Leaders Call for Immigration Reform on One Year Anniversary of Postville Immigration Raid
For Immediate Release: Contact: Allison Johnson
May 12, 2009 612-804-4766
Leaders Call for Immigration Reform on One Year Anniversary of Postville Immigration Raid
More than 40 Commemoration Vigils around the Country Raise Awareness of Devastating Raid Impacts
Postville, IA - Today, one day before the one-year anniversary of the devastating Postville immigration raid, faith and labor leaders hosted a press call to highlight the need for immigration reform. Leaders discussed the long term effects immigration raids have had on their communities and announced over 40 vigils and services taking place nationwide in commemoration of the May 12th, 2008 Postville raid. Events around the country will feature ringing of church bells and calls for worker justice, family unity and just and humane immigration reform.
"As we commemorate this anniversary we stand in solidarity with the 389 workers who were detained, said Sister Mary McCauley, BVM, Pastoral Administrator for St. Bridget's Parish in Postville at the time of the raid. "We vigorously call for comprehensive immigration reform, just labor practices, family reunification and an end to raids. We cannot permit what happened in Postville, Iowa on May 12, 2008 to happen to another town or group of people. It is our hope that the tragedy of Postville will bring about a change in our immigration law.”
Mark Lauritsen, International Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and Director of its Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division continued by saying "it is important that we take time not only to remember the tragic outcome of the raids, and to offer our prayers to the families and workers, but that we also use this historical marker as an opportunity to chart a new course for the future-One that includes comprehensive immigration reform and aggressive enforcement of our nation's labor laws.”
Lauritsen concluded, "the raids in Postville and across the country will go down as a dark period in our nation's history. The Bush Administration's heavy handed enforcement tactics left in its wake devastated communities and broken families. They did nothing to fix our broken immigration system or to protect the vulnerable men, women and children who are exploited by bad employers.
Lauri Lowell, Director, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New Haven highlighted that "municipalities have a difficult time trying to encourage civic involvement and cooperation with local law enforcement with a community of residents who are living in the shadows, so to speak. But when New Haven tried to rectify this problem by instituting the Elm City Resident Card, ICE raided the immigrant community within 36 hours. It certainly seemed as though the federal government was sending a message to other local governments not to follow New Haven's lead.”
Father Marc Fallon of Catholic Social Services of New Bedford, MA continued, "the Supreme Court decision last week, which rejected the federal identity theft charges of the immigrants detained in Postville, reflects the unwillingness of ICE to consider from the outset the lived realities of immigrant workers. Of 361 workers detained in the New Bedford, MA, raid, over 200 have either been released for custodial care of minor children or in the process of normalizing their status or applying for political asylum.”
To listen to the press call recording please visit www.sojo.net/postville. Below, is a list of Commemoration Vigils happening nationwide on the one-year anniversary of the Postville immigration raid.
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May 12, 2009, Day of Action and Remembrance
In Commemoration of Postville, IA
Events around the country
Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community
San Diego, CA
Echo Park United Methodist Church
Los Angeles, CA
Grace Cathedral
San Francisco, CA
DeMarillac Academy
San Francisco, CA
Church Divinity School of the Pacific
Berkeley, CA
Our Lady of Soledad
Coachella, CA
American Friends Service Committee,
Aurora, CO
NETWORK: A Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Washington, DC
Postville, various locations
Postville, IA
Blessed Sacrament Church
Waterloo, IA
St. Ambrose Cathedral
Des Moines, IA
Our Lady of Lourdes Church
Bettendorf, IA
Catholic Diocese of Sioux City
Sioux City, IA
The Canticle Retreat Center
Clinton, IA
Clinton Franciscan Motherhouse
Clinton, IA
Humboldt Park United Methodist Church
Chicago, IL
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Federal Plaza
Chicago, IL
Immigrant Justice Advocacy Movement, Washington Park/
Kansas City, KS
Saint Joseph the Worker Catholic Church
Wyoming, MI
Sisters of Mercy
Hamtramack, MI
Ramsey County Jail
St. Paul, MN
Loretto Center
St. Louis, MO
Nerinx Hall High School
St. Louis, MO
IJAM,
Kansas City, MO
St. Henry Church
Bayonne, NJ
New Jersey State House
Trenton, NJ
CAUSA, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Coalition
Salem, OR
TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition
Knoxville, TN
The chapel at St. Dominic's Villa
Houston, TX
Northwest Detention Center
Tacoma, WA
First Methodist Church
Appleton, WI
School Sisters of Notre Dame Motherhouse
Milwaukee, WI
St. Adalbert Catholic Church
Milwaukee, WI
St Norbert Abbey
Green Bay, WI
