Blog
Thank You, Elizabeth!
Aug 02, 2012
This week we received a donation along with this lovely note from 15-year-old Elizabeth:
Elizabeth chose to send in some of her allowance money to support our work for marriage equality. Thank you so much for your generosity, Elizabeth! It’s the gratitude and support of people like you that make all of our hard work worthwhile.
More >Take Action to Keep Families Together
Aug 02, 2012
The message below went out on Thursday, August 2, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.
A family court in Missouri recently ruled that an undocumented Guatemalan woman, Encarnacion Bail Romero, “abandoned” her young son after she was picked up in an immigration raid at the poultry plant where she worked and detained for two years. Not long after being detained, the court stripped her of all legal rights as a parent and granted parental rights to a couple who ended up looking after her child. The couple even changed her son’s name. It is possible that Encarnacion may never be reunited with her son.
The recently re-introduced Help Separated Families Act would address many of the systemic barriers that Encarnacion faces by preventing parental rights from being terminated due to immigration proceedings, and by ensuring that children can be placed in the care of relatives.
Unfortunately, Encarnacion’s heart-wrenching story is an all-too-common byproduct of our country’s enforcement-only immigration tactics. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) rounds up and detains undocumented immigrants without thought to whether they have children who depend on them. Currently, there are over 5,000 children in foster care because their parents have been detained or removed from the country, and 15,000 more are expected to join the foster rolls, according to figures from the Applied Research Center. These children are at risk of being permanently separated from their families.
Dozens of interfaith organizations, including the Unitarian Universalist Association, have signed a letter to Congress asking them protect the sacred bond between parent and child by passing this bill.
Can you speak out too?
Please take action today to keep families together! Click here to send your message.
In faith,
Meredith Lukow
Program Assistant
Standing on the Side of Love
Job Opportunity: Get Out the Vote with CASA de Maryland
Aug 02, 2012
Standing on the Side of Love is posting this job description on behalf of our friends working to engage the Latino vote at the ballot box this November. Please circulate widely.
Field Organizer, Montgomery & Prince George’s Counties
CASA de Maryland is hiring several field organizers for a Latino voter engagement initiative. The project will focus heavily on voter registration and “Get Out the Vote” (GOTV) efforts ahead of this November’s elections in Maryland. The program will primarily operate in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland and will involve a combination of door-to-door canvassing, phonebanking, community outreach, and more. Field organizers will be responsible for contacting voters regarding voter registration opportunities and to encourage turnout for this November’s election.
Hours: Field organizers will be employed for 6 days per week (30 hours per week) from early-August to mid-October, with the possibility of employment through mid-November. Organizers can expect to work on a typical campaign schedule. Days and hours may vary by week, but field activities will ordinarily occur seven days a week, including some evenings. Organizers should expect to work weekend hours.
Salary: $13.65/hour
Duties/Responsibilities: Duties may include, but are not limited to:
- Engage in door-to-door canvassing to register new Latino voters and mobilize infrequent voters.
- Call Montgomery & Prince George’s County residents to encourage voter registration and voter turnout.
- Conduct voter registration drives and GOTV activities with church and campus partners and at public events.
- Other duties assigned by supervisor related to position.
Qualifications:
- Ability to perform all of the duties outlined above.
- Valid U.S. Driver’s License and own transportation is a must.
- Fluency in Spanish strongly preferred.
- Previous experience in political or grassroots organizing a plus, but not required.
- Commitment to social change and to furthering CASA’s goals of increasing Latino civic engagement in Maryland.
- Excellent interpersonal and speaking skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Must be able to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends.
- Experience working with immigrant or low-income communities a plus.
To apply: Email a resume and references to david@moonstrategies.com.
More >‘No Papers, No Fear’ Justice Ride to Arrive in Austin, Calls on Sheriff to Reject Local Deportation Programs
Aug 01, 2012
‘No Papers, No Fear’ Justice Ride to Arrive in Austin, Calls on Sheriff to Reject Local Deportation Programs
National delegation of undocumented migrants to make second stop of tour in Austin, TX. Plans to rally at Sheriff’s office, hold cultural celebration, and educational event about detention. The national ride began in Phoenix, Arizona on July 29th, the anniversary of SB1070′s implementation, and aims to deliver a message of courage and support for undocumented immigrants.
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FRIDAY August 3rd at NOON
No Papers, No Fear Rally
5555 Airport Boulevard, TX 78751
Outside Sheriff’s Office
http://www.facebook.com/events/312883212141356/
Undocumented youth will join day laborers, mothers, and fathers as they come out as Undocumented and Unafraid. They will ask the the Sheriff and Chief of Police to reject the controversial “Secure Communities” program and other deportation programs that criminalize communities. For months the Sheriff has claimed that immigration hold requests are legally mandatory despite court opinions,Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s own statements, and other county and state policies that show otherwise. On Friday undocumented riders from Cook County, Illinois will expose the Sheriff’s false statements by pointing at the ground breaking ordinance in their hometown that ignores all immigration hold requests. Sponsored: Proyecto de Defensa Laboral, Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition, Grassroots Leadership
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FRIDAY August 3rd at 6:30 pm
Noche Cultural / Cultural Night
Proyecto de Defensa Laboral
5604 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78723
Welcome of “No Papers, No Fear” riders followed by Fandango Tejaz Fandanguito. Undocumented riders will share stories as well. Open to the public.
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SATURDAY August 4th at 5:00pm
Teach-In: Breaking the Isolation of Immigrant Detention
First Austin Unitarian Universalist Church
4700 Grover Ave. Austin, TX 78756
Texas residents and undocumented leaders from the “No Paper, No fear” tour will talk about their experience in detention and their work to challenge the detention system. Sponsored by: Texans United for Families, Hutto Visitation Project, Grassroots Leadership, Detention Watch Network, First Austin UU.
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The group arrives in Austin following two days of exchange and rallies in Denver, Colorado where they held trainings for local undocumented leaders and protested Colorado’s SB90. The journey was launched in Arizona outside Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio’s racial profiling trial, when four undocumented Arizonans were arrested during a peaceful civil disobedience outside the courthouse. The four were released, calling for undocumented immigrants to challenge fear and organize against those that promote anti-immigrant policies locally and nationally.
On Friday, local community organizations and supporters will rally with the riders in front of the Travis County Sheriff’s office, where undocumented youth and adults will come out as unafraid and call upon Sheriff Hamilton to reject deportation programs like Secure Communities that harm community relations and erode public safety.
Actions by undocumented students, such as coming out of the shadows events and civil disobedience actions, have demonstrated the power and results of communities acting and speaking for themselves. The riders are undocumented people from all over the country and their allies, including mothers, fathers, day laborers, people in deportation proceedings, students, and many others who continue to face threats of deportation, harassment, and death while simply looking for a better life in the only nation many of them know and call home.
More information on the No Papers No Fear Ride for Justice is at www.nopapersnofear.org, and follow @undocubus on twitter for updates.
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More >Transitions
Jul 30, 2012
The message below went out on Monday, July 30, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.
After two fantastic years managing the Standing on the Side of Love campaign, I have made the difficult decision to step down as Campaign Manager. Thank you so much for granting me the privilege to act as a guide on our shared journey.
I cannot convey in mere words how much this campaign has affected me personally and reshaped how I think about my professional advocacy. Every day, I remain in awe of the incredible passion for justice that each and every one of you holds as a guiding principle. I have been so fortunate to work with lovely, dedicated, talented, and fun colleagues at the Unitarian Universalist Association, and to meet equally inspiring people all across the country.
The individuals who brought this campaign to fruition—Rev. Bill Sinkford, Rev. Meg Riley, Adam Gerhardstein, Fred Garcia, Susan Leslie, the Leadership Council at the UUA, and our partners at Fission Strategy—infused it with so much heart. It was easy for me to pick up the baton and run with it. And it has been so heartening to see congregations and individuals across the country use this campaign as inspiration, and as a prism, for your advocacy.
New challenges await me. My plans are to return to the world of political & communications consulting and non-profit management—the work I was doing prior to joining the UUA team. I have signed on to work with two great organizations—Justice at Stake, which is committed to an independent judiciary, and Farm Forward, which seeks to reduce farm animal suffering and advance sustainable agriculture. I will also continue officiating weddings, which is one of my great joys in life. This is an ideal time for me to make a change, given my own upcoming wedding Labor Day weekend.
I will step down as campaign manager in mid-August, but will continue to assist my colleagues with the transition to a new campaign manager. Stay tuned for a job description! I’m heartened to know that the next leader of this campaign may be reading this email right now, ready to breathe new vision into this incredible movement.
Thank you for the inspiration, for the partnership…and most importantly, for the love!
Peace,
Dan Furmansky
Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love
(Photo credit: Imari Kariotis)
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