wfn.org | Reform immigration before summer recess, CWS asks D.C. lawmakers

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Media Contacts

Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676, media@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin 781-925-1526, jdragin@gis.net

Reform immigration before summer recess, CWS asks D.C. lawmakers

NEW YORK, March 5, 2010 - The global ecumenical humanitarian agency
Church World Service is pressing lawmakers in Washington to move forward
on immigration reform before their summer recess in August.

Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program Director Erol
Kekic today (March 5) sent a letter to each member of Congress
requesting them to move with dispatch to reform what he describes as "a
broken immigration system."

Kekic cited the temporary relief measures prompted by the Haiti
earthquake --such as Temporary Protected Status for Haitians residing in
the United States at the time of the disaster -- as yet another factor
underscoring the urgent need for lasting change in immigration laws.  He
urged legislators not to leave Washington before supporting enactment of
fair, humane immigration reform.

In the letter (below) he wrote, "We are calling for immigration reform
that unites families, protects all workers, improves the efficiency of
the visa system, brings due process and humanity to detention and
enforcement measures, and provides a pathway to legal status and
eventual citizenship for undocumented immigrants."

Kekic and the Rev. John L. McCullough, CWS Executive Director and CEO,
will lead the Church World Service delegation to the planned March 21
"March for America" (http://changetakesfaith.org), when thousands of
people of faith will descend upon the nation's capital to join labor,
immigrant rights groups and others in rallying for immigration reform.

Church World Service also will participate in the March 19 - 22
Ecumenical Advocacy Days  (http://advocacydays.org), where hundreds of
faith-based advocates from across the United States will address the
plight of tens of millions of immigrants, migrants, refugees and
internally displaced persons and lobby Congress for reform.

Founded in 1946, Church World Service is the emergency response,
sustainable development and refugee resettlement agency of 36 Christian
denominations and communions in the United States.  Thirty-three CWS
community-based offices and affiliates help to resettle refugees, with a
majority of them also assisting refugees and other immigrants with
immigration legal services, including applying for work authorization,
naturalization and family reunification.

> Letter to Legislators:
> March 5, 2010

> Dear Member of Congress,

On behalf of the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program,
I urge you to support the enactment of fair, humane immigration reform
before the Summer Congressional recess. We are calling for immigration
reform that reunites families, protects all workers, improves the
efficiency of the visa system, brings due process and humanity to
detention and enforcement measures, and provides a pathway to legal
status and eventual citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Our advocacy for immigration reform is grounded in our service with
newcomers to the United States and in Christâ??s call to welcome the
stranger. We are calling for reform because we see every day how our
nationâ??s broken immigration system is causing suffering. Every day,
our congregations, offices and affiliates help immigrants desperate to
be reunited with family members, workers exploited by their employers,
and entire communities living in fear of indiscriminate raids.

Immigration reform is all the more crucial now as we help survivors of
the devastating earthquake in Haiti. CWS is helping Haitians in the
United States apply for Temporary Protected Status and is caring for
Haitian medical evacuees. These relief measures are temporary though,
and Haitians and other immigrants need lasting change. Reuniting
families, protecting all workers, and providing a pathway to citizenship
for undocumented immigrants will not only help these Haitians and other
immigrants in need of permanent protection, but will strengthen our
communities, improve overall working conditions, bring efficiency to a
currently broken system, and benefit the economy by increasing GDP.

Founded in 1946, Church World Service is the emergency response,
sustainable development and refugee resettlement ministry of 36
Christian denominations and communions. We work in the United States and
internationally to eradicate hunger and poverty, and to promote peace
and justice. Our 33 local offices and affiliates help resettle refugees
and assist immigrants in applying for work authorization,
naturalization; and family reunification.

For the past year, Church World Service has worked to lift the voices
of people of faith for immigration reform. Millions have signed
petitions, sent postcards, hosted prayer vigils, called their members of
Congress, and met with their Congressional delegations to advocate for
reform. We are working with other faith communities to organize
Ecumenical Advocacy Days March 19 - 22, at which more than 1,000 people
of faith will advocate for immigration reform. CWS is also working with
a broad coalition to bring tens of thousands of people to Washington,
D.C. on March 21 for a massive rally on the National Mall calling for
immigration reform.

I thank you for your service to this country. On behalf of our 36
member communions and our 33 community based offices across the country,
I urge you to uphold your commitment to improving the lives of Americans
by enacting the immigration reform that this country needs, and needs
now.

> Sincerely,

> Erol Kekic, Director
> Immigration and Refugee Program
> Church World Service

> Church World Service
> 475 Riverside Drive
> New York, New York 120115
> (212) 870-2061