NAKASEC/KRC/KRCC

Toolkit for National Day of Prayer9/24/2015

National Day of Prayer Conversations:

Shared Immigrant Family Struggles and Contributions

Guide to Hosting a Conversation

Table of Contents:

A. Intro– Page 1

B. Materials – Page 1 - 2

C. Timeline – Page 2

D. Sample Conversation Agenda – Page 2– 4

Note: Guiding Questions – Page 3

E. Conversation Troubleshooting – Page 4 - 6

F. Tips for a Successful Conversation – Page 6

G. Stories – Page 7– 8

H. Migration Issues: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops– Page 8 – 11

A. Intro

Goal:Conversations of 2+ people

How:Invite family members, friends, co-workers, youth group members, and individuals from other community circles

Set a specific date, time, and location to meet and have the conversation. Tell people it’sokay ifthey can’t come, you just want to know so that you can plan accordingly.

Who:

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NAKASEC/KRC/KRCC

Toolkit for National Day of Prayer9/24/2015

  • Friends
  • Family
  • Co-workers
  • Classmates & Teachers
  • Youth group members
  • Neighbors
  • People from your church or religious community
  • Members of your club, sports team, or other social circle
  • Parents from your children’s school or daycare
  • Friends of friends
  • … Anyone!

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NAKASEC/KRC/KRCC

Toolkit for National Day of Prayer9/24/2015

B. Materials

  • Conversation Guide
  • Sign-in sheet (if 10+ people)
  • [Optional] Print Outs shared by USCCB
  • Talking Points — Pope Francis and Migration
  • Pope Francis Quotes on Immigration
  • Two articles on Pope and migration
  • Advocacy Efforts: [NAKASEC/KRCC/KRC]immigrant rights work, 230+ org ‘Unity Statement’, etc

C. Timeline

  • September 21 – 23: Distribute supporting materials (created by NAKASEC, USCCBother partners) for conversation exercise to be shared with conversation leaders (eg: guiding questions); visit churches and encourage them to lead small conversations; share information with partner orgs, etc
  • September 23 or as appropriate: Press conference encouraging families and churches to download the materials and engage in these conversations with a community organization, their families, etc
  • September 24: Hold conversations across the country & send media release

D. Sample Conversation Agenda

4:55 pm – Greetings (5 minutes)

  • Host greets participants and asks them to sign-in before getting seated.

5:00 pm – Introductions (10minutes)

  • Host thanks everyone for coming and provides a welcome statement:
  • “Our topic tonight is the immigrant story of struggles and contribution. We are discussing this within the context of the immigration debate, the Pope’s message on migration, and our personal immigrant family stories of struggle and contribution.”
  • Participants introduce themselves, tell how they are connected to the host, and give one sentence on what ‘immigration’ means to them.
  • After introductions, host runs through the agenda.

5:10 pm – [NAKASEC/KRCC/KRC] Work on immigration (10 minutes)

  • Goal: to have a sensible and humane conversation about the strugglesof migrants oversees and immigrants at home in the US; their contributions, hopes, and dreams; and our American value(s) of family, etc
  • Sharesome [NAKASEC/KRCC/KRC] past/recent campaign examples such as [DACA-DAPA Post Card Campaign, F4F, Dream Riders Across America].
  • Today we will work towards that goal by:

1)Making more people aware that the hateful anti-immigrant rhetoricgoes against our core American values and history as a nation of immigrants

2)Comparing the struggle of the individuals and families fleeing from Syria (and surrounding nations) seeking refugee in Europe and the U.S. with our core American values and family story of struggle and contribution

3)Keeping this conversation alive and being active in our communities

5:20 pm The Conversation Starter (5minutes)

  • You can use any one of several options:

1)Yourpersonal immigrant story of struggle and contribution(of the host or someone in the room)

2)Stories shared in the toolkit of community members

3)News articles or Youtube clips that tell someone else’s story

4)A formal presentation or slide show

5:25 pm – Guiding Questions

Option 1: Participants’ Stories (1-2 minutes per person or group conversation)

  • How did this story make you feel?
  • Is there a time when you’ve encountered something similar?
  • What was your response? Did you share this with anyone? If so, who?
  • What was the response of your community (community organizations, neighbors, family, friends, church, etc)?
  • What was the response of the government or media? (if relevant)
  • How would you like to see your community respond to these kinds of situations?
  • What kinds of laws would you like to see enacted in order to hold our government accountable for caring for the community?

Option 2: Guiding Questions:

1. Do you have your own experience about moving to another place? Or an experience of your ancestors?

2. Why do you think people are moving from one place to another?

3. What have you heard about the situation with thousands of refugees coming from Syria and neighboring countries? What is needed from our government and community?

4. Have you heard what the presidential candidates are saying about immigrants and refugees? How did you feel when you heard?

5:45 pm – Next Steps (15 minutes)

  • Host announces future local and national actions and volunteer opportunities such as voter registration drives, lobby days, and DACA clinics.

6:00 pm – End

E.Conversation Troubleshooting

Argument #1:Immigration reform will harm working-class and middle-class Americans. [Source: CAP]

Response:The reality is that economists have repeatedly found that immigrantsdo not bring down the wagesof lesser-skilled Americans and instead find that immigrants actually have small but positive effectson native workers’ wages and job prospects. These positive effects arise because immigrants tend to complement, rather than compete with, native workers; are consumers who spend money in the economy, stimulating business demand; and are entrepreneurial, startingbusinesses and helping to employAmerican workers.

Cost and Bauer also fail to take into account the fact that immigration reform itself will improve the American economy, creating jobs and prosperity for allAmericans.Studieshave foundthat legalized workers earn higher wages, which in turn means they pay more in taxes. These higher wages circulate through the economy: Providing legal status to the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the country would create121,000 jobseach year, raise the wages of allAmericans by $470 billion, and increase our gross domestic product by a cumulative $832 billion over a decade.

Legalizing immigrants would also support the solvency of the Social Security system during its period of greatest strain over the next three-and-a-half decades, as the Baby Boomers—America’s largest generation—retire and begin to claim their benefits. During this period newly legalized immigrants would add a total of$606 billionto the system, supporting 2.4 million American retirees.

Finally, asthe Congressional Budget Office points out, S. 744 would also go far in reducing the deficit, saving $158 billion over the first decade and $685 billion over the second decade.

Argument #2:Offering a path to citizenship would reward people who broke the law. [Source: Bustle]

Response:In a sense, that's true. Similarly, ending prohibition, eliminating anti-sodomy laws, and giving black people the right to sit wherever they wanted to on the bus also rewarded people who broke the law. Reaching back a bit further, France's recognition of the United States as a sovereign nation during the Revolutionary War most certainly rewarded lawbreakers. The point here is thatwhen a law itself is unjust and harmful to the country as a whole, following that law isn't a good thing.

Argument #3:Immigrants reap the benefits of the U.S. education system without paying into it. [Source: Bustle]

Response:You’re probably referring to the 1972 Supreme Court casePlyler v. Doe,which found that states can’t deny free public education to its residents on the grounds of their immigration status.

If you disagree with that finding, you have reason tosupportlegal immigration, not oppose it.Allowing more immigrants to obtain legal status means that more people who reap public education’s benefits willalsobe paying into the system. Opposing legalization, on the other hand, means more people will be doing the exact thing that you’re saying is bad. It's a no-brainer.

Argument #4:Immigrants will make Social Security even worse than it is now by collecting more in benefits than they pay into the system.

Response:Well, first of all,undocumented immigrants already pay billions in Social Security taxes, despite being ineligible to receive Social Security benefits. But furthermore,offering legal status toimmigrants will strengthen Social Security, not hurt it. Baby boomers are about to place enormous pressure on Social Security, but increasing legal immigration to the U.S. offers a way to offset those costs. That’s because immigrants tend to be young — the average adult immigrant in the U.S. is only 36-years-old — and as such, they immediately pay a whole lot into Social Security.

A2013 studyfound that granting legal status to just 60 percent of undocumented immigrants in the country wouldincreasenet contributions to Social Security by over $486 billion. Give legal status to 85 percent of immigrants, and that number shoots up to $606 billion.

Argument #5: The Majority Of People Are Economic Migrants [Source: Huffington Post]

There's a prominent claim among immigration opponents that the majority of people who are entering Europe through irregular means during this crisis are not refugees, but rather economic migrants searching for economic opportunities.

Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed that economic migrants constitute the "overwhelming majority" of those who are seeking to enter the bloc, whilecharacterizing the current crisisas a "rebellion by illegal migrants." Orban's sentiment was echoed by other hardline conservative politicians, including Britain's Nigel Farage and Slovakia's Robert Fico.

Yet the idea that the majority of those arriving in the EU --95 percent by Fico's calculation-- are economic migrants is not borne out by reality. While there is no definitiveproof of the background and origin of every migrant and refugee entering Europe, UNHCR estimates thatjust over 50 percent of the people who have arrived to Europe by sea so far in 2015 are from Syria, a country ravaged by civil war where bombings and violence are a daily threat.

Some of the other prevalent nationalities arriving in Europe are from similarly war-torn states, like Afghanistan and Iraq. Many others are fleeing repression and sometimes forced conscription under regimes in Eritreaand Gambia.

In an analysis of migrant and refugee arrivals, The Economist estimates that 75 percent of peoplewho take irregular sea routes to Europe are from countries whose citizens are usually granted EU protection in some form.

General Concern #1:“What does this have to do with me? Why should I care?” [Source: Night of 1000 Conversations]

Response: When we let the government violate the Constitution and deny due process for some,all of our freedoms are at risk. This is not just about immigrants; it’s about all of us.

General Concern #2: “It’s hopeless.” “What does this have to do with me? Why should I care?” [Source: Night of 1000 Conversations]

Response: If that’s true, then what do we do? Where does it leave us?We have two choices:

1)Go home, lock the doors, put our heads under the covers, or

2)Try something. If we try something and it works, that’s terrific. If we try something that doesn’t work, we are no worse off. And in fact, even if it doesn’t “work” as well as we hope, we are still getting stronger, more skilled, and better prepared to try again next time. Perhaps we can’t change things, but we can prevent these abuses from changing us for the worse.

F. Tips for a Successful Conversation

  • Don’t prepare too much– keep it simple, pick & choose from the reading materials provided to best fit your need
  • Don’t worry about how many people come
  • Encourage conversation, but stick to agenda
  • Be Open and Honest: Share your thoughts and feelings honestly with your allies inthis conversation. Try not to be shy or withholding.
  • Remain Respectful: Be polite, considerate, and understanding of other peoples’feelings during the discussion.
  • Safe Zone: Remind participants that this is safe space for everyone to openly share their stories and thoughts on the issues presented

G. Stories

1. Jung Bin Cho:
Jung Bin, who came to the U.S. with his parents from Seoul, South Korea in 2001, shared: “DACA opened doors for me to do things I was unable to do before and my family didn’t have to work as much to help me achieve my goals. With DACA, I am able to pursue a degree in Business Information Technology at Virginia Tech. Although DACA didn’t solve all of my problems, it gave me some of the tools I needed to become independent and self-reliant. The more our undocumented community steps out and applies for programs like DACA, the less power our political opponents will have to take away these executive actions that benefit up to 5.5 million undocumented community members. DACA and DAPA aren’t permanent solutions, but they are a step in the right direction. I want more of our community members to apply so they can work, go to school, and walk down the street without fear of deportation, just like me.” [Source: NAKASEC]

Note: DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is program announced on June 15, 2012 allowing certain people who came to the U.S. as children who meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization and in many states, driver licenses and in-state tuition. Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time. DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability) is a deferred action program for parents of U.S. citizensand legal permanent residents, announced on November 20, 2014 but not yet implemented as of the National Day of Prayer on September 24, 2015. [Source: USCIS]

2. Bati Tsogtsaikhan:
Bati moved to the United States with his parents at the age of 10 from Mongolia, shared: “DACA has allowed me to work legally and drive and made school more affordable. With DAPA, my parents would be able to work legally, like me, which means they can get better paying jobs and take care of my brother. Life would be better for all of us because my whole family could stay together in the United States legally. I told the President that I want others to experience these same benefits and am committed to working with NAKASEC and my community to protect DACA and DAPA. No hard working family deserves to live a life in fear being separated by deportation.” [Source: NAKASEC]

3. Man Ok Cha:
Man Ok Cha, who was born in Korea in 1937 and came to the United States in 2007 to reunite with one of her daughters, shared: “Living in a new country, I realized that the United States is a nation that protects the rights of its people and ensures opportunities for its members. Numerous educational opportunities were given to even an elderly woman like me. At first, I was afraid of becoming a U.S. citizen because of the English interview test I would have to take. But with the help of the Korean Resource Center, I studied hard and finally became a U.S. citizen in 2012 so that I could invite my four children who remain in Korea to come to America. However, we have yet to be reunited due to the lengthy family backlogs. As a U.S. citizen, I encourage permanent residents to apply for U.S. citizenship. As a citizen, you receive many more benefits, opportunities, and rights. I hope that you apply for citizenship, so that you are able to vote and live to your fullest potential in American society.” [Source: NAKASEC]

H. Migration Issues: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

[Source: USCCB]

Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Position: USCCB has endorsed the passage of comprehensive immigration reform. Any legislation should include 1) a path to citizenship for the undocumented in the country; 2) reform of the legal immigration system so that families can be reunited more expeditiously; 3) a program that permits migrant workers to enter legally and work in the United States with appropriate wages and worker protections; 4) the restoration of due process protections for immigrants, such as elimination of the 3 and 10-year bars to re-entry, the restoration of judicial discretion in immigration proceedings, and elimination of the one-year asylum filing deadline; and 5) policies which address the root causes of flight. USCCB also supported the President’s executive actions creating the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and Deferred Acton for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs.

Facts:

  • More than 11 million undocumented in country; (Pew Research Center)
  • Over 2 million deported over past six plus years, with 75,000 U.S. Citizen children separated from parents each year; (Department of Homeland Security;
  • 7-year wait for legal permanent residents to reunify with immediate family members from Mexico; (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service)
  • $18 billion spent per year on immigration enforcement, more than any federal law enforcement agency. (Department of Homeland Security)

Refugee Protection