Links for Further Information
This is not an exhaustive list. We need more information, especially about local resources in Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon. Please help us get more local information. Some information is repeated because it fits in several categories.
URGENT RESPONSE AND UPDATES
We Welcome Immigrants – UMC of the Greater Northwest Facebook group
Interfaith Immigration Coalition on Twitter.
HOTLINES: for reporting and verifying ICE Raid or Detention Actions
Washington State Portland Metro Area
Washington State Immigrant Solidarity Network: Connecting organizations and individuals to respond well and rapidly for ICE actions. Sign-up for Rapid Response volunteer roles. Facebook Page for events, meetings and updated information.
FURTHER INFORMATION
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Church and Interfaith Connections
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National Secular Organizations
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Alaska Connections
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Idaho Connections
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Oregon Connections
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Washington Connections
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Government Offices & Agencies
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Videos
CHURCH & INTERFAITH CONNECTIONS
We Welcome Immigrants – UMC of the Greater Northwest Facebook group for organizing the people called United Methodist in the three conferences of the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area in the ministry of being a church of welcome, dignity and justice with immigrants and refugees, and also working / advocating for changes in actions, policies, and laws to create communities, states and a United States which welcomes immigrants and refugees.
MARCHA: Methodists Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans or Metodistas Representando la Causa Hispano-Americano is a caucus within the United Methodist Church. They have gathered resources: Movimiento Sanctuario, recursos
Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) United Methodists organizing legal support for immigrants. Currently, the Seven Rivers District and the First UMC of Ellensburg are working on establishing the first JFON legal clinic in the Northwest, with hopes that more will follow.
Sanctuary Movement This national coordinating group for the new sanctuary movement has many resources.
- Immigration Raids Rapid Response: For Faith Allies
- Petition on Sanctuary
- Links to other Sanctuary Churches
- Vigil Resources
- Reports of specific cases
- Many resources for churches
United Methodist General Board of Church and Society has a variety of resources and coordinates to help churches organize around the rights of immigrants and refugees. They coordinate a Rapid Response Team network spread through the conferences of the UMC in the United States.
United Methodist Women: Global Migration and Immigration Rights A large number of materials and links to resource United Methodist Women (and others) in loving the immigrant and the refugee. United Methodist Women have often led the church in welcoming refugees and immigrants as well as advocating for their rights.
Church World Service: Protect, Welcome, Restore Hope is a movement organizing for churches welcoming refugees. There are excellent materials for connecting with refugees, learning about refugees, and advocating for more welcoming laws.
Interfaith Immigration Coalition is an organizing body for church and interfaith groups working for justice and welcome for immigrants. The resources include action alerts for advocacy, toolkits for organizing and welcoming local work, and liturgical materials. IIC Twitter Account.
Justice for Our Neighbors United Methodists organizing legal support for immigrants
Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. CLINIC is an organization of the Roman Catholic Church with many resources to help churches stand with immigrants, including:
- Toolkits,
- Trainings
- Excellent Know Your Rights Resources, such as
- Wallet Cards in English and Spanish (Spanish speakers should carry an English version too)
- Training materials: booklet and PowerPoint presentation in English and Spanish
The Church Council of Greater Seattle is organizing networks with hub churches as a way to support undocumented immigrants, encourage communities of safety and prepare for possible ICE raids as connected communities.
Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice: Oregon’s New Sanctuary Movement
SOAR Immigration Legal Services of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Faith Action Network is a interfaith network for advocacy in Washington State by faith groups for the common good including immigrants, Muslims and other vulnerable populations.
Tacoma Community House Located in Tacoma, Washington, this service agency was established to work with immigrants by United Methodist Women and continues to do so, though the nationalities and languages of the persons served have changed through the decades.
American Friends Service Committee: Sanctuary Everywhere with resources for sanctuary in congregations, schools and community. They aso have excellent resources for defending immigrant rights, fighting Islamophobia, and working to end mass incarceration.
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NATIONAL SECULAR ORGANIZATIONS
National Day Laborer Organizing Network has been working across the United States to support immigrants, recognizing that many new and undocumented immigrants work as day laborers. They have often partnered on advocacy with the The United Methodist Task Force on Immigration. Their web site is available in English and Spanish and has has information on migrant rights, videos and some great posters.
United We Dream is an organization of, by and for undocumented immigrant youth working for justice. Their web site includes:
- Information on DACA.
- News blog.
- Resources for organizing.
- Avoid detention rights card in Arabic, Spanish, English, Korean, and Chinese.
American Civil Liberties Union: Information on Know Your Rights in various languages and various situations, immigrants, Muslims, LGBT persons, reproductive rights, and more. Information is available in videos and in written descriptions as well as some free down-loadable resources and other resources are for sale.
- Basic anti-discrimination, Know Your Rights resources in many languages.
- Videos on know your rights if asked about immigration status by police or ICE officer (good and with a little humor)
- Raids Watch and what is a warrant to enter home: English
Detention Watch Network collects information on and works against the mass detention of immigrants, particular focusing on the privatization of detention centers, where corporations build wealth through the incarceration of immigrants.
The National Immigration Law Center has a wide variety of resources for immigrants, undocumented immigrants, and their allies.
Welcome America is an organization of communities seeking to become more welcoming. There are resources and connections to cities and organizations already involved.
JUSTIA is a web page resource for finding an attorney to help with a number of issues, including immigration.
Voz Hispana Cambio Comunitario @ Voz del Inmigrante Latino en Oregon (Hispanic Voice of Community Change @ Latino Immigrant Voice in Oregon) Facebook page.
American Immigration Council: laws, policies, and attitudes that honor our proud history as a nation of immigrants. Through research and policy analysis, litigation and communications, and international exchange, the Council seeks to shape a twenty-first century vision of the American immigrant experience. This is a good source for information on government policy and its affects. Check out their Fact Sheets.
National Immigration Law Center: one of the few national US organizations exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants with low income through litigation, policy analysis and communication. This is a good source of up-to-date news an analysis.
ALASKA CONNECTIONS
Catholic Social Services – Alaska provides a wide variety of services and one area of specialization is called “refugees.”
IDAHO CONNECTIONS
Catholic Charities of Idaho provide immigration and legal services.
Centro de Comunidad y Justicia / Center for Community and Justice works with immigrants and are starting to build relationships with faith communities in Boise. Phone 208-378-1368.
Organize Idaho Facebook page is not specifically about immigration but includes a concern for immigrants and refugees.
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OREGON CONNECTIONS
Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice: Oregon’s New Sanctuary Movement
SOAR Immigration Legal Services of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. SOAR also has a Facebook page as an organizing and information tool.
CAUSA: Oregon’s Immigrant Rights Organization
ACLU – Oregon, Immigrant Rights
Oregon Law Center assists low income people with issues related to work, housing, benefits, family law, farm worker law and has special services for those speaking indigenous languages from Mexico and Guatemala. While not working specifically on immigration law, they are a resource that serves many immigrants on other legal issues in their lives.
Rock Creek Multicultural Center at Portland Community College is a place for students of color to find resources and community and enable them to flourish. Facebook page.
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WASHINGTON STATE CONNECTIONS
844-RAID-REP, or 844-724-3737 ICE RAID Hotline for reporting / verifying ICE actions in Washington State. Read More.
Washington State Immigrant Solidarity Network: Connecting organizations and individuals to respond well and rapidly for ICE actions. Sign-up for Rapid Response volunteer roles. Facebook Page for events, meetings and updated information.
- Holistic work with immigrants: language, culture, resources, citizenship and more…
- United Methodist Connected and Supported
Church Council of Greater Seattle
- Networking with other churches
- Links to other organizations
- Page on confronting Islamophobia
Faith Action Network is a interfaith network for advocacy in Washington State by faith groups for the common good including immigrants, Muslims and other vulnerable populations.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
- Know your rights
- Family preparation packet (Current and locally prepared)
- Advisory about DACA (current resource for Dreamers)
- Links to other resources and agencies
- Lists of recognized immigration attorneys in Washington State
Colectiva Legal del Pueblo: Building community power for migrant justice through legal services, advocacy and education.
Refugee Resettlement Office of the Episcopal Migration Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia has resources, information for being in solidarity with refugees and for helping settle new refugees in the Seattle area.
Tacoma Detention Center – ICE – the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, is the facility which used to warehouse immigrants that it wants contained. This is not a center for welcoming immigrants, but those of us working to welcome immigrants need to know how to access detainees.
One America organizes for the rights of immigrants and refugees.
Washington State Law Help Lots of information for those in Washington State.
City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs The City of Seattle connects a variety of information and connections in this office: resources for refugees, citizenship workshops, Welcoming City, Cities of Action for immigrants, demographic data, and languages information.
Catholic Charities of Spokane Immigration and Refugee Legal Services
Washington State Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance
Governor of Washington State Immigration and Refugee Resource Page
Center for Justice in Spokane, Washington, provides a variety of legal services useful to immigrants and refugees, not including specific immigration issues.
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GOVERNMENT OFFICES & AGENCIES
US Government and Immigration:
- US Department of Homeland Security is the US governmental agency which includes work against terrorism, cyber security, resources for those who want to visit or immigrate to the US (USCIS see below), and enforcement of immigration law (ICE-see below)
- United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, is the department of the government which issues visas of all types.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, and ICE in Spanish
- ICE Community Relations Officer for the Northwest, serving Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State at 12500 Tukwila International Blvd, Seattle, WA 98168. As of June, 2017: Melissa Nitsch, melissa.a.nitsch@ice.dhs.gov, 206-835-0094.
- FAQs regarding immigration enforcement in relationship to churches and other “sensitive locations.”
Contacting Elected Officials: This web site provides information on how to locate and contact local, state and national elected officials. National phone numbers:
- White House Comments Line: 202-456-1111
- Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121 to speak with the offices of your senators and congressional representative. They will help you locate who are your senators and your representative if you do not know.
VIDEOS
- Jasmine’s Story: a 12 minute story of a United Methodist Church and a teenage girl left alone in the US when her parents were targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Free from ReThink Church/Immigration.
- Arizona: State of Fear: A documentary about immigrants in Arizona which includes conversation with United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño. Regional Media Center (PNW Office)
- Lives for Sale: A documentary on immigration and human trafficking with specific stories recounted. Regional Media Center (PNW Office)
- Which Way Home? The story of children and teenagers immigrating to the US from Central America by riding on trains through Mexico. In Spanish with English subtitles. Regional Media Center (PNW Office)
- Lost in Detention: a PBS Frontline report on private detention centers for immigrants.
- Divided We Fall: A documentary film made by a young American woman of the Sikh faith who travels across the United States after September 11, 2011 to try to understand hate crimes and what it is to be American. This has to be purchased.
- The Visitor: Tells the story of a surprise encounter and relationship between a grieving professor and two young immigrants. Commercially available. Rotten Tomatoes Review
- The Kite Runner: Follows the lives of a family fleeing war in their home country. Commercially available. Rotten Tomatoes Review
- A Day Without a Mexican: An R rated comedy. California wakes up to a day in which 1/3 of the population have disappeared and it turns out that the disappeared are of Hispanic/Latino backgrounds. Commercially available. A Day Without a Mexican Movie Page