose to write on immigration, Israel-Palestine or U.S. military spending, and all essays must be submitted by December 17, 2010.
The contest is open to Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and other Anabaptist youth of high school age, and to all youth who attend Mennonite high schools.
Contest Guidelines and Topics
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Leave a Comment » | Events, Immigration, Middle East, Militarism | Tagged: essay, Immigration, Israel/Palestine, militarism | Permalink
Posted by Theo Sitther
