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February 12, 2015
To The Immigration Alliance family,
The last few months have been full of exciting developments for The Immigration Alliance: we launched publicly in late October; saw the President take Executive Action on immigration a month later; and continue to have new members join our Alliance to help meet the critical need for immigration legal services.
This month also marks a leadership transition for The Immigration Alliance. Our inaugural Executive Director, Damon Schroeder, will be returning to his post at World Relief as we welcome Rev. Dr. Alejandro (Alex) Mandes to the team as our new Executive Director.
Damon was loaned to us from World Relief to bring the vision of a network of churches providing legal services to immigrants to reality – and, for the past year and a half, he has done exactly that. Damon’s leadership and wisdom have helped to shape The Immigration Alliance. We are deeply grateful for the work Damon has done to advance The Immigration Alliance and are thankful that he will continue to serve as an advisor as we move into the future.
And, as sad as we are to say goodbye to Damon, we are equally excited to welcome Alex into our family. Growing up along the Texas-Mexico border, Alex has seen the complexities of immigration firsthand. He serves as the Executive Director of Immigrant Hope, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping churches reach immigrants in their neighborhood, and as the Director of Hispanic Ministries for the Evangelical Free Church of America. Alex has advanced degrees in Social Work from the University of Texas and Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Above all, he’s a uniter for the common cause of Jesus Christ. Alex begins as The Immigration Alliance’s Executive Director next week. Damon will be assisting Alex as an advisor to ensure a seamless transition.
The Immigration Alliance has great things in store for 2015 – including the development of a new Ambassador Churches campaign to equip local churches to serve as legal information hubs for immigrants. You will be hearing more from Alex about this campaign and other exciting developments in the near future.
Please join me in welcoming Alex to The Immigration Alliance and thanking Damon for his dedicated service. The task before us is immense, and I know I speak for all of the Board of Directors in saying we know with confidence that God is up to something in this Alliance. We cannot wait to see what He has in store for us 2015 and beyond.
Noel Castellanos, Chair
The Immigration Alliance Board of Directors
February 5, 2015
The Immigration Alliance joins with NaLEC to launch program to provide legal information to immigrants
Campaign to develop church-based legal information centers kicks off at upcoming NaLEC immigration rallies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — February 5, 2015: The Immigration Alliance today announced a new national campaign in partnership with the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NaLEC) to recruit and resource churches to serve as legal information centers for immigrants. This Ambassador Churches program is part of The Immigration Alliance’s mission to equip local churches across the country to provide immigration legal services to under-resourced immigrants.
There has never been a greater need for reliable immigration legal information and services following the President’s Executive Order. It is estimated that approximately five million non-citizen immigrants may be eligible to apply for benefits from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services following the President’s action.
In response, The Immigration Alliance and NaLEC are utilizing their expansive network to launch church-based legal information centers. Participating churches will work with local partners to provide access to information about the new immigration requirements and how to avoid fraud. In addition, pastors and volunteers will be trained to serve as immigration advocates in their communities.
“With misinformation circulating about immigration reform, immigrants are looking for a trustworthy place to turn for reliable information,” The Immigration Alliance Board Member and NaLEC President Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero said. “Evangelical churches have a long history of serving immigrants and have become a trusted source. Our new Ambassador Churches program will equip churches to help immigrants navigate the new immigration rules and processes.”
The campaign will launch in conjunction with a series of rallies on immigration reform executive action hosted by NaLEC and featuring Congressman Luis Gutierrez in some of the following cities:
The rally tour will include public events, workshops and other activities to educate immigrants and the broader community about the President’s Executive Order on Immigration. The goal is to prepare families to apply for relief from deportation when applications become available later this year.
“The Immigration Alliance is equipping churches – large and small, urban and rural – to care for immigrants by providing reliable information and authorized legal services.” The Immigration Alliance incoming Executive Director Dr. Alejandro Mandes said. “For us this is the tangible part of the great commandment of showing the love of Christ to a neighbor in need.”
Churches who are interested in learning more about the campaign can also participate in upcoming national live-streaming trainings. The Immigration Alliance will be providing tools such as bi-lingual training videos, marketing materials and social media kits to participating Ambassador Churches. Additional campaign events and resources will be added to our website at theimmigrationalliance.org/events.
In addition to the new Ambassador Churches campaign, The Immigration Alliance is aiming to serve one million immigrants through its church-based legal service sites by 2020. These sites provide services to immigrants including: low-cost legal counsel on immigration-related matters; support determining eligibility for immigration benefits; and assistance in preparing applications for immigration legal status.
About The Immigration Alliance
Now a coalition of 17 evangelical church-based organizations, representing more than 30,000 churches, The Immigration Alliance was formed as part of the evangelical Christian community’s longstanding commitment to serving immigrants holistically, a philosophy that has been underway for more than 28 years. With 33 church-based immigrant legal services sites already in operation and many more in the pipeline, The Immigration Alliance dreams of serving 1,000,000 immigrants through as many as 1,000 church-based immigrant legal sites by 2020. This will only be possible by a movement of God working through many denominations and organizations.
For more information about The Immigration Alliance, visit theimmigrationalliance.org.
November 21, 2014
November 20, 2014: Following President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration, The Immigration Alliance today announced it is expanding mobilization of evangelical Christian churches across the country to support the increased need for high-quality, low-cost immigrant legal services, with a goal of serving one million immigrants through its sites by 2020.
Today’s executive action has exponentially increased the need for trustworthy, authorized legal services to foreign-born, non-citizens living in the United States. It is estimated that, based on today’s executive action, approximately five million non-citizen immigrants may be eligible to apply for benefits (such as Employment Authorization) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
October 21, 2014
The Immigration Alliance today announced the launch of a national effort that equips local churches across the country to provide immigration legal services to under-resourced immigrants.
With more than 22 million foreign-born, non-citizens in the United States – and with only 12,000 private immigration attorneys and 2,800 non-profit immigration attorneys and accredited staff in the United States – the need for trustworthy, authorized legal services has never been greater.
Currently a coalition of 15 evangelical church-based denominations that represent more than 28,500 churches, The Immigration Alliance is committed to dramatically multiplying the number of sites across the country providing low cost, high quality immigrant legal services over the next three years.
November 16, 2014
Full story available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/churches-schools-groups-prepare-families-immigration-action-n248991
November 1, 2014
Full stories available at:
Serving Immigrants Saved Our Church: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2014/october-online-only/serving-immigrants-saved-our-church.html
A Clear and Present Mission: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2014/november/clear-and-present-mission.html
October 24, 2014
Full story available at: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/spanish/2014/10/24/dusa-salguero.cnn.html
October 23, 2014
Full story available at: http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2014/10/23/3582554/churches-provide-legal-services-immigrants/
October 23, 2014
Full story available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/evangelicals-boost-clinics-to-help-immigrants-navigate-legal-headaches/2014/10/23/425f4914-5ad9-11e4-9d6c-756a229d8b18_story.html