Interfaith Welcome Coalition (IWC)

February 8, 2024 10 - 11:30 AM

https://tiny.cc/IWC202402

Agenda

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https://interfaithwelcomecoalition.org/

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@texasiwc

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IWC Mission Statement

The Interfaith Welcome Coalition (IWC)

is a faith-based movement

meeting the changing needs of

asylum seekers, refugees

and at-risk immigrants

in collaboration with others.

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IWC General Meeting

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Opening

Guest speaker

Immigration News and Policy updates

Staff Report

IWC Program Reports

Partner Collaborator Announcements

Next Meeting

IWC - Welcome is our Middle Name

Tori Salas, IWC Coordinating Director

director@interfaithwelcomecoalition.org

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Katie Myers, IWC Board Chair�chair@interfaithwelcomecoalition.org

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Opening Reflection/Prayer�Rebecca Flores�San Antonio Peace Laureate

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We believe that God is present

In the darkness before dawn;

In the waiting and uncertainty

Where fear and courage join hands,

Conflict and caring link arms,

And the sun rises over barbed wire.

We believe in a with-us God

Who sits down in our midst to share our humanity.

We affirm a faith that takes us beyond a safe place;

Into action, into vulnerability

And onto the streets.

We commit ourselves to work for change

And put ourselves on the line;

To bear responsibility, take risks

Live powerfully

And face humiliation;

To stand with those on the edge;

To choose life and be used by the Spirit

For God’s new community of hope.

Amen.

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Guest Speaker

Rebecca Flores, Dre Rodriguez and Tori Salas

Texas Impact Conference

Texas Impact People of Faith Working for Justice

Faith Votes

A project of Texas Impact

What Can Congregations Do?

BallotReady

Texas Impact People

Texas Impact’s

Ten Commandments of Legislative Visits

1. Thou shalt not knock.
2. Thou shalt not fail to introduce thyself.
3. Thou shalt not have unrealistic expectations.
4. Thou shalt not fail to read the room.
5. Thou shalt not be a jerk.
6. Thou shalt not threaten.
7. Thou shalt not exceed 5 minutes.
8. Thou shalt not forget to fill out a legislative visit evaluation form.
9. Thou shalt not forget a thank you note
10. Thou shalt not be “one & done.”

God, I know that no candidate is perfect,

because I’m not perfect either,

the last time I checked.

So free me of the burden of having to

vote for someone who satisfies

all my desires for a candidate.

My candidate will be imperfect, like me.

Help me to be grateful for the ability to vote,

because not everyone has that privilege.

And when I meet people voting for someone else,

help me to take a deep breath and

give them the benefit of the doubt,

because they are following their consciences, too.

Help me remember

that even though they sometimes drive me nuts,

I don’t have to argue with them,

I don’t have to convince them,

I don’t have to hate them,

And I don’t have to demonize them.

Then, after the election, help me work for unity.

Because I know that’s what you want.

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Amen.

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AN ELECTION SEASON PRAYER

--FR. JAMES MARTIN, SJ, WITH MICHAEL D'AMICO

God, I know that I don’t have to get angry.

I don’t have to get worked up.

I don’t have to get depressed.

And I don’t have to throw anything at the TV.

I just have to use my conscience and vote.

So help me remember

what Jesus taught in the Gospels,

and what our church teaches,

especially about the poor, the refugee,

the migrant, the sick, the homeless, the unborn,

the disabled, the hungry, the elderly and the lonely.

Help me remember the “least” among us,

and help me ponder in my heart

how to cast my vote for the good of all.

Immigration News & Policy

Sr. Susan, Nina & Ruben

Latest Immigration Statistics

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Latest Immigration Statistics

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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Operation Lone Star

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• As of February 2, Texas has bused:
• Over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022
• Over 37,600 migrants to New York City since August 2022
• Over 31,300 migrants to Chicago since August 2022
• Over 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022
• Over 16,100 migrants to Denver since May 18
• Over 1,500 migrants to Los Angeles since June 14
• Source: Office of the Texas Governor

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• Texas has spent more than $124 million in taxpayer money sending buses full of migrants to Democrat-led cities, Austin TV station KXAN reports, citing state records.
• Source: San Antonio Current

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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Fourteen Governors Pledge Support, Resources for Texas' Border Efforts at Eagle Pass Visit

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• On February 4, Gov. Greg Abbott gathered with 14 fellow Republican governors in Shelby Park, located in Eagle Pass, TX, and vowed to push his border security operation even further.

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• The Governors include:

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• Source: The Texan

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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Full List of Republican Governors Backing Greg Abbott

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• A total of 25 Republican governors backed Texas Governor Greg Abbott's "right to self-defense" in a joint statement issued on January 25. The governors who signed the joint statement include:

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• Read the statement signed by the Governors
• Source: NewsWeek

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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What’s in the Senate’s Bipartisan Border-Security Bill

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• The bill would create a new system under which any migrant seeking asylum would be put through a rapid asylum-determination process meant to last about 90 days.

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• Under a new power (authorized for three years) the government can “shut down” the border to asylum seekers if crossings surpass a daily average of 4,000 a day for at least seven days. The shutdown becomes mandatory at 5,000 a day.

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• The bill also restricts the use of an immigration power known as humanitarian parole.

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• The bill would create an additional 50,000 green cards each year for five years.

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• On February 6, the Senate deal on border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid suffered a swift and total collapse as Republicans withdrew support.

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• Sources: Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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Texas attorney general refuses to grant federal agents full access to border park: "Your request is hereby denied"

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• On January 26, Texas' attorney general, Ken Paxton, forcefully rejected a request from the Biden administration to grant federal immigration officials full access to Shelby Park, located in Eagle Pass, TX, that the state National Guard has sealed off with razor wire, fencing and soldiers.

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• Texas National Guard soldiers deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott took control of Shelby Park earlier in January and have since prevented Border Patrol agents from processing migrants in the area, which once served as a makeshift migrant holding site for the federal agency.

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• The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Border Patrol, had given Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton until January 26 to say the state would relent and allow federal agents inside Shelby Park.

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• Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s letter here

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• Source: CBS News

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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Abbott vows expansion of Texas border at event in Eagle Pass

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• On February 4, Governor Abbott said at a joint news conference at Shelby Park “we’re not going to contain ourselves just to this park”. He did not provide more details on what that would entail.

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• Critics say Abbott's ongoing standoff with the federal government, and continued rhetoric about an “invasion," is creating a potentially dangerous situation in the small border community and beyond.

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• On February 4, a convoy of truckers vowing to “take our border back” arrived in the area with plans to rally in a tiny border community about 20 miles north of Eagle Pass.

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• Abbott said that over the past three days, Shelby Park had logged an average of only three crossings a day.

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• Source: Houston Chronicle

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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New state law increasing sentences for human smuggling takes effect

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• A state law that would increase the minimum sentence from two years to 10 years for people convicted of smuggling immigrants or operating a stash house went into effect February 6.

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• Senate Bill 3 earmarks $1.54 billion in state money to continue the construction of barriers along the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border and allows the state to spend up to $40 million for state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development near Houston that far-right publications claim is a magnet for undocumented immigrants.

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• Senate Bill 4 creates a state crime for illegally crossing the border from Mexico. The new state crime is a Class B misdemeanor carrying a punishment of up to six months in jail. Repeat offenders could face a second-degree felony with a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.

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• The U.S. Department of Justice, El Paso County and immigrant rights advocacy groups have sued Texas to attempt to stop Senate Bill 4 from going into effect. As of now, it is scheduled to go into effect on March 5.

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• Source: Texas Tribune

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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Alejandro Mayorkas: House Republicans fail to impeach

US homeland security secretary

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• The Republican-led House of Representatives has failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border.

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• Four Republicans broke ranks and joined all Democrats in the chamber to vote 216-214 against the measure.

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• More than 6.3 million migrants are known to have entered the US illegally since Mr. Biden took office in 2021.

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• Source: BBC News

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THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS COME FROM EXCERPTS FROM NEWS ARTICLES LISTED ON OUR MONTHLY REPORT.

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Migrant Situation Update - February 6, 2024

Credit: City of San Antonio Emergency Operations | Department of Human Services

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Immigration News and Policy update

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To download a copy of our monthly reports,

please click on the links below:

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NEWS ARTICLES ON KEY ISSUES – FEBRUARY 15, 2024

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IMMIGRATION—SERVICE TO AND ADVOCACY

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IMMIGRANT FAMILY DETENTION UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2024

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Staff Reports

Tori Salas, IWC Coordinating Director

director@interfaithwelcomecoalition.org

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Director’s Report

• Staff are meeting twice a month to discuss challenges and to work on opportunities to make our programs run smoothly.
• Save the Children application completed and approved.
• SSP progress report completed and approved.
• Hospitality Collaborative has resumed meeting as we have a Hospitality Coordinator. We envision increasing the ability to serve asylum seekers by having partners all over the county/region to assist. This continues to be an unmet need.
• Organizations have visited our operations: People Serving People (in Mpls.) and 100 Angels (in Arizona).

Data Specialist Report

• Created an official Data Collection Procedure for bus station and airport. Copies available at both locations.
• Implementing an action plan for Airport Data Collection (Bus Station staff/volunteers 100% trained)
• Met with Airport Team Leads to discuss official procedures.

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Volunteer Coordinator Report

January Volunteer Impacts

• Total IWC Hours of Volunteering Hours: 490.75
• Total New Volunteers: 6
• Pending Volunteers for Background Check: 7
• Recruitment events participated in: 1(YCP)
• A group of young catholic professionals who gather together and participate in service projects monthly.
• Recruitment events planned for Feb: 1(OLLU)
• OLLU’s Center for Service-Learning and Volunteerism and the Worden School of Social Services conducts a Volunteer and Internship fair.

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Hospitality Coordinator Report

Hospitality Collaborative

We are looking for volunteers to help with coordinating services, meal delivery, assisting migrants that have family members in the hospital or hosting migrants.

Contact Kabibi Bamuamba Hospitality@interfaithwelcomecoalition.org

IWC Program Reports

Welcoming Programs

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Collaboration

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Advocacy

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Communications

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January 2024 IWC Totals:

Air: 350 individuals*�Bus: 1621 individuals**�Total: 1971 individuals��2024 Total: 1971�Monthly Average: 1971

�2023 Total: 45,552�Monthly Average: 3796

*IWC Airport numbers vary from the City of San Antonio numbers because IWC volunteers are not present Sunday and work fewer hours. These totals represent the number served by IWC.�** These numbers represent all people assisted at the bus station, including people who were served more than one day.

January Highlights: Bus Station Program

• 67% decrease in daily average arrivals
• Dec 157/day
• Jan 52/day
• % of children increased
• Dec 20% children
• Jan 27% children
• Issues: individuals/families in the US for several months still struggling to find stability

VOLUNTEER NEEDS:

• Regular weekend volunteers

New Welcoming Associate Hired: Jeraldine Brindez

Bus Station Program Hours of Operation: 7 Days a Week 10AM - 8PM

January Highlights: Airport Program

Assisted 350 individuals in January. Many from Venezuela and Honduras.

�Arrivals are down.

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Recruiting new volunteers for any day. Particular need for Wednesdays and Fridays.

Airport Program Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday 10AM - 2PM

Bus Station

Katie Myers

Airport

Barbara Edens

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Hospitality

Kabibi Bamuamba

Backpacks

Linda Lowman

Food and Lunches�Mary Lance, Kim Barton,

Dre Rodriguez

Welcoming Programs

Logistics

Elder Towers

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Learn More & Get Involved

Airport: Barbara Edens bedens210@gmail.com

Backpacks: Linda Lowman llowman@satx.rr.com

Bus Station: Katie Myers katiewmyers@yahoo.com

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Food: Mary Lance�mlance1@satx.rr.com

Hospitality: Kabibi Bamuamba

Logistics: Elder Towers��

Visit the IWC website: Complete Volunteer Application & Background Check (if required)

or Contact the Dre Rodriguez: volunteer@interfaithwelcomecoalition.org

Back to Program Reports

Collaboration

Abel Vega Avega@riotexas.org

Welcoming Programs

2024

Back to Program Reports

Shelter Network

A working group of contacts across the US, from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, that focuses on developing housing and hospitality capacity for asylum seekers.�

• Working Group Meeting: 4th Fridays at 10am Central�
• Monthly Community of Practice (long term housing)

Contact: avega@riotexas.org

MMid Texas Welcoming

Groups from Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston meeting to address humanitarian issues at the border.

Border Welcoming Committees

Every other Tuesday - Katie Myers facilitates zoom discussions between Mid Texas NGOS

Periodic Meetings with the Administration

Mid Texas

Key Updates

• Changes in encounter numbers, increased enforcement in Mexico
• Ongoing security and safety concerns for migrants waiting in Mexico
• Senate Proposed Legislation with asylum and immigration concessions - particularly proposals to further bar meaningful access to protection
• Texas expanding Operation Lonestar and SB4
• Increasing wait times for CBPOne appointments - current estimates are 4-5 months

February 2024 slides and reports

https://tiny.cc/IWC202402

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Next General Meeting

March 14, 2024

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IWC Advocacy Committee Report from January

IWC is in its 10th year

• Let’s celebrate
• Let’s take a next step and help fix our broken immigration laws.

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February Advocacy Focus

Educate ourselves

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• Immigrant injustices in Texas (new laws in Operation Lone Star
• Encourage others to vote in the primaries

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-- Copy the websites in today’s slides

Interfaith Immigration Coalition

Our national partner (and guide)

www.TexasImpact.org

Our Texas partner (and guide)

OUR LOCAL PARTNER: SA Stands & ILRC

Scroll down to the NEW resources on Operation Lone Star

http://www.endlonestar.com

(Education for ACTION)

Eyes/ears open as new laws are implemented

Scroll down …

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Texas Travel advisory

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SB 4/HB4 Know Your Rights Presentation

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Additional educational resources

www.endlonestar.com

A tool kit in PDF format

SB4 Texas Took Kit

You are always invited to join our Advocacy Brainstorming

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Next Meeting of IWC Advocacy �Monday, March 4 at 8 p.m.

request the zoom link from Tori director@interfaithwelcomecoalition.org

Back to Program Reports

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IWC Communications Committee

Contact: Joan Plotnick

Communications@InterfaithWelcomeCoalition.org

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Social Media Impact

Facebook: Reached 7800, about 4000 followers

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Instagram: Reached 457 people, 600 followers

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Tik Tok account has been created to reach out to younger audience who are into mutual aide and service. We want to show the public what we do and educate them on the complex issues of migration to attract new supporters.

OVER THE PAST 28 DAYS

IWC Board 2024

Pictures Forthcoming: Peter McGanity, Irlanda Cassidy

Contact Information

IWC Coordinating Director �Tori Salas Email�

IWC Volunteer Coordinator �Dre Rodriguez Email

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IWC Hospitality Coordinator

Kabibi Bamuamba Email

�IWC Communications Email

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IWC Advocacy Email

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Collaborator Announcements

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• Location: Oblate Center located at 5700 Blanco Rd, San Antonio, TX, 78216

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• Dates and Times: Friday, February 23 at 6 pm, through Sunday, February 25 at 11:30 am.

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• Theme: "Pilgrims of Hope Embracing the Call"

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• Conference Speakers: Fr. Anthony Andreassi; Dr. Donald Mccrabb; Bishop Gary Janak; Sr. Geraldine Klein; Bishop Mark Seitz; Sr. Norma Ruiz; Sr. Sydney Moss and Sr. Ursula Herrera, OSB

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• For more information on how to register, please visit https://txmissioncouncil.org/, or e-mail the TMC Chair, Mary Wisniewski at marywisniewski457@gmail.com.

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• Download the conference’s flyer here

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Texas Mission Conference 2024

ACROSS is the story of what happens when we set aside our politics and witness the humanity and faith of asylum seekers firsthand. Filmed in Honduras, Texas, and Illinois, this four-part docuseries follows three women and their children who escaped abuse and violence in Honduras and Guatemala, and a Midwestern church that experienced a complete transformation in their hearts when they stopped seeing these families as news headlines and started treating them like brothers and sisters in Christ.

Watch Preview https://www.acrossdocumentary.com/

Pearsall:

Underwriters are needed for our Know Your Rights presentations -- $500 donation covers the cost of one Know Your Rights presentation day

Donation Opportunities:

We are currently accepting end of year donations to help meet our needs

Website link to donate

Volunteering Opportunities:

Interpreters and translators needed who speak: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hausa, Bengali,

Long-term volunteers assisting with office work / maintenance (shredding and scanning) It requires computer skills and high attention to detail. We've found about a one month learning curve, so we can't take on people with limited availability. It needs to be at least 8 hours a week for at least two months. And we need probably three to four volunteers at this rate to get through our backlog.

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Contact Us:

admin@migrantcenter.org

www.migrantcenter.org

Fred Schellenberg Angelica Campos-Beach Merle Mory

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American Organization for Immigrants

702 Donaldson Avenue, Suite 209

San Antonio, Texas 78201

amerorgimg@gmail.com

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Citizen Workshop PDF

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English Spanish

Bi-weekly stakeholder meeting is on Fridays at 10am WebEx

Contact:Mayra Montero, mayra.montero@sanantonio.gov 210-207-8993

Newsletter every Thursday or Friday morning by email

Sign up fro the Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/ImmNews

Who: American Gateways, City of San Antonio

What: Looking for people who want to apply for Citizenship or DACA

When: Ongoing

Where: Virtual workshop, registration by phone

Contact: Erika Gonzalez, 210-521-4768 x.232, erikag@americangateways.org

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Who: The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights San Antonio Office

What: Call for applications to attend our training and become a Volunteer Child Advocate.

Register online for both the training and an info session at bit.ly/YCVolunteerInfoSession.

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When:

Where: virtual

Contact: Julia Beck, YC San Antonio Volunteer Coordinator, jbeck@theyoungcenter.org

Note: We would appreciate if anyone would share this information through things like newsletters and social media. Here are links to our social media posts about the training: the Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn posts.

Texas Civil Rights Project - Know Your Rights

Next IWC General Meeting

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Kristin Etter�SB4

March 14, 2024

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