Member Spotlight--Lori

Member Spotlight: Lori

Lori moved to Louisville four years ago from Phoenix, which has a vote by mail system. Being accustomed to easy voting and high voter turnout, she was surprised at how voting works in Kentucky. After the 2016 election, she decided to do something about the low voter turnout in this state.

Lori started a MeetUp.com group called Liberals Over 50, and also checked out other local and national groups. She discovered Together We Will: Louisville through our Voter Registration Training. Along with some other members of her MeetUp Group, Lori attended our training and joined our Voter Registration Working Group. Soon she stepped up to help organize volunteer opportunities for the group, and also went out registering voters every weekend this spring. She recently became Outreach Coordinator for the Louisville Democratic Party and will be organizing their voter registration efforts. As an introvert, she has had to go outside of her comfort zone for her activism, but as a result, she says, “I’ve come out of my shell”.

Lori also volunteers for a state House candidate, managing the candidate's Twitter account. “Twitter is my outlet,” she said. She handles all of her activism and a full time paralegal job by taking time off from social media occasionally, and going to the movies or the pool when she gets too stressed out. She’s in this for the long term because, “after the November election, it’s Bevin’s and then Trump’s.”

Her advice for new activists is “Be patient, be persistent. We’re all learning.” Also, it’s important to “take initiative—no one else is going to do it, you have to do it!” 

Immigrant children separated from their parents - "Missing children" What's really going on?

There are many articles and much misinformation circulating about the children and families being detained at the border by ICE. Let’s take a minute and discuss the facts and find out how you can help.

Here's what we know.

Children are being separated from their parents.

Early in April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions began a “zero tolerance” policy aimed at migrants crossing the border illegally and called for every undocumented immigrant to be charged with a crime. When undocumented immigrants are caught crossing the border, they are taken to a federal court, and then on to detention centers to await trial. Their children are taken from them and put into the custody of the Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS/ORR).

A Customs and Border Protection official told lawmakers last week that 658 children had been separated from their parents at the border from May 6 to May 19, 2018 as the parents face charges. That’s in addition to hundreds more who were estimated to have been removed from their parents since October.

Parents will face trial and, if found guilty, could spend six months to two years in prison until they are deported. What is unclear is if these children will be reunited with their parents prior to deportation or if they remain with their sponsors until they are possibly deported.

Unaccompanied minors and minors taken away from their parents have no right to an attorney in the U.S. if they are undocumented. That means that a four-year-old would have to make their own case for asylum. Because of this new policy, we are ruining any chances these children may have to seek asylum in this country. That's probably what the Trump administration wants, but it’s not right and all asylum seekers need a fair chance at being heard in court. One Woman's story - her sons are 4 and 10 years-old.

Children lost by the Department of Health and Human Services

There are reports that the federal government has lost 1,500 children. This has understandably sparked quite a bit of outrage. What we now know is that these children are not all “lost." The Department of Health and Human Services began making calls to locate over 7,000 migrant children from October to December of 2017. Of those children, over 6,000 were still with their sponsors, some had run away, and some had relocated to live with a non-sponsor. There were 1,475 cases where HHS made just one phone call, and the sponsors did not answer.  These children were not followed up on, and many of these sponsors and children do not want to be found because of deportation concerns.  

Here is an article that breaks it down

How did this get so confusing?

What you can do:

Reach out to your elected officials. Let them know that this is an important issue to you and children should not be separated from their families. Fleeing violence, drug cartels and gangs in their native country should not be a crime. Democrats and Republicans alike are coming out against this new policy. “It’s never a good idea to separate small children from their parents,” Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) said earlier this week. “I cannot defend that, nor do I wish to.”

Simply say, “I am outraged by how our government is treating children at the border. What is my Senator/Rep doing about this?” 

• Do some research about how immigration works and understand the laws that are currently in place. https://www.informedimmigrant.com/#

• Support local immigration and charity services that help support migrants and their families. A list of local services are on this link: Kentucky Immigrants and Refugees 

• Vote! Every single vote counts. Start with your local representatives. Research and learn their stance on immigration policies and read their statements regarding the current immigration crisis. Let’s start electing candidates who have a heart and compassion. The way we can make a difference on the federal level is to start locally.

• Speak out. Use your voice on your social media. Share *reliable* articles that are offering the facts (TWW has a great blog post on how to weed out the fake articles from the real ones - HERE). If you like to write, write letters and postcards to your representatives, either opposing their views and votes regarding immigration or write and show your support to candidates who share your views. Find a local postcard party group and join in. Meet great like-minded people, have some fun and write for change.

• Keep an eye out for any local activity, such as marches or rallies regarding immigration. Make signs and show up. Voices carry in large crowds and the more people that show up in support of the children, the more changes are likely to be made. Attend events that support the integration of immigrants into the community such as this upcoming event: Global-Local Summit: A Community Discussion on Integration

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has recommended guidelines for human rights at international borders which you can read here. The reported actions our DHS is taking do not comply with these guidelines. You can contact the UN Office for Human Rights here

The ACLU is gathering signatures to petition Kevin K. McAleenan, Commissioner of United States Customs and Border Protection to stop the government from abusing immigrant children. You can find the petition here.

Amnesty International has been calling for an end to the U.S. policy of separating children at the border. Their call to action can be found at the end of this post here

Kentucky Immigrants and Refugees - local background

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
– Emma Lazarus, As seen on the Statue of Liberty

Immigrants and refugees are our neighbors, friends, teachers and co-workers. 

Refugees in Kentucky
link above

Refugees come from Cuba, Congo, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and more

72% were resettled in Louisville

Kentucky refugee resettlement program is managed by a nonprofit instead of the state government. The Kentucky Office for Refugees (KOR) serves as the state refugee coordinator’s office and administers federal funding from the Office of Refugee Resettlement for post-arrival services. This department is located within Catholic Charities of Louisville.

Immigrants in Kentucky

link above

Nearly 4 percent of Kentucky residents are immigrants, while nearly 3 percent are native-born U.S. citizens who have at least one immigrant parent.

• In 2015, 157,336 immigrants (foreign-born individuals) comprised 3.6 percent of the state’s population.
• Kentucky was home to 68,802 women, 70,300 men, and 18,234 children who were immigrants.
• The top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (19.2 percent of immigrants), India (6.9 percent), Cuba (5.1 percent), China (4.5 percent), and Guatemala (3.7 percent).
• In 2016, 115,969 people in Kentucky (2.7 percent of the state’s population) were native-born Americans who had at least one immigrant parent.

More than a third of immigrants in Kentucky are naturalized U.S. citizens.

• 58,196 immigrants (37 percent) had naturalized as of 2015, and 36,841 immigrants were eligible to become naturalized U.S. citizens in 2015.
• More than three-quarters of immigrants (78.2 percent) reported speaking English “well” or “very well.”

Immigrants in Kentucky are concentrated at both ends of the educational spectrum.

• More than a third of all adult immigrants had a college degree or more education in 2015, while one-quarter had less than a high school diploma. 

How Can You Help?

Below are some local resources that will allow you to volunteer, donate and/or advocate.

Are you, or do you know a Kentucky immigrant who needs an advocate?  

• Kentucky - Immigration Advocates and Legal Services
• Louisville Immigration and Legal Services

To volunteer, check out local agency web sites below or go to Volunteer Match. To donate, go to the agency’s website and click on the donation tab or button.

	Catholic Charities of Louisville is part of the largest, private human services network in the United States, serving people of all religious, ethnic, social and economic backgrounds. Through the Kentucky Office for Refugees (KOR) provides leadership; policy guidance and advocacy on specific issues affecting refugee resettlement. Migration Refuges Services (MRS) equips refugees with the support and assistance they need in order to become self-sufficient through services such as English, cultural and work orientation.
	Kentucky Refugee Ministries is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing resettlement services to refugees. They work with the refugees to help promote self-sufficiency and successful integration into our community.
	Americana Community Center is a non-profit organization, which provides a spectrum of services for the many diverse residents of Metro Louisville.  These services enable people to discover and utilize resources to build strong families, create a safe, supportive community, and realize their individual potential.
	La Casita Center enhances the well-being of Louisville's Latino community through education, empowerment, advocacy, and wellness. La Casita Center works intentionally to build a thriving community based on mutual support and respect.
	Global Louisville Action Plan works to enhance Multi-Culturalism. They assists in connecting immigrants and refugees to governmental and non-governmental resources.