Media Contacts: Lesley Crosson/CWS/New York, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin - 24/7- (781) 925 1526; jdragin@gis.net
MEDIA ADVISORY
SYRACUSE INTERETHNIC DIALOGUE EVENT BRINGING DIVERSE COMMUNITY VOICES TOGETHER ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES
One of National Dialogue Series, Syracuse Event Hopes to Hold Congress, White House to Task
EDITORS NOTE: MEDIA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE CONCLUDING PROCEEDINGS OF THIS EVENT, AT APPROXIMATELY 4:00 PM; INTERVIEWS WITH PARTICIPANTS AVAILABLE BY ARRANGEMENT AND AS MAY BE AGREED TO BY INDIVIDUALS ATTENDING.
SYRACUSE, NY-May 19, 2007 - Even as senators agree on a compromise plan for immigration reform, global humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) is continuing its advocacy pressure. The agency will present an Interethnic Dialogue on Immigration in Syracuse, Thursday May 24.
The Syracuse immigration reform dialogue is co-sponsored by the Syracuse-based Center for New Americans program of InterFaith Works of Central New York and is one of a national series of interethnic dialogues Church World Service has scheduled nationwide through mid-July, culminating in a national dialogue in Washington.
As one of ten agencies that work with the Department of State to resettle refugees in the United States, Church World Service, along with its Syracuse refugee assistance affiliate agency InterFaith Works, has invited representatives of the communityâs immigrant and ethnic associations, public servants, legislators, religious leaders, and the organizations that serve and interact with the cityâs immigrant community.
The dialogues are intended to give the broad cross section of participants a forum to speak out, listen to each other, and generate unified community action on this critical topic. .
âThis is a singular opportunity for all of the different concerned voices of our community to come together in one place, to share their diverse views on U.S. immigration and refugee policies, and find common ground for further action,â says Hope Wallis, Director for InterFaith Worksâ Center for New Americans.
WHAT, WHERE, WHEN:
Interethnic Dialogue on Immigration
Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church 5229 Jamesville Road Dewitt, New York 13214
Thursday May 24, 2007 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Other recent and upcoming local dialogues include:
â Grand Rapids, Michigan (Saturday April 28) â Miami, Florida (Monday May 7) â Boston, Massachusetts (Saturday May 12) â Omaha, Nebraska (Wednesday May 16) â Atlanta, Georgia (Friday June 1) â Columbus, Ohio (Wednesday June 13) â Chicago, Illinois (Friday June 15) â New Haven, Connecticut (Thursday July 12) â National Interethnic Dialogue, Washington, D.C. (Wednesday July 18)
âPeople who have come to the U.S. as immigrants and refugees have important perspectives to share in the current immigration reform debate,â says Doug Anderson, Upstate New York Regional Director for Church World Service.
âThese dialogues are for newcomers and U.S.-born alike to consider together the best policies and practices for their communities,â Anderson said. âWeâre urging members of the immigrant community, as well as civic and faith leaders, to join us for the dialogue here.â Anderson said invited participants include school superintendents, Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders, as well as representatives of Syracuseâs Vietnamese, African, Latin American and other ethnic communities.â
State legislators, Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Jim Walsh (R-NY 25th) also have been invited.
âToo often, different ethnic groups are pitted against each other as potential winners and losers in the immigration debate,â says Jamie Pitts, dialogue coordinator, with CWSâs Washington, D.C., offices. Latinos are at the forefront of our current debates, but itâs time to recognize that the immigration issue is far broader,â he said. âFew of our debates take into account the impact of immigration policies on our Asian and African populations. And few of our discussions on undocumented immigration talk about the thousands of Irish and other European undocumented people.â
Participants are asked to come with the one immigration-related issue that is most important to them or their organization. At a January 18 pilot dialogue in Washington, D.C., participantsâ concerns focused on issues that included the impact of immigration on low-income, U.S.-born workers; detention of immigrants and immigrant families; and the unintended impact of the âmaterial support to terrorism barâ on legitimate refugees and asylum seekers.
Pitts says, âWe do plan for action to come out of the dialogues and these dialogues will facilitate new alliances and help identify common ground where action can take place. Finally, the dialogues are a great way to connect with organizations that are active on immigration in your community.â
At the Miami dialogue on May 7, Altaf Ali, Executive Director of the Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said CAIR is now working with the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, seeking participants in a class action suit against the U.S. concerning citizenship application delays. Following two related class action suits filed in 2006 in Chicago and Southern California, seven Arab Muslims in California who had waited years for their applications to be processed were approved just two months after the lawsuit was filed.
Participants from Miamiâs Arab, Chinese, Haitian and Latino communities and advocacy organizations also formed a Mothers Day card campaign to Senator Mel Martinez, the only immigrant in the U.S. Senate, urging him to take a leadership role in shaping the immigration reform bill.
At a Grand Rapids Interethnic Dialogue on April 28 participants mobilized around the broader national policy debate and formed a coalition to press congressional representatives for balanced immigration policies and formed a speakers bureau, offering guest speakers on immigration issues to faith groups and other local organizations.
For more information in both English and Spanish: www.immigrationdialogues.org
For questions about the Interethnic Dialogues and their format, contact Dialogues Planner, Jamie Pitts, Church World Service, (202) 544-6775, cell phone (626) 823-1371, jpitts@churchworldservice.org
Or call The Center for New Americans in Syracuse, (315) 474-1261.