Submitted by Sitara Nath
“And what makes this country great for me, as an immigrant and now, a United States citizen, is really that America is a place I can finally call home,” said Meenu Nath, a local Olympia constituent and one of the 12 community members who lobbied Congressmen Denny Heck’s Lacey office for compassionate immigration reform on Thursday, May 18. The combination of leaders, local activists and faith-based organizations came together to ask Representative Heck to cosponsor the BRIDGE Act, a bipartisan bill which will protect young, undocumented immigrants if their protected status is revoked.
The visit was organized by Sitara Nath, a local community organizer who takes part in the Advocacy Corps Intern Program with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a DC – based Quaker lobbyist group in the public interest. Last year, after attending a conference in Washington D.C. just days after the presidential election, Nath’s interest in compassionate immigration reform grew stronger as anti-immigrant rhetoric continued emanating from the White House. Now back in Olympia, Nath has teamed up with the Strengthening Sanctuary Faith Network, a local coalition of faith activists who seek to support immigrant communities in the area. Dallas Roberts, the congressman’s district representative, met with the constituents and reiterated the power of stories in immigration advocacy.
“What we really need is people like all of you out there and sharing these stories with other members of Congress as well – it would really support the Representative if other Washington leaders were united on this issue,” said Roberts, who also noted that the Representative is supportive of the BRIDGE Act but, due to the bipartisan nature of the bill, needs a Republican congressional member to sign on alongside him.
At the visit, the constituents discussed their personal stories in relation to the BRIDGE Act in an effort to bring politics back to personal roots. Beth Halpern, a member of Strengthening Sanctuary and an ally through the Temple Beth Hatfiloh, shared a moving story of a young woman she is acquainted with who has excelled in her education but is restricted from further pursuing her dreams due to her undocumented status.
Charo Portaro, the Director of Educational Programs at CIELO (Central Integral Educativo de Olympia) also joined the visit to discuss how the Congressman’s legislative decisions impact the immigrant communities she works with.
“We are working to change lives through education,” said Portaro of the programs which CIELO offers, including English classes, GED preparation courses and sewing classes, to build support for immigrant families in Olympia. Portaro concluded firmly that, “This is an issue which comes down to our basic humanity and that’s why I am here – that’s why we want the Representative to support this issue.”
You can learn more about CIELO and their volunteer-based programs by visiting the CIELO website or by emailing cieloproject@comcast.net. You can also find information regarding the Strengthening Sanctuary Faith Network, which provides ‘Know Your Rights’ training and Family Safety Planning, through the local Interfaith Works newsletter. To contact Sitara Nath about local lobbying opportunities for compassionate immigration reform, you can email her at sitaranath@gmail.com.
