By: Ivanna Salgado, CRLN Immigration Organizer Intern


[Espa

ñ

ol Aqui]

Were the words that were screamed with much enthusiasm by several protesters and organizations on June 15th, 2017 to push the city of Chicago to amend the Welcoming City Ordinance with no carve outs.


In 2012, Chicago passed the Welcoming City Ordinance establishing guidelines on how Chicago police interacts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), meant to limit collaboration between police and ICE, and protect immigrants from deportation.

These words allowed for my tears to silently splatter the concrete floor in the “One Chicago” that was built through the violence against immigrants and enslaved people on these stolen lands. Over the years, we have forgotten this actual reality because it has been covered by narratives of white supremacy that have manipulated us into believing their truth is the only truth that exists.

In fact, the word “immigrant” itself is a construction of white supremacy, a system that has gained power after settlers immigrated to America to separate themselves from those who they would soon treat as inferiors. Then, the word immigrant became racialized and criminalized.

Being an undocumented immigrant is nothing to be ashamed of, but we have been trained to do so by hearing quotes like “In America we only speak English.” The irony out of this quote is that, America includes all of North America and South America. America itself is made out 33 Latin American countries, and English is not even the main language there.

Over the years, for me, being an immigrant has come with so much pride and struggle rather than with shame. Being an immigrant has taught me to explore my own identity and celebrate and understands the politics of the cultures of my immigrant friends.

Yesterday’s rally made me reflect on the families that are currently being impacted by the immigration system or who have been criminalized by police officers or ICE.

It is hard to feel proud when our families are being ripped apart. It is often regret that our families feel for coming to the U.S.

Just like the City Hall building that has been built through the exploitation of immigrants. Just like Alderman Rosa says “Chicago cannot claim it is One Chicago if it is not offering sanctuary for all of its residents and instead it is working with ICE to deport immigrants. The City Hall building belongs to us because we built it so we have a voice.”

*

I study in Ohio, and when I heard that Chicago was a sanctuary city my heart was filled with happiness and proudness because I am a Chicagoan. Ohio unfortunately is a swing state. However, I am disheartened to know that the city of Chicago is not the sanctuary city it displays to the public. Many immigrants are being criminalized and dehumanized for wanting to stay with their loved ones.

As I saw signs like “Sanctuary For All. No Exceptions.” or “La Lucha Obrera No Tiene Fronteras” uplifted at the rally, I was happy to know that many communities were on board and continued to fight. Because once we are done turning the city of Chicago into a sanctuary city with no loopholes,

are we really done?

What’s the next move? It is a long battle because in every other city there are undocumented communities fighting for the same cause, for our liberation, and we should be standing next to them fighting and screaming  “No Wall. No Registry. No White Supremacy.”

This ongoing battle that has been supported by a working group: Arab American Action Network, Asian American Advancing Justice- Chicago, Organized Communities Against Deportation, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Right,s the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Southwest Organizing Project, Centro  de Trabajadores Unidos – Immigrant Worker Defense Project, the Latino Policy Forum, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Enlace, the Hana Center, Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America, Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights, the Latino Union of Chicago, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Communities United, and Black Youth Project 100.

Thank you to these organizations and individuals that been in solidarity with becoming a “Model Sanctuary City.”

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image-title

New hotline, a clearinghouse for advice for immigrants facing deportation

The hotline – 855-435-7693 or 855-HELP-MY-F(amily)

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Family Support Hotline connects families in crisis with reliable and immediate information, referrals to legal, ministry, and social services – while also providing a long-term connection to someone who can help them locally.

The hotline – 855-435-7693 or 855-HELP-MY-F(amily) – is modeled after ones for homelessness or domestic violence, where volunteers take calls around the clock and guide callers to help.

 

Click here for more information




 





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By: Ivanna Salgado, CRLN Immigration Organizer Intern

Fueron las palabras que se gritaban con mucho entusiasmo por varios manifestantes y organizaciones en 15 de junio de 2017 para empujar la ciudad de Chicago para enmendar la Ordenanza de la Ciudad Acogedora, sin excepciones.

En el 2012, Chicago aprobó la Ordenanza dela Ciudad Acogedora estableciendo  directrices sobre cómo la policía de Chicago interactúa con inmigración (ICE), destinado a limitar la colaboración entre la policía y ICE para proteger a inmigrantes de deportación.

Estas palabras permitieron mis lágrimas silenciosamente salpicar el piso de concreto en el “Un Chicago” que fue construido a través de la violencia contra los inmigrantes y la gente esclavizada en estas tierras robadas. Con los años, hemos olvidado esta realidad porque ha sido cubierto por narraciones de la supremacía blanca que nos han manipulado a creer que su verdad es la única que existe.

De hecho, la palabra “inmigrante” mismo es una construcción de la supremacía blanca, un sistema que ha ganado poder después que ellos inmigraron a América para separarse de los que pronto se tratan como inferiores. Entonces, la palabra inmigrante se ha racializado y tipificado como delito.

Ser un inmigrante indocumentado es nada para avergonzarse, pero hemos sido entrenados como por ejemplo este dicho es dicho es muy común “En América sólo hablamos inglés.” La ironía de esta frase es que, América incluye todos los de norte y América del sur. América contiene 33 países Latino América, e inglés no es aún el principal idioma allí.

Largo de los años, para mí, ser inmigrante ha llegado con tanto orgullo y lucha en lugar de vergüenza. Ser inmigrante me ha enseñado a explorar mi propia identidad y celebrar y entender la política de las culturas de mis amigos inmigrantes.

La marcha de ayer me hizo reflexionar sobre las familias que actualmente están siendo afectados por el sistema de inmigración o que han sido criminalizados por agentes de policía o Ice

Es duro sentirse orgulloso cuando nuestras familias están destrozadas. A menudo se lamentan haber venido a los EE.UU.

Al igual que el edificio del Ayuntamiento (City Hall,) que ha sido construido a través de la explotación de los inmigrantes. Al igual que el Concejal Rosa dice “Chicago no puede reclamar es uno Chicago, si no está ofreciendo santuario para todos sus residentes y en lugar de ello, está trabajando con ICE para deportar a los inmigrantes. El edificio del Ayuntamiento (ICE) nos pertenece porque vuestra comunidad inmigrante lo ha construido, así que tenemos una voz”.

*

Yo estudio en Ohio, y cuando me enteré de que Chicago era un santuario mi corazón se llena de felicidad y orgullo. Ohio, lamentablemente, es un estado oscilante. Sin embargo, me siento decepcionada al saber que la ciudad de Chicago no es un santuario como muestra al público. Muchos inmigrantes son criminalizados y deshumanizados por querer quedarse con sus seres queridos.

Cuando vi posters que decían “Santuario para todos. Sin excepciones.” o “La lucha obrera no tiene fronteras” levantados en la marcha, yo estaba feliz de saber que muchas comunidades estaban a bordo y continuaban luchando. ¿Porque una vez que la ciudad de Chicago en un santuario ciudad sin excepciones, realmente hemos acabado? ¿Cuál es el siguiente paso? Es una larga batalla porque en cualquier otra ciudad hay indocumentados, las comunidades luchan por la misma causa, por nuestra liberación, y debemos estar de pie junto a ellos luchando y gritando “Ningún muro. Ningún registro. No la supremacía blanca”.

Esta batalla que ha sido apoyada por: Arab American Action Network, Asian American Advancing Justice- Chicago, Organized Communities Against Deportation, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Right,s the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Southwest Organizing Project, Centro  de Trabajadores Unidos – Immigrant Worker Defense Project, the Latino Policy Forum, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Enlace, the Hana Center, Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America, Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights, the Latino Union of Chicago, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Communities United, and Black Youth Project 100.

Gracias a estas organizaciones e individuos que han estado solidaridad para convertirse en una “Ciudad Santuario.”

 

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CRLN Statement on DACA Rescission: “President Trump Moved By Racism & Xenophobia”



It is a shame that President Trump was moved by racism and xenophobia to put an end to the DACA Program, leaving 800,000 young people and their communities in uncertainty. Those DACAmented individuals contribute in ways that go without saying to our beloved community. We are in solidarity with our DACA siblings and we will continue to fight with them for meaningful access to justice and opportunities to obtain legal status and legal protection for immigrants. We will continue to call attention to the connections between the attacks on DACA, local ICE abuses, and the overall picture of how much money Congress appropriates to the detention and deportations machine

.”

Claudia Lucero, Executive Director

Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

#ProtectionForAll #Sanctuary4ALL #Faith4DACA

What you need to know //

Lo que necesitas saber (en español)





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Join CNSC in this National Immigration Day of Action! On Sunday March 10th, the Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL) will be holding the fourth

National Coming Out of the Shadows Day: Out of the Shadows Into the Streets


.  First, join us for a march from Union Park starting at 11 AM. IYJL will meet in Federal Plaza at 12:30 PM for pre-rally music with Quinto Imperio, poetry, and a drum performance by the Korean American Resource Center.

At 1 PM, marchers coming from Union Park will be welcomed, and the story-sharing will begin. This year, those ‘coming out of the shadows’ will not only include youth and students, but also relatives of those in detention, immigrants facing deportation, and children whose parents have been deported, as we say together that DEPORTATION, DETENTION, and DACA will not stop us. Come be part of this National Mobilization as we keep fighting for a Compassionate and Comprehensive Immigration Reform!

Also, check out our Immigrant Welcoming Congregations Gathering Story at this

link


. Thank you for all those who supported this event. To find out how to get involved in the push for immigration reform contact us at

773-293-3680

.

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Launching the Campaign to End the Gang Database & #Faith4DACA in DC!

Last Thursday, CRLN joined OCAD, BYP100, Mijente, and other organizations as a part of the coalition to Expand Sanctuary in Chicago to call for an end to the gang database in Chicago. The campaign, calling for a review of Chicago policies to strengthen protections for those targeted by Trump administration, began focusing on expanding the Welcoming City Ordinance, Chicago’s Sanctuary city policy, to be consistent with respecting all immigrant’s constitutional rights and requiring a warrant for all police interaction with immigration enforcement. However, despite support from the ACLU of Illinois and dozens of immigrant rights and civil rights organizations in Chicago, the Mayor and City Council have failed to make the necessary changes to Chicago’s ordinance.

A few days later, Claudia Lucero, Executive Director of CRLN,

joins faith leaders from throughout the country in D.C.

to rally in support of defending DACA. As a part of today’s delegation,

CRLN joined prophetic witnesses from many regions

to call on Congress to defend DACA, while at the same time fighting for protections for all immigrants, voting no to billions of dollars to expand the immigration enforcement machine, and call for accountability from local ICE offices.


Today and everyday, we  learn from and take the lead from our DACAmented & UnDACAmented immigrant siblings:



To all those that ask how to help and who say they stand with us:

The continued attacks affect

our

daily lives in tangible, material ways. We organize because our lives are completely political. We live the struggle, because this country has denied our humanity due to the circumstances of our births. When we step out to recharge, we are doing so to come back stronger leaders.

No immigrant should have to meet any criteria to gain your support.

Our humanity is enough to garner solidarity.

We do not need your “solidarity” if it means throwing us and our families under the bus for personal or political gain or providing a resume of contributions we’ve made to the country to garner support. We do not need your solidarity if it defends white supremacy. We do not need your solidarity if you are not centering our lives, our struggles, and our voices.

It is time for a new kind of solidarity.


To be an accomplice, start by asking yourself:

  1. Will you set up human chain blockade if they try to deport one of us?

  2. Will you slash the tires of a law enforcement vehicle when they try to come for us?

  3. Will you help us post bail if we or another undocumented community member is apprehended?

  4. Will you move aside and offer your seat on a immigration panel to an actual immigrant?

  5. Will you hire undocumented workers ?

  6. Will you fight against the forced migration that gentrification inherently creates?

  7. Will you provide shelter and sanctuary to immigrants fighting deportation orders?

  8. Will you finally shatter any notion that the American Dream is something real?

  9. Will you demand that the shadow economies we have built become decriminalized?

  10. Will you listen to us, and follow our lead?

We are the protagonists of our own story. It is not yours to tell. Offer donations, scholarships, jobs, and political connections to get resources and to stop deportations.

Whatever the next steps may be, let’s make sure to learn from the movement lessons of the past and lead with our heads held high. We have been here before. It is up to us to decide what our future will be.

Sincerely,

Immigrant Womxn of Color”

Additional information on what you need to know now that DACA is ending is available in

English

and

Spanish

.

Please visit ICIRR’s

Events page

for a listing of upcoming DACA information sessions and workshops.

Please visit ICIRR’s

Protection page

for links to legal, mental health, and other community resources.

You can text “DACA” to (630) 524-4106 to get more information regarding legal and community resources near you.

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ACTION ALERT: Now is the time!


Call Your Senators EVERY DAY until Immigration
Reform Passes!


Call

1-866-940-2439


(or
202-224-3121)

Feel free to use this sample script:


“I am from [City, State, Congregation], and as a person of faith, I urge the Senator to vote YES for the bipartisan immigration reform bill. I urge the Senator to protect the refugee and asylum provisions from negative amendments, and to support amendments that would reunite families, reform enforcement practices to be more humane, and make the path to citizenship more accessible.”


Background:

The Senate will be considering amendments to the bipartisan immigration reform bill as early as
Monday, June 10th, and voting on the bill in late June. Key amendments will be
considered regarding who is eligible for the path to citizenship, social
services available to immigrants, intrusive enforcement practices and border
militarization, and changes that could negatively impact refugees and asylum
seekers. We need 60 votes to pass positive amendments; 41 votes to defeat
negative amendments; and a final 60 votes for immigration reform to pass in the
Senate.

Amendments will be considered very quickly, so it’s important that your Senators hear from you NOW and EVERY DAY until the Senate passes immigration reform! Your Representatives
also need to hear from you, as many worry that the House will not support a
pathway to citizenship for our undocumented community members. You can find
your Senators and Representatives’ direct contact information at

www.senate.gov 

and

www.house.gov

.

During the amendment process, we made more than 3,000 calls, and were a big part of
defeating the worst amendments and gaining modest improvements to the bill. We
need to escalate the number of calls made during the upcoming debate and vote
on the Senate floor. ALL Senators must hear from their constituents who support
immigration reform that reform must prioritize family unity and create a clear
and accessible pathway to citizenship.


Call

1-866-940-2439


to be connected with your Senators.

Feel free to use this sample script:


“I am from [City,
State, Congregation], and as a person of faith, I urge the Senator to vote YES
for the bipartisan immigration reform bill. I urge the Senator to protect the
refugee and asylum provisions from negative amendments, and to support
amendments that would reunite families, reform enforcement practices to be more
humane, and make the path to citizenship more accessible.”

Follow @CRLN_LA on Twitter and “like” the CRLN-Chicago Religious Leadership
Network on Latin America or Chicago New Sanctuary
Coalition on Facebook to receive the most up-to-date alerts on amendments being
considered in the Senate floor debate. Find Your Senators’ Twitter names on their websites
http://www.senate.gov and urge them to vote YES on S.744 by tweeting @[their twitter
name].

Ex: “@Sen_JoeManchin As a
West Virginian & person of faith I urge you to support #pathtocitizenship #immigration
reform #cir”

Also, consider writing
a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of immigration
reform, urging your Senators and Representatives to be champions for family
unity, refugees and asylum seekers, a pathway to citizenship, and more humane enforcement
practices. Host prayer vigils and other faithful actions near your Senator or
Representatives’ office, and get your community involved by writing letters and
spreading this alert far and wide. For resources and more information, go to
www.crln.org.

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NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY TO #DefundHate!

Funding negotiations for FY ’18 are still under way in Congress. The Senate still has to mark-up and vote on a funding bill for the detention and deportation machine, and all members of Congress can weigh in with their leadership ahead of negotiations between the House and Senate. Call your representatives

TODAY

and demand they

#DefundHate

and call for cuts to ICE and CBP!


Sample Call Script.


Click here to find out who’s your

representative

or here for your

senators

.


Voicemail:

“Hello, my name is [first and last name] and I’m a constituent of [state/congressional district]. I’m calling as part of the Defund Hate campaign. We’re calling on [Member of Congress] to oppose funding for the detention and deportation machine. This funding fuels agencies like ICE and CBP which have a long track record of lying, hiding information and retaliating against those who speak out against them. We need to use public funds for needed resources like healthcare, education and housing, instead of this hateful detention and deportation machine. We demand that [MoC] publicly call for significant cuts to ICE and CBP and be a voice within [chamber, caucus, with leadership] to #DefundHate and oppose funding for the detention and deportation machine.”


If you get a person on the phone:

“What is [MoC’s] current position on whether or not Congress should be decreasing the funds allocated to CBP and ICE? [Wait for an answer. If bad/non-committal, reiterate: Again, CBP and ICE both have long track records of shameful and abusive behavior and are causing harm in our communities every day. I encourage [MoC] to speak out against this terrible use of my taxpayer dollars.] Thank you for your time…”

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