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Dear friends and allies:
This Saturday, October 3, is the 55th anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the 1965 law that is still the basis of our immigration system. The INA is the reason I am here today. It widened the door to immigration from India, which had been largely barred between the 1920s and 1950s. It enabled my father to obtain a student visa to study at the U, to obtain a green card through his employer, and to sponsor his wife--my mother--to join him and create a home here.
Until Tuesday night, we worried that the anniversary of a law that opened the doors to so many would be marred by actions that aim to restrict the full privileges of citizenship to a wealthy few. On August 3, 2020, USICS announced that, starting tomorrow, it planned to increase the fee for citizenship to nearly $1,200 and to eliminate fee waivers for virtually all applications. Tuesday night, a federal district court stopped these changes from going into effect until the legal challenge is complete.
Facing the prospect of working-class families being priced out of citizenship, ILCM's staff, volunteers, and pro bono attorneys have worked tirelessly since the August 3 announcement to advise and assist 30 clients to file naturalization applications before the changes went into effect. Thanks to the following individuals for their work on these cases to ensure that immigrants and refugees were not priced out of citizenship:
*Pro Bono Coordinator Jess Riemer and ILCM staff;
*Interns Sonja Dangler, Grace Smith, Valerie Salazar, Cathy Soto, Alice Heeger, and Johan Cavert; and
*Pro Bono attorneys Emily Anderson, Alyn Bedford, Tom Boyd, Aaron Brown, Alyson Cauchy, Amy Byrne, Paula Duthoy, Amy Funk, Melissa Haley, Scott Harris, Laurann Kirscher, Elliot Ko, Debby McNeil, Luke Olson, Garett Padilla, Clarence Patterson, Lauren Pockl, Andrew Scherf, Paul Smith, Nancy Williams, and Eleanor Wood
We also thank our clients for being both persistent and patient with the process and trusting us with your cases.
Today, we celebrate these advocates and rejoice at the reprieve granted to working class immigrant and refugee families. We know, however, that this reprieve is not permanent. We therefore ask you to join in the effort to support Minnesota's immigrants and refugees. Volunteer with ILCM. Sign up for our action alerts. Attend our events to learn more. And most importantly vote! [LINKS: [link removed], [link removed], [link removed], [link removed]]
Vote by October 14, 2020 for ILCM! ILCM is a finalist for the Seward Co-op's "Round Up" program. Voting is easy--simply vote online at this link. Voting also makes a difference. Round Up organizations receive an average of $10,000 to support their work, which would provide legal representation to assist 16 Dreamers in renewing their DACA status to build their careers and support their families! [LINK: [link removed]]
Vote by November 2 in the general election! Check out the videos from our "Get Out the New American Vote" campaign to hear what it means for an immigrant to become a citizen and vote. Remember those stories when you are mailing in your ballot, voting early in person, or at the polls on Election Day. If you are in Minnesota, all the information you need is at mnvotes.org. [LINKS: [link removed], [link removed]]
In solidarity,
Veena Iyer
ILCM Executive Director
Vote for ILCM!
We are pleased to announce that ILCM has been selected as a Community Choice SEED Finalist! SEED is a program of Seward Community Co-Op that raises funds for a different organization each month by asking customers to "round up" their purchase at the register to the next dollar. These rounded up donations can total over $10,000--that's enough for attorneys to assist 16 Dreamers to renew their DACA status, build their careers, and support their families!
Voting is open today through October 14. Thirty seconds of your time can make a HUGE difference for ILCM and the communities we serve. Vote for ILCM to be a SEED recipient, and ask your family and friends to do so as well! [LINK: [link removed]]
Perspectives: Writers on Migration
Our upcoming author series, Perspectives: Writers on Migration will kick off on October 8 with Jia Lynn Yang, Deputy National Editor of the New York Times and author of the recently published "One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965." We are thrilled to host Jia Lynn and excited that she will be joined in conversation by local writer and journalist Ibrahim Hirsi. This event coincides with the 55th anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 the same week.
We would love to see all of you at this event, and your friends and families too! Find more info and register through the link below. [LINK: [link removed]]
Get Out the New American Vote!
Introducing ILCM's new video series "Get Out the New American Vote!" We created this video series to encourage all, but especially new, Americans to vote this November. Each video will feature a naturalized citizen sharing their first experience voting in a U.S. election. So far, we've heard about Veena's mom's excitement to vote in her first U.S. election, and Pablo Orozco's desire to make his voice heard. Tune in on Tuesdays to hear more voting stories from new Americans. [LINK: [link removed]]
ILCM Fall Staff Updates
This fall we are excited to welcome four new individuals to our team and celebrate three current staff members in their new positions at ILCM. We also welcome two new volunteers to our pro bono team and welcome back four volunteers to our Community Defense team, two to our communications team, and one to our Austin office. [LINK:
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