Category: Immigration - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Advocacy Visit to Chuck Grassley's Office - After Action Report

5/11/2023

Advocacy Visit to Chuck Grassley's Office - After Action Report

Civil Rights Forum

A group from the Civil Rights Forum visited Senator Grassley's Davenport office to advocate for his support of the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would create a path for permanent residency for Afghanis who helped our government and have now settled in the United States. Three local Afghanis also came to share their stories of escape from Afghanistan and about the status of their families still there. A representative from Congresswoman Miller-Meeks' staff also came to hear their stories. The staff members were both very receptive. It was a very positive experience for everyone and the forum members were energized in feeling that we made a difference!

Allison Ambrose

Immigrants drive more innovation than others - No Hate In Our States

5/1/2023

Immigrants drive more innovation than others

No Hate In Our States

Bit by Boundless

A new economic study estimates that immigrants are responsible for around 36% of innovation in the United States, outshining their US-born counterparts when it comes to economic and technological advancements.

Read the full article here.

PACG Webmaster

Self-Identified gender on some government forms - No Hate In Our States

4/11/2023

DHS now accepts immigrants' self-identified gender identity on forms

Gender Equity Forum

Bit by Boundless

Immigrant visa applicants will now be permitted to specify their own gender identity on forms, even if it does not match the gender identity shown in their supporting documents.

USCIS (US Customs and Immigration Services) announced the policy update on Friday, adding that immigrants do not need to submit proof of their gender identity when requesting a change to their gender marker unless they are submitting Form N-565, used to apply for a replacement naturalization certificate or citizenship document.

In addition, further research revealed that any of us may use the following information to update our gender identity on some official documents. How do I change the sex identification on my Social Security record?

PACG Webmaster

Administration to crack down on migrant child labor - No Hate In Our States

3/21/2023

Administration to Crack Down on Migrant Child Labor

BIT by Boundless

The Boundless mission statement is: to empower every family to navigate the immigration system more confidently, rapidly, and affordably. Read from their March 3, 2023 email blast below:

The Biden administration announced Monday it would create a task force to crack down on the exploitation of child laborers in the United States following a surge in the illegal employment of migrant children.

Since 2018, the Labor Department has seen a 70% increase in the number of children working for companies big and small across the U.S. Last year, the department found 835 companies had exploited 3,800 minors.

According to a New York Times investigation published this week, many of these children are unaccompanied migrants who after entering the U.S. were released to relatives or other sponsors while their immigration cases work through the courts.

But as record numbers of these children arrived in the country in recent years, the Biden administration has pressured shelters to release them quickly to adults, raising the risk they will be trafficked or exploited.

The Times found that migrant children, some as young as 12, are working overnight shifts and toiling in dangerous conditions across industries, including in slaughterhouses, garment factories, and milk processing plants.

The maximum civil penalty for a child labor violation is $15,138 per child, “not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies,” the administration said in a press release.

“Every child in this country, regardless of their circumstance, deserves protection and care as we would expect for our own child,” said Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Everyone from employers to local law enforcement and civic leaders must do their part to protect children.”

The White House said it would strengthen followup procedures once a child is released from a shelter, including check in calls and help registering for school. The administration will also audit its vetting process for sponsors “to ensure all necessary safeguards are in place without unnecessarily keeping children in government-funded, congregate care settings.”

PACG Webmaster

Watch "Split at the Root" on Netflix - No Hate In Our States

3/19/2023

Split at the Root documentary

No Hate In Our States

Split at the Root follows the emotional journey of mothers separated from their children at the U.S. border and the grassroots initiative that, against all odds, reunites those families.

When a Guatemalan mother seeking asylum was separated from her kids under the Zero Tolerance Policy, a Facebook post by a mom in Queens coalesced into a movement as thousands of like-minded women across the US refused to stand by quietly. Immigrant Families Together was born - a rapid response group committed to doing what the government couldn't - or wouldn't do: reunite parents with their children separated by the Zero Tolerance Policy.

Rosy's book is now available at: The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border.

This highly rated documentary (8.8 on IMDB.com) is available on Netflix.

PACG Webmaster

Take Action for Immigrants - What You Can Do Now

3/7/2023

Take Action for Immigrants!
Comment on proposed fee increases for immigration processing through Monday, March 13th

Civil Rights Forum

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed fee hikes for the processing of immigration papers.

The public may comment on these fee hikes, which could have an enormous negative impact on those needing immigration papers. The comment period ends on March 13, 2023. You may comment at Regulations.gov by typing “Docket No. USCIS-2021-0010” in the search bar and following the prompts to submit comments.

Allison Ambrose

Donations needed for immigrants - What You Can Do Now

2/5/2023

Donations needed for Immigrant Families - Action Alert

1800 7th AV
Suites 5 and 6
Moline, IL 61265 (map)

QCAIR - Quad Cities Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees

On Jan 25, an arsonist set fire to the Timber Knoll Apartments in Moline, Illinois. Sixteen units were burned and several individuals were hospitalized.

Four immigrant families were victims of this fire. They lost everything they owned and are currently staying with friends and families. QCAIR is doing what they can to help them through this crisis.

Donations are being accepted at the QCAIR office. Donations can also be made via Go Fund Me: https://www.gofund.me/27cdccf1.

Susan Leuthauser

Amy Dehaven
563-594-0854

PACG Immigration and Refugee Summit - PACG Event

2/4/2023

Immigration and Refugee Summit - Navigating Complex Policies within a Broken System
Saturday, February 25th from 10:00 am to noon

Eastern Iowa Community College
Rooms W 116/117
101 West 3rd Street
Davenport, IA (map)

PACG Civil Rights Forum and co-sponsored by One Human Family and Quad Cities Interfaith

Join PACG and our co-sponsors One Human Family-QCA and Quad Cities Interfaith as we present "Navigating Complex Policies within a Broken System" on Saturday, February 25th from 10:00 am to noon at Eastern Iowa Community College in Davenport, IA.

The purpose of the summit is to inform participants of the various laws and regulations that affect immigrants and refugees, including visa processing, granting asylum, entrance quotas, available resources, and protections. Updates on current legislation as well as challenges with implementation will be discussed.

Spanish translation will be provided.

Our panelists (below) will inform the audience from their unique perspectives and experiences. They will participate in a Q&A session to discuss specific problems with the current laws in order to identify potential solutions that can be acted upon.

Summer Allchin has been a solo practitioner with Allchin Law Office, PLLC in Muscatine, Iowa since 2012. Summer practices exclusively in immigration law, focusing primarily on family-based immigration, consular processing, waivers, citizenship applications, and domestic abuse issues, such as Violence Against Women (VAWA) and U visas (nonimmigrant victims of abuse that occurred within the US) cases. Prior to opening her own law firm, Summer was an Associate Attorney with a small immigration law firm in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also worked as a family and immigration staff attorney with Mid-Minnesota Legal Services in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Summer received her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2007, where she was very active in the immigration clinic and received the “Michelle R. Bennet Award for Outstanding Client Services.” She received her B.A. in International Relations and Nordic Area Studies from Augsburg College in 2002. Summer is admitted to practice law in Iowa and Minnesota. She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and regularly volunteers with the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice immigration clinic in Columbus Junction, Iowa. Ms. Alchin will talk about her work and the obstacles her clients face.

Karina Garnica and Gricelda Garnica are Immigration Counselors at the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. They have more than 20 years of experience in legal family reunification and also help DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. They will discuss their work and obstacles that affect the communities they serve.

Mayra Hernandez was born in Mexico and came to live in the United States when she was four years old. She is a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient. Mayra is a first-generation college student and received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Iowa. Currently, she is a Community Organizer with Quad Cities Interfaith and her main goal is to identify and develop leaders in the QCA to use their voices and their stories to be powerful. She will talk about her own personal experiences, policies that affect DACA, and what needs to happen in the future.

Ratko Rastovic is the Program Director for World Relief Quad Cities. He arrived in Davenport as a refugee from the former Yugoslavia in 1999 and has been employed by World Relief Quad Cities since 2000, presently as Program Director. He is a partially Accredited Representative for the Department of Justice, which allows him to represent individuals before the Department of Homeland Security.

Fred Tsao is the Senior Policy Counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). In this position, he provides technical support, trainings, and presentations on immigration-related topics to service providers, immigrant community organizations, and others who work with immigrants. He also provides updates and analysis of changes in immigration policies and procedures to ICIRR members and allies, and assists with the coalition's legislative advocacy efforts. A self-described “recovering attorney,” Fred practiced law at the Rockford office of Prairie State Legal Services, where he worked after receiving his law degree from the University of Michigan. He has also worked with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation, and the Missouri Public Interest. Mr. Tsao will speak in depth about what the ICIRR does and some of the current issues that affect immigrant and refugee rights.

We are really excited to bring this group of panelists who have diverse experiences with immigrant and refugee populations to educate the public on the various obstacles and challenges faced by these populations. Our hope is that with a better understanding of what these populations face, we can work to make a difference.

Allison Ambrose

Immigration paperwork takes too long! - No Hate In Our States

1/21/2023

USCIS taking longer than ever to review applications

Boundless Immigration

Boundless, an immigration law firm based in Seattle, Washington, offers an interesting email called bit by Boundless. Sign up for the newsletter here. The article below is from January 13, 2023:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is taking longer to review applications than ever before.

According to recent government data, 82% of forms now take longer for USCIS adjudicators to review. These longer review times are significantly contributing to USCIS’ massive application backlog — the forms that now take longer to review account for 86% of the current backlog.

One explanation for slower review times is that USCIS forms have significantly increased in length over time. More than 90% of forms have grown in length since their introduction, with page totals jumping from fewer than 200 pages in 2003 to more than 700 pages in 2023.

USCIS’ recent efforts to digitize the immigration process and encourage more online form filings are also counterintuitively making the application review process slower. For many adjudicators who are trained to review lengthy paper forms, it can be cumbersome to review those same forms and supporting documents digitally.

The consequences of USCIS’ review time inefficiencies are staggering. Estimates show that it will take nearly 10 million man-hours to work through the existing visa backlog — 3.3. million more hours than if adjudicators were reviewing at their previous speeds.

Read the entire newsletter here.

PACG Webmaster

"A Brief But Spectacular Take" on immigration podcast - No Hate In Our States

1/14/2023

A Brief But Spectacular Take on embracing immigration podcast

Online

Civil Rights Forum

From PBS Newshour: Devashish Basnet is a Rhodes Scholar studying refugee and migration patterns. A refugee himself, he left Nepal as a child when his family sought asylum in the United States. Basnet shares his Brief But Spectacular take on embracing immigration. Listen to this well-spoken expert here.

PACG Webmaster