March Forth for Justice!

Workers and their families for Citizenship: Join Communities United for Citizenship (CUC) in the fight to keep workers and their families together!

Wednesday, May 1^st, 2013
Gather 5:00 pm
Rally & March 5:30 pm
Washington Park, Cincinnati, OH

Millions of families will participate in a nationwide day of action on May 1, coming together for fair immigration reform. We need comprehensive reform that includes a pathway to citizenship; a pathway to citizenship means people are free to work, to build better lives, and to keep their families together. Congress must pass legislation so families are not torn apart.

To Confirm your Participation Contact: mjpier0410@aol.com

This action is a part of Communities United for Citizenship, a coalition including The AMOS Project, Amigos Unidos Por Reforma Migratoria, Center for Community Change, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, Iron Workers of Southern Ohio and Vicinity, LULAC Cincinnati, LULAC OH, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Ohio Prophetic Voices, SEIU Local  1, UFCW Local 75, and Unitarian Universalist Council of Greater Cincinnati.

On Jun 15, 2012, The Obama administration announced a new policy to stop deporting DREAM Act eligible undocumented youth!  The policy will give the opportunity to apply for deferred action for those who meet the following criteria:

• Be 15-30 years old, and have entered before age 16
• Have been present in the U.S. for 5 years and maintained continuous residence
• Have not been convicted of serious crimes
• Be currently enrolled in HS, graduated from HS, have GED, or enlisted in Military

This deferred action policy is effective immediately and will be available to ALL youth: those in deportation proceedings, those with final orders of removal, and those in no proceedings at all. This will allow eligible youth to obtain a work permit and will effectively remove the threat of deportation for up to two years, with repeated extensions.

Click here to watch the President’s remarks. He emphasizes stopping the deportation of DREAM eligible youth is the right thing to do and pushes Congress to pass the DREAM Act.

This is a BIG WIN for all involved in the Immigration Reform Movement including the youth that participated in the Immigration Justice Conference in March. Many of those young people were part of Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, an organization that works on Immigration issues and concerns in the Cincinnati area through education, networking and advocacy.

For years, young immigrants across the United States have come of age organizing for their rights to become full Americans through passage of the Dream Act, legislation well supported by the US Catholic Bishops. Every year, 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from US high schools only to find their dreams deferred because their lack of immigration status.

The failure of passage of the DREAM Act has activated youth across the country to pursue their dreams. In Cincinnati, fifty of our finest students want to add their voices to thousands of immigrant rights activists in Washington D.C for a mass mobilization, called the National DREAM Act Graduation. A national campaign organized by National Immigrant Youth Alliance and Dreamactivist.org. The assembly will take place June 26th and will include visits by these courageous students to hundreds of Congressional offices.

Though the students will ride a bus all night and the next day to save money, the bust trip is costly. Your donation will bring us closer to our goal of $3,500. Many community leaders are on board on this project. Our community is clearly excited and eager to bring Cincinnati youth to the national level. You can be a part of that excitement by supporting our youth with a generous donation.

A donation can be made online at www.ijpc-cincinnati.org/join-ijpc/donate, or you can also send a check payable to Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, 215 E 14th St. Cincinnati, OH 45202. For more information, please contact Mayra Alza directly at mayra@ijpc-cincinnati.org, or 513.579.8547.

(fotos por Jorge Vila)

(fotos por Jorge Vila)

Check out the post Mike Corradini blogged on the Physicians for Human Rights website today.  Go to  http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/blog/marching-for-immigration-justice-in-cincinati.html