Immigrant Solidarity Team
The Immigrant Solidarity Team is concerned with helping immigrants and refugees to adjust to life in the United States. We work with local organizations to achieve this goal, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and RefugeeOne. We also engage in legislative advocacy and learning opportunities for the congregation. The IST welcomes all who are interested in working to build a better world for immigrants in the United States. We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 4:00pm. At present we are meeting on ZOOM. Contact Maggie Wilson or Michelle Novak through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org.
The Immigrant Solidarity Team (IST) works to establish and nurture long-term partnerships with local immigrant communities and organizations. UCE seeks to:
The IST has recently expanded its work to include the support of refugees as well. Here are some of our most recent projects:
Updates from Immigrant Solidarity Team
From the Immigrant Solidarity Team: July 8, 2022
Highland Park Shooting – Opportunities for Action
The July 4th Highland Park shooting has impacted our local immigrant community hard. Please see this message from ICIRR, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, one of IST’s partner organizations.
From: ICIRR
Date: Wed, Jul 6, 2022 at 1:24 PM
Subject: Highland Park
The ICIRR family has been devastated and angered by the events in Highland Park this past Monday. Leaders with our member organization Mano a Mano Family Resource Center have lost relatives. We cannot imagine the pain that they and the entire community are enduring right now, and we mourn with them.
We specifically note that many of the victims are members of Highland Park’s thriving Latinx community. They, their families and neighbors need culturally and linguistically competent crisis relief services as they grapple with this horrible tragedy. Those who need immigrant friendly mental health resources can visit Mental Health Resources — The Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health (ourcimh.org).
We also note that a number of leaders of ICIRR member the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) are Highland Park residents, some of whom were at the parade. They witnessed the violence and are in community with those who passed and suffered injuries on Monday. They are in our thoughts as they navigate the trauma from this horrific incident.
Mano a Mano is lifting up four Go Fund Me pages to offer support for the victims’ families who were part of the Mano-A-Mano Community.
Nicolas Toledo
The Uvaldo Family
Alan Castillo
Cristian (Red Oak student): Fundraiser by Rosa Rebolledo : Red Oak Student-Highland Park
ICIRR stands alongside the many others who demand wrap-around solutions and policies that will address public safety and save lives by tackling both root causes and immediate necessary challenges that incidents like these far too often bring to light. Whether at a school near the border in Texas, a grocery store in upstate New York, a parade in Highland Park, or in disinvested neighborhoods throughout Chicago, our communities deserve safety for ALL.
We hold everyone impacted by Monday’s incident in our hearts as we continue to demand action and fight for our collective liberation.
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
https://www.icirr.org/
228 S. Wabash Ave, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60604