immigrant

Lawful Assembly Podcast Episode 29: Gratitude for those who labor and those who have labored.

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This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of the DePaul University’s College of Law, Refugee and Forced Migrations Studies Program and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast celebrates all those who worked to defeat the amendments that tried to codify Title 42 in August, 2022.  In addition, as we celebrate Labor Day 2022, we give thanks for all those immigrants who came to our nation, offered their skills and fostered families that have contributed to the common good.

ACTION STEPS

Thank your Senator(s) if they voted to defeat the anti-immigrant amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.  If your Senator(s) voted for an amendment, redouble your efforts to urge them to convince them to end Title 42.

Urge Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act.  Church World Service provides you with a link to send your email at:  https://cwsglobal.org/action-alerts/take-action-urge-congress-to-swiftly-pass-the-bipartisan-afghan-adjustment-act/

Faith leaders are invited to urge the Biden administration to increase the number of refugees to be resettled in the next fiscal year to 200,000.  Church World Service provides you with a link to send your email: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScphVDWU93gJA5Q6ZLYcYyCbDsFwPYKjCindlkhO2Bz-dgC9Q/viewform

All are urged to encourage Congress to increase refugee resettlement to 200,000.  https://cwsglobal.org/action-alerts/take-action-urge-congress-to-welcome-refugees-rebuild-the-u-s-resettlement-program/

To be most effective please respond prior to Tuesday, September 6.  Thank you.

RESOURCES

Information on the efforts to amend the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 came from Greg Chen’s “Senate Passage of Legislation Without Immigration.”  You can find additional information on the congressional action in his post:  https://thinkimmigration.org/blog/2022/08/08/why-were-celebrating-the-senates-passage-of-legislation-without-immigration/

Find John McCutcheon’s research about the deportees who died in 1948 and his version of Woody Guthrie’s song, “Deportees,” at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxsPL4uEo34 Visit his website at:  https://www.folkmusic.com

Find Emma’s Revolution song, “Bound for Freedom” at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo9PVE_RxMI  Visit their website at:  https://www.emmasrevolution.com

We welcome your inquiries or suggestions for future podcasts.  If you would like to ask more questions about our podcasts or comment, email us at: mission.depaul@gmail.com

 

Lawful Assembly 27: Stop the Burning

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SHOW NOTES

This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of the DePaul University’s College of Law, Refugee and Forced Migrations Studies Program and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast explores the recent efforts to censor and self-censor books in our public schools and libraries.  It links some of that censorship to a fear of the newcomer and our nation’s failure to legislate comprehensive immigration reform.

ACTION STEP

Thank a librarian and ask how you can help stop the burning.  For more information, the Intellectual Freedom Office of the American Library Association offers resources at: https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/oif

RESOURCES

The Washington Post article on self-censorship and national statistics was written by Hannah Natanson, March 22, 2022: “Schools nationwide are quietly removing books from their libraries” at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/22/school-librarian-book-bans-challenges/

The quote from Fahrenheit 451 can be found at:  Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (Simon and Schuster, N.Y., 2012) (Sixtieth Anniversary Edition), p. 134.

Abraham Lincoln described the moral sentiment of a belief that all are created equal in his speech in Springfield, Illinois on July, 10, 1858.  The Speeches of Abraham Lincoln, Including His Inaugurals and Proclamations (Lincoln Centenary Association, NY: 1908), pp. 72-74.  I previously discussed Lincoln’s support of immigration in “Rescinding DACA: More than Just the Dreamers,” Update: Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Newsletter, (Fall 2017) which can be found at:  https://works.bepress.com/craig_mousin/47/

You can order a copy of All Are Welcome from your favorite bookstore or find it at:  https://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/search/site/all%20are%20welcome

You may also find a copy of In My Mosque at your favorite bookstore or:  https://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/book/9780062978707

 

 

 

 

 

 

We welcome your inquiries or suggestions for future podcasts.  If you would like to ask more questions about our podcasts or comment, email us at: mission.depaul@gmail.com

 

 

 

Lawful Assembly – Episode 15: Home

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This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of the DePaul University College of Law and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy.  This podcast links the loss of homes felt by many of the freed slaves after the Civil War, including George Floyd’s great-great grandfather, with the loss of home many refugees face when forced to flee their nations due to state sanctioned violence and the consequences of the breakdown of the rule of law.  We face challenges both at our borders, but also when we contribute to the conditions that force families to flee their homes.  We need to address ways to provide the rule of law and justice for all.  The story of George Floyd’s family history and the loss of his great-great grandfather’s 500 acres comes from Toluse Olorunnipa and Griff Witte, “Born with two strikes, How systemic racism shaped Floyd’s life and hobbled his ambition,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/systemic-racism/

Senn High School, located in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, is one of the most diverse high schools in the nation.  Its students and their families speak over 80 languages and claim over 60 nations as their birth homes.  Congratulate its graduates and learn more about our neighborhood high school at:  https://www.sennhs.org

Frederick Douglass’ call for simple justice comes from David W. Blight, Frederick Douglass Prophet of Freedom, (N.Y., 2018), 558-59.

Rev. Garrison   Frazier and the black leaders’ activism in Savannah, Georgia comes from Eric Foner, Reconstruction, America’s Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877, (N.Y., 1988), 70.

 

Action Steps:

Information about the Community Renewal Society’s Juneteenth film screening of “Crawford: The Man the South Forgot,” can be found at:   https://www.communityrenewalsociety.org/events/juneteenth-film-amp-discussion   You can find some of the current programs CRS sponsors to seek simple justice toda at: https://www.communityrenewalsociety.org/platform?sectionscroll=just-economy

Information on the National Immigrant Justice center and the “We Are Home” campaign,  can be found at:  https://immigrantjustice.org/press-releases/civil-rights-groups-send-letter-dhs-secretary-calling-meaningful-opportunity-return

Information of the proposed Berta Caceres Human Rights Act of 2021can be found at:

https://soaw.org/BertaAct2021

 

 

Lawful Assembly 11: Building a Welcoming City

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This is a podcast interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, founder and former Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy.  The podcast celebrates the thirty-sixth anniversary of former Mayor Harold Washington’s Executive Order 85-1 that prohibited city agencies, including the police, from cooperating with the enforcement activities of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.  After the Chicago City Council enacted an ordinance sharing Mayor Washington’s goals twelve years ago, the City Council recently added new amendments to Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, signed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on February 23, 2021.   The podcast commends the activism of the Chicago Immigration Working Group for its efforts to build a truly welcoming city.  To that end, that Group reminded all that “to be a true welcoming city, Chicago must start to divest from criminalization, begin to invest in our communities, and ensure true police accountability.” (press release celebrating the new amendments which includes the list of the diverse groups that constitute the Chicago Immigration Working Group):  https://www.icirr.org/News/Welcoming-City-Ordinance-is-a-win-by-and-for-our-communities%2C-but-work-remains-to-be-done

For more information on Chicago’s response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and Mayor Harold Washington’s issuance of his Executive Order 85-1, see “A Clear View from the Prairie: Harold Washington and the People of Illinois Respond to Federal Encroachment of Human Rights,” 29 S. Ill. L. J. 285 (Fall, 2004/Winter, 2005):

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2997657

 

Episode 2: New Opportunity to Oppose Proposed Regulations Precluding Asylum Eligibility

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This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. He talks about responding to the federal government’s proposed regulations that would make asylum seekers ineligible for asylum and related remedies based on purported public health considerations.   We encourage you to file your own comments opposing part or all of the proposed procedures and asking the government to withdraw the entire proposed rule.  To assist you in obtaining a link to the proposed procedures or in filing your comment, you may incorporate your remarks into one of the templates provided by the following:

The National Immigrant Justice Center’s template.

If you are concerned about unaccompanied minors or children refugee issues, you can use the Young Center’s template.

Both websites provide additional information on how the proposed regulations restrict access to the courts and prevent bona fide applicants from presenting their cases for asylum.  To be accepted by the government, please make sure your comments are filed on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, Monday, August 10 2020.

For additional information on the pretext of the public health need for these proposals, see:  https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/new-asylum-ban-recycled-pretext-proposed-rule-would-illegally-unjustly-bar-many-asylum

 

Please share this podcast and links with members of your community or faith organizations, family members and friends.  Encourage them to file comments to help ensure that our nation continues to offer shelter for refugees in need.  Thank you for your consideration of this request.

 

Your Opportunity to Respond to Proposed Changes Restricting Asylum in the United States [Podcast]

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Listen to the podcast:

This is a podcast interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. He talks about responding to the federal government’s proposed regulations entitled “Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review.”

We encourage you to file your own comments opposing part or all of the proposed procedures and asking the government to withdraw the entire proposed rule.  To assist you in obtaining a link to the proposed procedures or in filing your comment, you may incorporate your remarks into one of the templates provided by the following:

The National Immigrant Justice Center offers this template for any community member concerned about access to asylum:

If you are concerned about unaccompanied minors or children refugee issues, you might find the template of the Young Center helpful:

Both websites provide additional information on how the proposed regulations restrict access to the courts and prevent bona fide applicants from presenting their cases for asylum.  Please make sure your comments are filed on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, July 15, 2020.

Please share this podcast and links with members of your community or faith organizations, family members and friends.  Encourage them to file comments to help ensure that our nation continues to offer shelter for refugees in need.  Thank you for your consideration of this request.

If you would like more information about the documentary, “Brightness of Noon, the Intersect of Faith, Refugees and Immigrants, Part II,”

Supreme Court DACA Ruling and the Vincentian Mission

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This is a podcast interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law. He talks about the June, 2020 18, DACA ruling by the United States Supreme Court and what DACA means for the Vincentian Community and DePaul Students.

For more information visit: National Immigrant Justice Center: immigrantjustice.org/issues/daca-and-dreamers

We reference this previous episode in this podcast: “It is more than just the dreamers”

Bushra Amiwala : Explore Your Purpose

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Meet Bushra Amiwala, a DePaul student who combines her academics and faith in her pursuit to make an impact in public policy. Bushra was the first Pakistani woman and youngest candidate to ever get her name on a Cook County ballot. Her dedication to increasing representation in politics has gotten the attention of many national media outlets including TIME magazine, Teen Vogue, Glamour magazine and the New York Times. While Bushra did not win her race, she continues to advocate for youth activism speaking at over forty high schools and colleges to get her message out. DePaul’s Division of Mission and Ministry recognizes Bushra Amiwala for blending her academic goals with a deeper sense of purpose.