Breakfast Briefing: What can PA do to protect immigrants?

Описание: On February 7 we heard from Victoria Francis, Deputy Director, State & Local Initiatives at the American Immigration Council and State Representative Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (HD-129, Berks County), Chair of the PA Legislative Latino Caucus, for a critical conversation about what PA can, and cannot, do to protect our immigrant neighbors and friends.

Jane Goldblum, an honored and longtime Represent PA donor and founder and of counsel at Goldblum Pollins & Dennis, moderated the discussion and shared the federal perspective on immigration. Jane has more than 30 years of experience in immigration law.

Here’s what we heard during the briefing:

—With immigration policy firmly rooted in federal law, the role that state and local governments have in affecting change is specific to supporting immigrant community members.

—Immigrants—especially those who are undocumented—are more vulnerable to federal enforcement and discrimination in this new administration. We reviewed how state and local policies can help reduce this vulnerability. You can read about policy examples here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I...

—Everyday activities like going to work or taking children to school can lead to contact with Federal immigration enforcement. Our experts spoke about which actions can reduce those fears for undocumented immigrants.

State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz’s message:
“We will not be defeated and we will continue to organize, mobilize and protect our community to the best of our ability.”

Guests and supporters shared various resources with us—policies to protect immigrants, summaries of immigrant rights, family preparedness examples, available mental health, cost breakdowns of mass deportation, definitions of sanctuary cities and sensitive locations, and much more. Download them here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...

– Team Represent PA