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Palm Beach County Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Brief description of the Coalition:
· A coalition of about 30 diverse organizations, churches and elected officials
· The PBC Coalition is also a member of the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), a statewide coalition
· The Coalition organized all of the rallies and marches in Palm Beach County, starting in September 2005, in support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. On April 10, 2006, approximately 12,000 people marched in downtown Lake Worth, a city of 35,000
· The Coalition organized several events such as citizenship days, voter registration training, etc
· We are building a diverse coalition so that we may be more strategic and have more impact on the issues that face immigrants in PBC, the state and the nation. We are organizing and building a base of people who will be able to lead and mobilize responses to the issues, put pressure on our elected officials, and educate the masses with true information. We are organizing all in Palm Beach County who support comprehensive immigration reform.
Organizations involved in the Coalition include:
American Jewish Committee, Catholic Charities Immigration Services, COAKAM-Comite Akateco Qanjobal Maya, Corn Maya (Jupiter), El Sol, Florida State Representative Susan Bucher, Grupo Guatemalteco Broadway, Guatemala Maya Center, Haitian Citizen United Taskforce, Hispanic Alliance of PBC, Honduran Organization of Palm Beach, Kathryn W. Davis Global Education Center, Lake Worth Commissioner Cara Jennings, Lake Worth Global Justice Group, Latin American Immigrant and Refugee Organization, Hispanic Jewish Coalition, Maya Ministry of the Diocese of Palm Beach, Organization Guatemalteca Maya Quetzal, Organization of Maya People in Exile, St. Peter Catholic Church, SEIU-Service Employees International Union
Our Vision and Mission:
We will work locally to build a diverse politically-conscious coalition to improve immigrant communities, their quality of life, and the lives of all working families; to promote respect and observance of human rights and fundamental freedom for all immigrants; to promote public understanding of the value of immigrants and immigrant workers in U.S. society; and foster understanding and respect among all Palm Beach County residents.
The Coalition has 3 active committees:
1. Education- Educating ourselves and the public about immigration issues and the value of immigrants in the U.S. (in the face of false information about immigrants that is instilling fear in Americans, dividing people, and scapegoating immigrants as the reason for all of the U.S.’s problems
2. Human and Civil Rights- Informing immigrants of their legal rights, protecting rights, etc
3. Voter Registration, Voter Education and Citizenship- promoting civic engagement, providing voter registration trainings and info on citizenship
The Coalition is also committed to:
· Promoting tolerance of all people
Hate speech is becoming more acceptable (Joyce Kaufman, Lou Dobbs, Ann Coulter [recent statements about Jewish people], etc) since the immigration debate
· Influencing public policy
· Educating the public about anti-immigrant and pro-immigrant bills
· Lobbying our legislators w/ a unified message
· Seeking allies (African Americans, white folks, Jewish people, immigrants, students, etc)
What you can do:
o Attend our Coalition meetings (meets monthly)
o Invite the Coalition to speak to your group, congregation, school, etc
o Attend public hearings (and trainings to prepare for the hearings) with us (Nov-Jan)
o Lobby with us in Tallahassee (March-May)
To help or for more info call: Carola Villavicencio 561-742-5929 (for Spanish) or Bob Louis Jeune 561-255-4445 (for Creole) or Christine Jones 561-797-2870 (for English
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