TRP Pushes for Immigrant Rights in Springfield
ICIRR and TRP sponsored this Lobby Day in which hundreds visited Springfiled,IL to voice their opinions.
On Tuesday April 15th, The Resurrection Project and its community leaders, activist, local parishioners and supporters went to Springfield to influence policy for the common good. During this Lobby Day, our political representatives including House Representatives and Illinois Senators opened their doors for some “quality time”, exchanging ideas, listening to opinions, and hearing the ever growing needs and concerns of their electorate.
Prepared with an ambitious agenda—including voicing opposition to a House proposal that directs the state to report undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes to the federal government for deportation—TRP and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) left Chicago with the goal of influencing policymakers to take action on current issues affecting our communities. Among the issues we are interested in is an amendment to House Bill 2747 (also known as Access to Religious Ministry Act) a proposal that would allow undocumented detainees to have greater access to clergy and other religious counsel while in jail. This proposal filed by Rep. Daniel J. Burke back on April 9, was approved 8 to 3 in its last hearing. It is now moving to the House Executive Committee as we wait for its enactment into law soon. However, participants spoke with their legislators and urged them not to lose momentum and continue to push the bill forward, as it will allow priests and imams to counsel immigrant detainees and asylum seekers during difficult times away from their families.
2nd District Representative Edward Acevedo celebrates new citizens.
TRP, in partnership with ICIRR, sponsored this day of events, which also incorporated a celebration of 100 new American Citizens as the first ever New Citizens Day in Springfield. A diverse group of newly naturalized individuals from continents such as Asia, Europe and the Americas were met with a standing ovation in the State legislature in recognition for becoming active participants in the civic life of this country. There new citizens expressed the importance of continuing support to programs like the New American Initiative, the We Want to Learn English Initiative, and the Outreach and Interpretation project.
Among other discussion, participants also demanded lawmakers to provide an additional $500,000 in funding for the state’s citizenship program to address the growing number of applicants in Illinois, since applications in Illinois have almost doubled during the national debate over immigration policy.
As ICIRR and TRP push forward for comprehensive immigration reform, we will continue activities like rallying at the Statehouse to lobby lawmakers on behalf of legal and undocumented immigrants. Influencing policy at the State level will effectively lead us to stop penalizing hard working families for their legal status in the United States. In the future, consider joining us on Lobby Day—make your voice count.