IAUSA Irish Apostolate

Update on the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform  

Issue: # 103 April 2014
In This Issue
May 1st National Day of Prayer and Action
IAUSA Board to Meet in Washington
IBIC holds Successful Immigration Eent
National Migration Conference 2014
Fast 4 Families
Know Your Rights
USCIS Reaches 2015 H-1 B Cap
Quick Links 

 

Current Articles 

A House Immigration Bill by August?

 

The Hill

 

 

 

Immigration Pushback:  22 Republican Senators Rip Obama for Slowing Deportations

 

Roll Call

 

 

 

Faith Leaders and Groups Make the Moral Case for Immigration Reform

 

Immigration Impact 

 

 

 

Morning Plum: Pressure Mounts on Obama over Deportations

 

Washington Post

 

 

 

On Immigration, Legislative Reform and Administrative Action Are Not at Odds

 

 

 

 

 

Other Links 

 

Join Our List
 
 May 1st is National Day of Prayer!

It is also the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker and is a Day of Action for Immigration.

 

Call the House of Representatives to Make Your Voice Heard.

 

 

House leadership continues to refuse to bring immigration reform up for a vote, despite having enough bipartisan votes to pass a bill with a path to citizenship. As Republicans are predicting that they might win control of both the House and Senate in November, it is becoming less and less likely that the House will vote on immigration reform this year. We need all Representatives to hear from people of faith that delay is unacceptable, and that we need House leadership to make immigration reform a reality. 


Call your Representative at 

1-866-940-2439.

 

You can also call the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121 or find your Representative's direct line at www.house.gov.
  

 

 

Here's a sample script:

 

"I'm from City, State, Congregation/Community and as a person of faith, I am outraged that the House has failed to pass immigration reform. The need for reform is urgent, as our broken immigration system tears families and communities apart. I urge the Representative to insist that House leadership work to enact immigration reform that reunites families and leads to citizenship for our undocumented community members."



Thank you for participating in this much-needed campaign to bring an immigration bill to the House floor.

 

 

IAUSA Board to Meet in Washington

May 6-8, 2014
Members of the Irish Apostolate USA Board will hold their annual planning meeting in Washington, DC on May 6-8, 201IAUSA Irish Apostolate4. The Board will prioritize the IAUSA's programs and activities for the coming year. Additionally, they will meet with staff from the Embassy and also spend time on Capitol Hill visiting Members of the House of Representatives to encourage them to bring comprehensive immigration reform legislation to the House floor for a vote this year.

Illinois Business Immigration Coalition holds Successful Immigration Event

 

Billy Lawless, Chair of the Chicago CELTS for Immigration Reform, and a Steering Committee member of the IBIC was delighted with the successful April 22nd event, "Immigration Bottom-Line 2014."  Over 350 business leaders representing CEO's of Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, universities, manufacturing, restaurants, tech companies and hundreds of Latino, Asian, Polish, Irish and immigrant owned businesses rallied last week to call on Speaker John Boehner to pass immigration this year and President Barack Obama to stop deportations. Billy was grateful to the elected officials and candidates present for speaking in support of common sense reform that is economically important, morally right and politically smart.

 

The Congressional delegation included Aaron Schock, Adam Kinzinger and John Shimkus, who gave their support of IBIC's principles for a common sense reform that expands visas for high skill, low skill, and agricultural workers and path to legalization and citizenship for the undocumented.

 

The IBIC will continue to work with their allies and elected officials to pass immigration reform in 2014. 

 

National Migration Conference 
2014
The 2014 National Migration Conference (NMC) is a gathering hosted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/ MRS), the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA).    

 

Please consider attending the 2014 National Migration conference in Washington, DC on July 7-10.

 

An advocacy day will take place during the conference and your participation can make the difference in the passage of immigration reform legislation.

 

For conference information and registration go to:  http://bit.ly/LssXku . 

  

Fast 4 Families Road Trips End in DC

 After 66 days on the road, traveling through 30 states and stopping in 96 U.S. congressional districts, the Fast for Families Across America bus tour made its final stop in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 9. The buses were welcomed by hundreds who gathered on the National Mall to welcome home the fasters and immigration advocates and celebrate the progress the campaign has made toward comprehensive reform.

 

"Today, the coalition of faith, labor and business came together to celebrate a victory in that the majority of America now believes that immigration reform is the right thing to do," said the Rev. Noel Anderson, a United Church of Christ pastor and leader of the UCC's Collaborative on Immigration Reform. "Although the tour is over for now, we are committed to continuing to work toward immigration reform. The UCC will be dedicated to work for immigrant rights and hold our Congress people accountable."

 

The day's events included testimonies by Fast for Families core fasters, who shared their experiences of the tour, and from the women of We Belong Together, an initiative of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, who had been fasting on the National Mall since April 7. Attendees also broke bread as a ritual to end the fasts. 

 

After the presentations on the National Mall, advocates marched in a procession to House Speaker John Boehner's office. While Boehner (R-Ohio) did not open his office door, the group left him a petition with 25,000 signatures of people who support comprehensive immigration reform now.  

Know-Your-Rights Alerts & Information 
 

Please visit the National Immigration Law Center's website,

http://www.nilc.org/kyr.html for important information on knowing your rights when encountering law enforcement, etc.

 

 

USCIS Reaches 2015 H1-B Cap

Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 7th that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2015.  USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U. S. advanced degree exemption.   

 

Before running a random selection process, USCIS will complete initial intake for all filings received during the filing period.  Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the date on which it will conduct the random selection process.

 

A computer-generated process will randomly select the number of petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will reject and return filing fees for all cap-subject petitions that are not selected, unless found to be a duplicate filing. 

 

The agency will conduct the selection process for the advanced degree exemption first. All advanced degree petitions not selected will become part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit.

 

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap will not be counted towards the congressionally mandated FY 2015 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

  • Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
  • Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
  • Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
  • Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

Join the Justice for Immigrants Campaign

The Justice for Immigrants Campaign continues to build its grassroots support for comprehensive immigration reform.  
If you want to be notified of immigration legislation updates , NOW is the time to join the JFI Action Alert list.  Sign up at: 
www.justiceforimmigrants.org
The Irish Apostolate USA is the umbrella organization for the Irish Immigration Pastoral and Outreach Centers in the United States, under the direction of the Irish Episcopal Council for Emigrants. 

Please visit our website for more information: 
 
Geri Garvey, Administrator
Irish Apostolate USA
Phone/Fax:  301-384-3375     Email: [email protected]