Immigration, how to control it and its implications for the US economy has been a white-hot issue in many of the mid-term congressional races across the nation.
The current immigration debate sparked at the end of 2005 when the U.S. House of Representatives passed what is now dubbed the Sensenbrenner-King Bill, or H.R. 4437. This bill got out of the House so quickly largely in part to the political maneuvering of House Speaker and Illinois Representative Dennis Hastert.
Many in the immigrant community feel H.R. 4437 is the worst immigration bill imaginable since it criminalizes immigrants and seeks to make all forms of "aiding and abetting" immigrants a felony. This means priests, doctors and teachers who help undocumented immigrants all become felons.
    To help us explore the immigration issue at our November 9th meeting, we will be joined by Mehrdad Azemum, field coordinator for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).
    Our meeting will start at 7:30 PM with a time for socializing and refreshment followed by the start of our formal meeting at 8 PM. As usual, our meeting will be held at the Lombard Commons, 433 E. St. Charles Road, Lombard.
    Mehrdad Azemun works with immigrant and refugee communities around the Chicago metropolitan area on grassroots leadership development and issue campaigns. He was born in Iran and his family immigrated to the US in 1978. He has 10 years of experience in social change organizing. Most recently he was an immigrant and education organizer with Organization of the NorthEast (ONE), a community organization working in Chicago's Uptown, Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods.
    Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) is dedicated to promote the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society. In partnership with member organizations, the Coalition educates and organizes immigrant and refugee communities to assert their rights; promotes citizenship and civic participation; monitors, analyzes, and advocates on immigrant-related issues; and, informs the general public about the contributions of immigrants and refugees.
    ICIRR is involved in many programs designed to help new immigrants integrate into American society. One of these programs is the New Americans Initiative (NAI). NAI is an unprecedented state program, administered by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Human Services. The NAI provides comprehensive services to help Illinois’ more than 340,000 Legal Permanent Residents become U.S. citizens. NAI provides services ranging from citizenship preparation to assistance in filling out applications, as well as legal screening. It emphasizes regional outreach and offers convenient locations for citizenship applicants to receive these services.
    Another ICIRR program is the New Americans Vote Campaign. In 2004 through the New Americans Vote Campaign, immigrant leaders leveraged the relationships and energy of community organizing with the targeted strategy of electoral organizing.
    These are just two of the many successful programs run by ICIRR. Please join us on November 9th to greet Mr. Azemum and to learn more about the immigration issue and ICIRR.
    All DuPage Democratic Club meetings are open to the general public. We welcome and encourage attendance by individuals of all political views and affiliations.

DuPage County Democratic Home Page

Other issues of the DuPage Democrat