News for Amigos de Casa San José: Dec. 22, 2017

Dear Casa San José Amigos,

Welcome back to our email newsletter! 

HELP:

• The Andraca and Hernandez families in Cecil Township were victims of a devastating house fire, around 2:45 AM, December 14th. The families, including 3 children aged 3, 7 and 8, survivied, but they lost everything that was in the house, including the house itself. A GoFundMe account has been created for donations to help them.

ACTION:  

• Every single day hundreds of young people lose their protection against deportation - over 11,000 so far, and about 800,000 await. And yet Congress just voted to again postpone considering the Dream Act. Please keep the Dreamers in mind during the holidays, and whenever you can, keep emailing your Congresspersons (use this link or just dial 202-224-3121) to urge them to pass it ASAP.

NEWS:

• A great Holiday Party held with our kids from the Jóvenes con Próposito program took place on Wednesday!
  

• Please join our community at the Three Kings Day festival on Sunday, January 7 at 1:30 pm at St. Catherine's Church, 1901 Broadway, for children's activities, ethnic food, music and much more!

• On Monday, January 15, 8 pm, at Alphabet City on the North Side, José Angel N. will discuss his much praised 2014 book, Illegal: Reflections of an Undocumented Immigrant.  

SUGGESTED if you'd like to read or hear more: 

• Illegal:  Reflections of an Undocumented Immigrant.  José Angel N., Univ. of Illinois Press, 2014.  (Available at the link for download.)  Also an interview on NPR.
• "Will Congress save Dreamers before Trump's DACA deadline?" Jonathan Blitzer,
  The New Yorker, Dec. 22.

We wish everyone a joyous and peaceful Christmas and holiday season, and thank you all for your kind interest and generous support.  We will be back in January with more news about our community. ¡Felices fiestas y Próspero Año Nuevo! 

(Earlier messages can be found here.)

News for Amigos de Casa San José: December 15, 2017

Dear Casa San José Amigos,

Welcome back to our weekly message!  Here’s what’s new:

HELP:

• We are working with the foster care services at Pressley Ridge. They are in great need of Hispanic or bilingual families that have room in their home and in their hearts to foster a Hispanic youth.  If you can do this, please call or email:  Gigi D'Amico, Pressley Ridge Treatment Foster Care - Hispanic Campaign - ldamico@pressleyridge.org - 412.583.2195. (More info. in letter attachment.) 

• Volunteers needed!  On Sunday Jan. 7, the Feast of the Three Kings celebration will happen at St. Catherine's Church.  Bakers will work through the night to create the traditional Rosca de Reyes cakes for the event and we need help cleaning up before noon. If you can do this, please email Sister Valerie at srvalerie@casasanjose.org.  

ACTION:  

• This is happening right now:  since Trump terminated DACA on Sept. 5, every day hundreds of young people - the Dreamers - lose their protection against deportation - over 11,000 so far, and about 800,000 await. Their only hope is for Congress to pass a clean Dream Act (defined here.) There is an opportunity now for Democratic legislators to insist on passing the Dream Act as part of the final December spending bill (the "continuing resolution") by Dec. 22. Please call your Members of Congress and tell them: Do not go home for the holidays before passing the Dream Act! Here's a quick easy way to do it from the ACLU.  Here's another from United We Dream, NILC, and others.

NEWS:  

• On Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 a.m. we filled a bus with 90 demonstrators to be in the March on Washington for DACA and TPS.  We joined many, many others at the US Capitol Building to demand protection for Dreamers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status.  Plus we had the most amazing signs (see above.)  A big thank you to the Fair Immigration Reform Movement for donating the bus!

• Generous friends at St. Thomas More Church have donated over 100 individually selected gifts for the young people in our 3 youth programs:  Beechwood Elementary, Bridges to the Future, and Brashear High School.  They arrived beautifully wrapped!

SUGGESTED if you'd like to see or hear more: 

• Indivisible: Love Knows No Borders - award-winning documentary about a trio of Dreamers fighting to bring their families - and all immigrant families - back together.
• The Butterfly Story Collective Podcast - stories told by immigrants, many of them Dreamers, about the immigrant experience today in the United States. See also their videos, poems, art, music, etc. on their Facebook page.  Produced by the National Immigration Law Center.

(Earlier messages can be found here.)

News for Amigos de Casa San José: December 1, 2017

Dear Casa San José Amigos,

Welcome back to our weekly message!  Here’s what’s new:

Come visit us at our new office at our Open House this Sunday!

• Where: 2116 Broadway Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15216
• When: Sunday, December 3, 2017
• Time: 1:30 – 3:30 pm

ACTION:

• Come to the March on Washington for DACA and TPS on Wednesday, Dec. 6.  We are going to join others from around the country from 12 - 4 at the US Capitol Building to demand protection for those who have DACA and TPS (see below).  (Unfortunately our bus was filled before this notice went out.)

• DHS has begun its cancellation of TPS, or Temporary Protected Status, a humanitarian program. It protects foreign nationals from designated countries, who are already in the US, from being sent back to home countries that have become unsafe due to natural disasters, armed conflict, etc.  The vast majority of recipients are from El Salvador (195,000), Honduras (57,000), and Haiti (50,000).  The administration has just ordered all the Nicaraguans and Haitians sent back. Some have been here for over 20 years. The other countries await. It will help to: join the march (above) if you can, contact the White House and your congressional representatives, and share this information with others. 

NEWS:

• Our new afterschool program at the Beechwood School is up and running!  See photos below of the children, with our interns Katie Campagna and Rachel Almeida, and our executive director, Julian Asenjo. 
• Pittsburgh’s Multicultural Liaison Unit launched Wednesday to help bridge the cultural and communication gap between the Department of Public Safety and immigrant and refugee communities.
• Monica will speak at a Discussion on Social Action and Policy Practice, Dec 7, 2017, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm, Bellefield Presbyterian Church, Fifth and Thackeray, Oakland. 
• Sister Janice was profiled in the latest issue of Steel This Magazine.

SUGGESTED if you'd like to see more:  Here's something positively enjoyable:  Coco the film, a beautiful story of a Mexican family, music, adventure, and love as they celebrate Día de Muertos.   

Thank you for joining us!

(Earlier messages can be found here.)

News for Amigos de Casa San José: November 18, 2017

Dear Casa San José Amigos,

Welcome back to our weekly message!  Here’s what’s new:

First, a special invitation: please come to our Casa San José Open House! Come get to know our new home, meet other members of our community, and share some refreshments.

• And another invitation:  please come to the 41st East End Interfaith Thanksgiving Service and hear Sister Janice as the guest speaker, and the East End Interfaith Clergy choir. Congregation Beth Shalom, this Tuesday, Nov. 21, 7:30 pm, 5915 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, 15217.

HELP:

• Give Big Pittsburgh happens on Tuesday, Nov. 28 (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving) from midnight to 11:59 pm.  It's the online giving day hosted by the Pittsburgh Magazine in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Foundation.  It's a great way to donate to Casa San José!  Please consider us for your year-end contributions, and especially, share the link -https://www.givebigpittsburgh.com/organizations/casa-san-jose with friends and social media and anyone else that would like to support our immigrants and our work.

• Volunteers needed!  On Sunday Jan. 7, the Feast of the Three Kings celebration will happen at St. Catherine's Church after mass ends at 1:30 pm.  If you can help, please email Sister Valerie at srvalerie@casasanjose.org.  

• The 8th Annual Friends Benefit Concert, which benefits Casa San José and Pittsburghers for Public Transit, is happening Friday, December 1, 7:30 – 10:00 at the Quaker Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh 15213. Featuring Smokestack Lightning, Penny Anderson, Chie Togami, and Sarah Bowen-Salio with Chuck Bowen, and the evergreen Raging Grannies.  Donation: $15 at the door ($6 for students/unemployed).  Help make a joyful noise and enjoy homemade baked goods!

ACTION:  

• A time to thank instead of ask:  in the spirit of Thanksgiving, let's directly thank our legislators who have been strong supporters of immigrant rights.  Many have stood up, often passionately, for those who have been persecuted and denounced, and have demanded their just treatment. You may already know where your representative stands, but if not, here is a neat way to see what your Congressional reps from PA are saying about immigration policy.  Here's another, for tweets  (try searching the keyword DACA and state PA.) And here's how to contact them.

OUR STORY: Last weekend, Casa San José and the Thomas Merton Center (with generous help from our Amigos!) sent 32 people of all ages to the SOA Watch Border Encuentro on the US/Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona.  They joined many others in calling for an end to violence against our communities, and learned much about history, migration, injustice, and activism.  More details to follow!  

NEWS:  

• Monica and Jeimy will speak at Supporting students of immigrant communities: a panel on the role of educators and allies.  Monday, Nov. 20, 4:30 - 6:30 pm.  University of Pittsburgh Center for Urban Education, Wesley Posvar Hall, Rm. 4303.  

SUGGESTED if you'd like to read or hear more:  

• Valeria Luiselli, a writer who was an interpreter for child migrants in the US, tells of the heartrending experiences they revealed to her and to the courts.  This is an audio review on NPR of her book, 'Tell Me How It Ends' Offers A Moving, Humane Portrait Of Child Migrants."  

A Thanksgiving Message:  

Casa San José would like to give thanks for all the kindness that exists in our world, and particularly that of our Amigos.

Casa San José está agradecida por toda la bondad que existe en nuestro mundo, y particularmente la de nuestros Amigos.  

(Earlier messages can be found here.)

News for Amigos de Casa San José: November 9, 2017

Dear Casa San José Amigos,

Welcome back to our weekly message!  Here’s what’s new:

HELP:

• MIL GRACIAS!! to all who volunteered their time and the benefit of arms, legs, vehicles, expertise and refreshments to our moving days last week.  We are now happily settled in our NEW LOCATION in the Beechview neighborhood at 2114 Broadway Ave.,15216.  Hurray!  Please come visit us any time.  We are planning a welcome celebration soon:  stay tuned.  

ACTION:

• So much is always happening in the news, it's easy to forget that the fate of Dreamers still hangs in the balance after DACA was cancelled in September, giving Congress only 6 months to act. Yesterday, Nov. 9, was a day of rallies across the US to remind us that we still need to urge our legislators to pass the bipartisan 2017 Dream Act (HR 3440 and S 1615)  There is reason to believe that it will pass now if Paul Ryan will allow it to go up for a vote.   Please keep up the pressure - on Ryan and McConnell (tweet here - it's easy!) and on your representatives.  

NEWS:  

• Sister Janice and Brandi Rojas represented Casa San José, and with other participants, spoke movingly about recent experiences of Pittsburgh immigrants at an event entitled “Faithful Responses to Strangers, Immigrants, and Refugees.” It was sponsored by the Jewish Community Center’s Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement; the Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania; and All for All, an immigrant advocacy group.  Read more including beautiful photos from the Post-Gazette here.

• Last week Sister Janice was awarded the 17th annual Pittsburgh Turkish Cultural Center Friendship Award!  (See photo above.)

• Monica has been speaking at several venues recently: at Housing & Hoagies: People's Housing Stories , a discussion on the impact of housing instability on immigrants, people of color and the LGBTQ community on Facebook, and at a forum on "Immigration: it's not that easy" sponsored by Seton Hill University and the YWCA of Westmoreland County.

SUGGESTED if you'd like to read more:  Public libraries - our own and others around the country - are making booklists to help us understand the lives and backgrounds of Latino immigrants who are our neighbors and friends.  Here are a few:

• Latino Life: Books about the Latino Experience, from the Boston Public Library
• Must-read Latino Authors, from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 
• Great children's books featuring Latino characters, from the Free Library of Philadelphia

Thank you for joining us!

(Earlier messages can be found here.)

News for Amigos de Casa San José: October 30, 2017

Dear Casa San José Amigos,

Welcome back to our weekly message!  Here’s what’s new:

HELP:

• Update from October 4: You may remember that ICE has been targeting men living with their families in Moon Township, leaving families suddenly without their head of household, and in desperate need of help. More details and an update on that story is below - and MANY THANKS to our Amigos that stepped forward quickly with such generous help.  There is still a need for rental units that can go to tenants without documents - also winter clothing, diapers (size 3-4) and wipes, so if you can assist, please contact Monica at monica@casasanjose.org.

• ¡Día De Los Muertos: Jose Antonio Vive, La Lucha Sigue! (Jose Antonio Lives, The Struggle Continues) Celebration on Friday, Nov. 3 at 5120 Penn Ave., hosted by Casa San José.  Enjoy great food, live music, dancing, and all the honor and celebration of this uniquely Mexican holiday, with special focus on the life of 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodríguez who was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents.  Net proceeds go towards sending immigrant families, DACA youth, and allies to the SOA Watch National Convergence to protest the border wall, and reunite with Jose Antonio's family. 
• If you can't make it and would like to donate to support the trip, please contact Christina Acuna Castillo via Facebook or at (516) 510-6042. Thank you!

ACTION:

• IMPORTANT: Make your plan to VOTE on November 7, and tell your family and friends!  This is mainly a state judicial election, which has traditionally had very low turnout, but has tremendous implications for immigrant rights, among others.  The judiciary has been our best and sometimes only hope to overturn and stop hurtful administration policies (i.e. the Muslim ban.) For candidate information, see this voter guide from the League of Women Voters.

• "Immigrants are a blessing, not a burden: Praying with Dreamers Week" is this week:  Oct. 29 - Nov. 4.  Congregations across the country are praying for immigrants in many ways - more information is here on the Facebook page.

• Berks County Family Detention Center (BCRC) continues to operate as one of three detention centers for immigrant families, where children as young as two-weeks-old have been incarcerated. Many of the families have been unjustly held for more than a year, despite judicial orders to release them and the revocation of its license.  Governor Wolf has the power to shut it down:  please call the Governor's Office to protest, write a letter, or post on social media.  More information to support a protest is here.

 NEWS:  

• By the time you get this, we will be moving to our NEW LOCATION in the Beechview neighborhood at 2116 Broadway Ave.,15216.  Hurray!  We will be closed from Oct. 26 - Nov 1, but welcome you to come visit us anytime in our new home after that.  An open house is being planned.

• Casa San José held a community meeting last Wednesday night to hear peoples' concerns and discuss DACA, ICE, sanctuary policies, and other issues of interest. 

OUR STORY: families broken up in Moon and the kindness of neighbors

• Since the beginning of the month, ICE agents have posted themselves at the entrance and exit of a little known street deep in Moon Township, where approximately 10 undocumented families live in bare, ill-maintained apartments.  So far, at least 15 men have been swept up and taken out to Erie or Cambria to await deportation proceedings, leaving their families to fend without breadwinners and in fear of being sent away themselves.  They would like to live elsewhere, where they wouldn't feel so trapped, but rental housing is very scarce for those without documents.  
• 
  But there are a few bright spots to this story, in the generosity and kindness of others. In one day, a group of the mothers and children were brought by Monica, Veronica, Pilar and Rachel from Casa to two very welcoming food pantries.  Pastor Michael Sourwine and his congregation at the House of Prayer in Aliquippa had heard of these families, and immediately asked to help, inviting them to help themselves to the much needed food, baby, and household supplies in their food pantry and offering compassion and caring.  Also, Director Sandy Hershberger and people at the West Hills Food Pantry in Moon invited them in too, thoughtfully made Spanish versions of their forms for them, and asked them back with enthusiasm and warmth.  In addition, several Amigos donated rental assistance so that eviction at least is held off for now.  

SUGGESTED if you'd like to read more:

• Please see the informative and clear "Undocumented Immigrants" slideshow (attached) presented by Carlos Adolfo Gonzalez at the PA Immigration & Citizenship Coalition, filled with salient myth-busting facts about this community in PA and the US.  Particularly important to know and communicate are the economic consequences: tremendous gains from a path to citizenship, and the huge costs of deportations.
• A news story that just asks: what kind of country do we live in now? "10-year-old immigrant is detained after agents stop her on way to surgery", Vivian Yee, New York Times, Oct. 25.

Thank you for joining us!

(Earlier messages can be found here.)

News for Amigos de Casa San José: October 19, 2017

Dear Casa San José Amigos,

Welcome back to our weekly message!  Here’s what’s new:

HELP:

• Moving day for Casa San José is fast approaching! Thursday 10/26 through Tuesday 10/31 - Just over the hill to Beechview at 2114 Broadway, 15216.  We could use your help.

• Do you have a truck or van that we could use?
• Can you drive back and forth a few times?
• Could you donate some boxes ahead of time (bankers' or boxes with handles)?
• Could you help lift and carry?
• If you can do any of these, please email Sister Valerie with details and times available - srvalerie@casasanjose.org.  Thank you!!

• Casa San José is raising money to send 23 local DACA youth, immigrant families, and allies to Arizona on Nov. for the SOA Watch National Convergence. This trip is incredibly important in creating a strong immigrant justice community locally and nationally. Casa San Jose is just $2,000 short of having the resources they need to pay for travel, lodging, etc.  Please reach out to Christina at the Thomas Merton Center - 516-510-6042 or christinacastillo@thomasmertoncenter.org - if you are able to donate. We are also selling beautiful, meaningful t-shirts (pictured) both at our office at 933 Brookline Blvd. and at the Thomas Merton Center at 5129 Penn Ave.
  
  
   

ACTION:

• We want the US House to bring a clean Dream Act (HR 3440) to the floor for a vote ASAP.  You can further that by contacting your Congressperson this quick and easy way.  The link tells you all the information.  Rep. Mike Doyle is the only one in our area that has signed.  Background: the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is getting signatures on a "discharge petition" which will release the bill from committee for a vote. They need 218 signatures and currently have 195. This is our greatest chance at winning a clean bill with no enforcement. And we can only do it the same way we won health care, with a massive show of public insistence. If the discharge fails, we will be left with negotiations on how many deportations each dreamer's future is worth - and Trump's latest draconian anti-immigration demands.

 NEWS:  

• Organized by Casa San José, the Mobile Mexican Consulate held a one-day service point in the gym of Central Catholic High School in Oakland last Saturday. Hundreds of community members came seeking passports and other documentation, and CSJ sponsored free consultation with lawyers and activities for the children. There were also representatives from helping organizations with healthcare information, flu shots, library books, and other services for immigrants. Delicious food made by our families was for sale to support the SOA Border Watch trip (see above.) Many thanks to our wonderful volunteers who offered their time, expertise, and strong arms.  
  

• We are expanding our programs for Latino youth:  Keystone Oaks and Beechwood Elementary after-school programs will join our Brashear High School after-school program ("Jóvenes con Propósito") and our Saturday Teen Outreach program ("Puentes Hacia el Futuro".)  They are run by our youth community organizer, Jeimy Sanchez-Ruiz, and our new intern Katie Campagna. They nurture and empower immigrant students from ages 5-22 by providing homework help, ESL support, mentorship, cultural activities, and educational field trips. For the older kids, there are vocational workshops and college prep, and participation in youth community organizing activities locally and state-wide. Our goal is to “bridge the gap,” to encourage them to take pride in their families' heritage, and to also embrace the elements of their new home. We provide a safe, supportive space where they can learn, talk about their challenges, brainstorm solutions, and make friends.

• On Friday, Jeimy took 12 of our high schoolers to ScareHouse for some Halloween fun, thanks to Tickets for Kids Charities.

SUGGESTED if you'd like to read more:

• "Advocates call on state Rep. Dom Costa and Port Authority to drop fare-check policy proposal", Ryan Deto, Pittsburgh City Paper, Oct. 12.
• "Bipartisan leaders launch coalition to ensure protections for Dreamers", Axios, Oct. 16.
• "Polling shows strong support for Dreamers", Dream Coalition, September 2017.
• "He lived in a Philadelphia church for a year to escape deportation.  Now he's free."  Washington Post, Samantha Schmidt, Oct. 12.

Thank you for joining us!

(Earlier messages can be found here.)