Interfaith Prayer Day for Immigration Reform

Stand with JCUA as we join religious leaders, families fighting deportations, and people of faith from many walks of life.

We will come together to pray, take action, and invite our elected leaders to support our shared values of dignity and mercy for all.  The Prayer Session and Press Conference will begin at 9:00am on Tuesday, May 28th at the DePaul Club Room, 1 E. Jackson Blvd, 11th Floor.  Following the press conference, delegations will visit the offices of Senators Durbin and Kirk.  We want to thank Senator Durbin for his leadership, ask him to continue being a champion of our principles, and ask that he makes a personal call to President Obama to stop deportations.  We will ask Senator Kirk to vote “YES” on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, support our principles, and ask how we can support him as he makes his decision.

Please email Rabbi Ali Abrams at alison@jcua.org if you can attend.

[Guest Post] Turn a Tragedy into a Victory for Justice

In May 2008, federal immigration agents raided the small town of Postville, IA – separating families and devastating a community. JCUA responded immediately (see photos), and worked with the Postville community in the years following the raid (read article). Nearly 5 years after the raid, JCUA’s partners in Iowa are calling for comprehensive immigration reform with renewed hope and urgency. 

by Sr. Mary McCauley, BVM
Dubuque, Iowa

Soon we will commemorate the Fifth Anniversary of the 2008 Immigration Raid in Postville, Iowa.  Having been in Postville at that time, I still carry with me the suffering of the people.

JCUA members, Postville – July, 2008 (more photos)

I recall the small girl with a scrap of paper in her hand crawling up the steps into the sanctuary and handing her paper to our Hispanic Minister with words that were clear and direct.  “Please bring my daddy home!”

I recall the women walking the streets of Postville with mandated GPS devices on their ankles.  During our walks and prayer vigils they held their heads high and carried signs that read:  “We are not criminals.  We came to work.  We came to feed our families.  We are mothers.”

I recall the words of Rigoberto Menchu, the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Guatemala, who visited with those affected by the raid:  “I see the problem of Postville as full of injustices.  You should not rest until justice is done….”

The people, the memories, the pain, the injustices and the words of Menchu continue to haunt me.  I cannot rest until justice is done.

Five years ago a tragedy took place in Iowa.  Iowans responded with compassion, sensitivity and justice. Today there is another opportunity for Iowans to respond.  May we unite with one another and support legislation for comprehensive immigration reform.    May we turn the tragedy of Postville into a victory for justice.   May we not rest until justice is done!

Mary McCauley, BVM
Dubuque, Iowa 52003

An Inside Look into Immigration Court Proceedings

by Vadim Gerhsteyn
JCUA intern

JCUA’s Vadim Gershteyn sat as an observer in Immigration Detention Court as part of the “Court Watch” program. In this article he tells the stories he observed, including fathers separated from their children, trials conducted through computer screens, and detainees with no guaranteed legal representation.

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The immigrant experience in the United States is at the foundation of shared history and a place of special importance for the Jewish community. On Monday, November 26, 2012 I attended a Court Watch training that allowed him to be an non-partial observer in Detained Immigrant Courts. The program was set up by the “Sisters of Mercy” and “Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants” in order to allow people to bear witness to the trials and stand in solidarity with detained immigrants. Each year, more than 400,000 immigrants are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), many of whom have no criminal histories and are being detained on civil charges.

Self-Deportation

In one trial, a legal permanent resident (LPR) named Jose was applying for voluntary self-deportation after being arrested with fifteen grams of cocaine, a felony that includes intention to distribute. His wife’s moving testimony told the story of a good husband, caring father of four, and gainfully employed member of the community struggling with drug addiction. Now in drug treatment classes, and despite living in Illinois for over a decade, Jose was facing deportation. The judge gave Jose leniency for self-deportation, which allows him to leave on his own accord and reapply to enter the United States. However, reentry is not guaranteed, and the court may have separated Jose from his family (four of whom are U.S. citizens) due to the disease of addiction.

Getting out the immigrant vote: Or Tzedek’s Summer 2012 Reunion

By Hannah Lynch

The following in a blog post by Hannah Lynch, Or Tzedek Summer 2012 participant. Hannah is a sophomore at Chicagoland Jewish High School. During the 2012 summer reunion, Hannah showed herself to be a dedicated canvasser with a ferocious drive to register people to vote! 

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Or Tzedek members – Hannah, Shani and Joel – canvassing to register immigrant voters in Highwood, IL.

As a follow up to our Or Tzedek experience, the three 2012 summer session participants reunited in Highwood, IL to empower immigrant voices in this election. We spent the day canvassing. We divided into small groups and went from house to house, talking to people about registering to vote and getting involved in the upcoming elections.

Because Highwood has a large  immigrant population, it was a fitting place to begin spreading the word about the elections and get young people and adults involved in the process. Voting in elections gives citizens the chance to speak up and support what is important to them. However, in order to do this, they must be registered voters. While there are qualifications to register to vote, namely, being a citizen and eighteen years old by Election Day, everyone has the capability to get involved. Other Or Tzedek participants and I set out to do just that; to inform people on the ways they can be civically involved, whether or not they can vote.

Make A Difference in the Upcoming Elections: Empower Immigrant Voters

JCUA and The Lakeside Congregation Social Action Committee invite all interested people to learn more about our campaign to increase voter turnout in underrepresented communities in the North Shore for the upcoming elections.

What:
Information and training session for potential volunteers, for JCUA’s “Get Out The Vote” campaign

When:
Thursday, September 6^th, 7:00-8:30pm

Where:
Lakeside Congregation, Community Room
1221 County Line Road
Highland Park, IL

More Details About the Campaign:
JCUA and Lakeside Congregation are partnering with Fenix Family Health Center in Highwood and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights on a Get Out The Vote campaign in the Highland Park/Highwood communities. The campaign seeks to increase immigrant voter turnout to ensure the immigrant communities are equally represented in these elections and raise awareness about immigration issues. It is our hope that this campaign will be a step toward creating a lasting network of community leaders and will strengthen relationships between the diverse members of the north shore communities. We hope you can help us help others!

For more details contact:

Emily Zucker Burns, Director of Organizing
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
emily@jcua.org

Webinar for Immigration Activists in the Jewish Community

LIVE WEBINAR

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

12:00-1:15pm CST /　1:00-2:30pm EST /10:00-11:15am PST

Are you concerned about the treatment of immigrants in our country?  Do you want to learn how the Jewish community is responding to what some  are calling the “Civil Rights issue of our time?”  Join us for an informative  webinar with Jewish leaders who are at the forefront of the Jewish Campaign for Immigration Reform.

The webinar will include:

• Explanation of the Jewish imperative for immigration reform
• Background on the history of immigration  policy in the U.S.
• Economic arguments for immigration reform
• Legislative updates regarding federal immigration policy and state/local policies, including overviews of state policies like those in Arizona and Alabama
• Programming ideas for how to get your community involved in immigration advocacy

Featured Speakers Include:

• Jane Ramsey, JCUA
• Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism,
• Ira Azulay , Chair of JCUA’s Immigrant Action Team
• Melanie Nezer, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
• Vic Rosenthal, Jewish Community Action

JCUA, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and Jewish Community Action are the co-conveners of　We Were Strangers Too: the Jewish Campaign for Immigration Reform. This campaign

is formally endorsed by over 24 national and Jewish organizations.

You can find out more about the campaign in our recently launched We Were Strangers Too Blog.

To RSVP, please email irene@jcua.org.

JCUA Joins in DREAM Sabbath Events

DREAM Sabbath is part of a national interfaith effort to draw attention to the DREAM Act. JCUA is helping to publicize two events in the Chicago Jewish community.

Friday, Oct. 14: Congregation Hakafa

• Location: Winnetka Community House
• 620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka
• Services begin at 8 pm. A DREAM student will speak during the service.

Saturday, Oct. 15: Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel

• 540 W Melrose St, Chicago
• Services begin at 9 am, followed by a convening in the Sukkah behind the shul to say blessings and listen to a DREAM student tell her story.

Learn more about DREAM Sabbath

“Building the Momentum”: Nikki Stein Reflects on a Hot, yet Productive Day at the White House

Ten JCUA leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. on July 28 and 29 to meet with congressional leaders and members of the White House administration as part of a trip organized by the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, a group of 21 nonprofit organizations promoting economic and social justice as a core tenet of Jewish life.

By Nikki Stein
Past president and board member, JCUA
Executive Director, Polk Bros. Foundation

Leaders of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable meeting with key White House staff in Eisenhower Executive Office Building*

July 29, 2011— It was hot in Washington—104 degrees—and the debt limit negotiations were only making it hotter. But 170 of us, all progressive social justice Jews, gathered at 6:45 a.m. Chicago time and spent the day hearing from and talking to members of the Obama administration.

Tina Tchen*

Jane got shout-outs from Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen. Irene, Ira and Bruce had their briefing stories included in materials that were shared with all of us and the White House staffers.

It seemed that senior officials, like Cecilia Muñoz, director of intergovernmental affairs, and Jon Carson, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, wanted to hear from us — what we care about and what we want them to do better. We told them how much this group supports comprehensive immigration reform and any of the steps along the way to achieving it.

Broken System, Broken Lives: The Importance of Immigration Reform

On Friday, July 29, 2011 leaders from JCUA joined some 160 other representatives of organizations that are part of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable at the White House for a policy briefing to exchange ideas on housing, healthcare, food justice and education. Below is a story Ira Azulay, chair of JCUA’s Immigrant Justice Action Team, will share on the importance of repairing our country’s broken immigration system.

In 2008, Adam Savitt, an immigrant from Guatemala, was sitting on the front porch of his home in Highland Park on a Monday morning, when eight federal immigration agents showed up. Within minutes, they had taken him into custody and handed his belt, keys and wallet to his wife of seven years, Julie Savitt. They did not show her a warrant and did not tell anyone why he was being detained.

Adam was taken to an immigration detention facility. It took his wife four days to find where he was. Though Julie gave the immigration agents his diabetes and depression medication, it took several days and the intervention of immigrants rights organizations, lawyers and his rabbi for him to receive them. Eventually, Adam was deported to Guatemala.

Celebrating Tzedek/Justice: A Conversation with Changemakers from Israel and America

May 16, 2011– Progressive activists from Israel and the U.S. are speaking tonight at Hebrew Union College on issues of religious pluralism, environmental justice, women’s rights, housing and migrant worker rights. Among the speakers is Irene Lehrer Sandalow, JCUA director of strategy and Jewish affairs, who will be sharing the story of Rigo Padilla and leading a text study with Osnat Cohen-Lifshitz of Hotline for Migrant Workers on the rights of migrant workers. Conversation to follow will be focused on the impact immigrants have on the country.

• Find the event on Facebook
• Learn about JCUA’s immigration work