Immigration in the News
Crime-Victim Bill is Defeated in the General
Assembly
Richmond city police have seen crime against Latinos in
South Richmond drop since they stopped asking victims about their immigration
status when investigating crimes. Outreach efforts spearheaded by RIS in
cooperation with other community organizations led to this common-sense approach
to assisting victims of crime in immigrant communities.
Unfortunately, legislation that would take this
approach to the state level met defeat recently in the Virginia General
Assembly, when House Republicans voted against Senate Bill 441 on March 5. Click here to read a report on the vote in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Temporary Workers: Fact vs.
Fiction
Click here to listen to an interesting discussion about
temporary workers in Virginia in a broadcast of On the Record, hosted by Joel Rubin and
broadcast on WVEC in Hampton Roads. Richmond lobbyist and attorney Claire
Gastanaga (with the VA Coalition of Latino Organizations) and Alicia Bobulinski
of the VA Immigrant Peoples Coalition talk about the human rights and economic
issues affecting temporary foreign laborers, and representatives of a major
landscaping company describe their experiences with the temporary worker
program.
Other Recent
News
Immigrant-rights advocates have called for Tim Kaine
to veto a number of measures that are detrimental to the economy and to
immigrants. Here's the full story, as reported on March 12 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The Public
News Service has reported that undocumented workers contribute millions of
dollars each year in taxes to Virginia. Read or listen to the full story here.
Beware the
anti-immigrant backlash, warns the Southern Poverty Law Center in their "Year in
Hate" issue of the Intelligence Report
released on March 10. Learn more about the increase in hate groups around the
country here.
TIME
magazine recently reported on studies done by the Immigration Policy Center in
D.C. and the Public Policy Institute of California that challenge reactionary
arguments linking immigration to crime. Click here to read about the research that suggests
immigration might in fact be making the U.S. safer and what the critics say in
response. |
Refugee and Immigration Services of the Catholic
Diocese of Richmond
1512 Willow Lawn Drive
Suite A
Richmond,
VA 23230
(804) 355-4559
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| Welcome!
This is the first edition of our new e-newsletter.
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Show
Your Support
for RIS through
Ukrop's Golden Gift
Program
Help RIS earn a portion of the $400,000 that Ukrop's plans to donate to
charitable organizations this year through their Golden Gift
Program!
Here's what you can do...
If you used your UVC card when
paying for purchases between February 4 and March 29 at any local Ukrop's, you
earned one Golden Gift point for every $1 spent. These points are yours to
donate to the registered non-profit of your choice, and we invite you to
consider contributing your points to RIS.
Golden Gift Certificates
that detail point balances accumulated during the earning period will be mailed
to eligible Ukrop's Valued Customers in May.
You can donate your
points to RIS by submitting your Golden Gift Certificate to us before the June
14 deadline. The more Golden Gift Points RIS collects, the greater our share of
the $400,000 payout. We would be most grateful for your support!
(FYI:
Ukrop's has stipulated that households must have spent at least $100 during the
February/March program period in order to receive a Golden Gift Certificate. To
learn more about the program, please click here.) |
RIS Joins
Forces with Embrace Richmond
In November 2007 RIS stopped using the West End Presbyterian Church
basement for storage of donated household items in order to make way for the
church's planned renovations of the basement space. We wish to thank West End
again for so generously providing this space to RIS for over three years and for
the many ongoing ministries the church provides to refugees and immigrants in
its neighborhood.
RIS researched alternatives and decided to embark on a
partnership with Embrace Richmond - an exciting, fairly new, furniture and
household goods sharing program serving homeless in Richmond, who are in
programs that are helping them transition to permanent housing. Our
participation will benefit Embrace Richmond by assuring a steadier flow of
income to pay for the shared storage space.
For RIS, this means that
many donated goods, such as sofas, living room
chairs, linens, dishes, glasses, and double and queen beds will be referred to
Embrace Richmond, where they will be sorted and stored by their staff and
clients. RIS will be given "credit" toward furnishing allocations when a parish
or other organization runs a donation drive for Embrace Richmond at RIS's
request.
RIS will access households of items on an as-needed basis. Our
first household furnishing went extremely well and we look forward to a
successful partnership. Though most household items will be available by RIS
scheduling a "shopping trip" at their well-organized warehouse, Embrace Richmond
acknowledges there are a number of essential items RIS will not be able to count
on them to have. Therefore, RIS will continue to
accepts chests of drawers, eating tables and chairs, twin beds (including
mattresses, box springs and frames), pots and pans, eating utensils, end tables
and lamps. In fact, RIS has an immediate need for all of these
items.
RIS will continue to utilize the clothing closet at Our Lady of Lourdes parish to help
outfit clients with clothing, and we encourage anyone interested in donating
clothing to consider this "clothing closet
ministry." |
Film: The Power of Forgiveness
RIS was pleased to join 15 other co-sponsoring churches and community
organizations to support an advance screening of The Power of Forgiveness on February 10 at the
Virginia Holocaust Museum.The screening was organized by the Office of Justice
and Peace of the Catholic Diocese.
Through stories of trauma and
reconciliation, the film explores forgiveness as both a spiritual practice and a
lively field of scientific research, one just beginning to quantify the physical
and psychological effects of forgiving others.
"The word 'forgiveness'
may be the most provocative word in our culture today," says filmmaker Martin
Doblmeier. "There is an underlying anger in our country that we see regularly in
our movies, in the news, even on our highways. For some that anger is
acceptable while others are calling for a new direction in our thinking and the
way we interact with others. Forgiveness proves itself not only to be good for
our health, but it offers a solid first step in that new direction."
You
can read more about the film here, in an interesting article published by The Catholic Virginian.
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Be an
Advocate!
Iraq Action Days
Travel to
D.C. this April to urge Congress to respond to the humanitarian crisis facing
thousands of Iraqis who have been displaced by war or are in need of jobs,
housing and food within their own country. You'll have the opportunity to meet
fellow concerned citizens and learn from Iraqi refugees, government officials,
aid workers and experts about the situation of displaced Iraqis and what you can
do to help. Visit the Iraq Action Days website to learn more or to
register.
Catholic Advocacy
Day
Participate in the 11th Annual Catholic Advocacy Day on Wednesday,
April 9 in Washington, D.C. The event is scheduled to run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30
p.m. and will include a briefing on issues by staff of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops, followed by appointments with Senators and
Representatives. Click here for more
information. |
Especially for RIS Volunteers
Thank you to all of our volunteers for the time and energy you so
selflessly contribute to those in need. We couldn't do it without you!
If
you know of anyone who might be interested in volunteering with RIS, we are
always seeking volunteers to teach English as a Second Language, mentor refugees
or serve as homework tutors. Please contact Volunteer Coordinator Lisa Pedraja
at 355-4559, ext. 14, for more information.
For mentors and other volunteers assisting new
arrivals from African countries: The website of Tufts University's
Friedman School of Nutrition offers a useful introduction to the African
vegetables included in the traditional diets of some of our clients. Click here to learn about kittely, purslane and cassava and
how these traditional African vegetables can be simply and inexpensively
prepared for healthy meals.
If you plan
to assist a friend or client with a citizenship application this year, or if you
helped someone with their application last summer: Please be aware that
processing times have changed. Click here for an article from the Migration Policy Institute
about the backlog in naturalization applications and the latest estimates for
processing times.
Get
inspired
In 2005, the Roanoke
Times produced an award-winning multimedia series about the Somali Bantu,
who were then recent arrivals to Roanoke's Terrace Apartments. If you've never
seen the coverage, click here. It's a great introduction to the work RIS does on
behalf of individuals seeking refuge in the "unlikeliest" of places ... a
testament to the challenges facing our refugees ... and to the resilience and
courage of all seeking to establish new lives far from home.
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