Archive for February 27, 2006

The Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice, an organization of about 40 churches across the state, came together on Sunday to start a grass-roots effort to improve the lives of immigrants in the state as well as fight against the "anti-immigrant" movement gaining momentum across the country.

The group hopes to hold an educational forum each month to raise
awareness about issues facing immigrants in Connecticut, including job
exploitation and access to health care.

Quite a few people spoke at this event, focusing on several issues related to immigrants:

"We need to work to diminish the anti-immigrant feeling that is around.
These people are not threatening anyone. They are not felons," Alstrum
said. "They are hardworking people who are not taking jobs from anyone,
but instead are taking the jobs no one wants."

…

Margarita Ledesma, a social worker, said immigrants who have cancer or
AIDS are not receiving medical care because they are afraid they will
be arrested if they show up at a doctor’s office.

Many states across the country have passed legislation to deal with the influx of immigrants:

As illegal immigrants have spread throughout the country and Congress
has been unable to pass an immigration reform bill, some states have
passed their own legislation to address the issues. In the first six
months of last year, states considered nearly 300 immigration-related
bills and passed 36 of them, according to the National Conference of
State Legislatures.

Florida allowed state law officers to
arrest illegal immigrants. Arizona barred day laborer centers from
receiving public funds, and Virginia denied some state benefits to
undocumented workers.

This year, the proposals include cutting
off benefits to illegal immigrants, allowing local police to identify
those in the country illegally and, in Arizona, sending National Guard
troops to secure the Mexican border.

Mayor Eddie Perez had one of the smartest comments on this issue:

"Rather than being reactive, I hope to be proactive on these issues."