JPIC SSpS USA
February 2011
the main subject of the day, but the point I want to share is that during the last minutes when I talked with some of the participants, I felt so happy to hear them and to see all people working together - young people, women and men of all ages. Their faces were full of hope.”
Deportation 101:
Standing with Families Sr. Xaveriana Ngene, Sr. Socorro Lopez Rodriguez, Sr. Angelica Chavol, Sr. Salud Osornio, Rebecca David, Heather Hovasse and Sr. Rose Therese Nolta attended on January 1516, a 2-day conference on Deportation 101: Standing with Families at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Melrose Park, Illinois. It was organized by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in order to give a better understanding of the deportation process, Secure Communities, and what can be done to protect families. Over 260 people participated. Each day 1100 households and families are wrecked by deportation. While we continue our fight for federal immigration reform, more must be done to protect, defend, serve, and lift up the voices of these families. Sr. Salud said, “I just want to say thank you for inviting me last week to DEPORTATION 101. Education was
Rebecca reflected the following: “I learned that the immigrants suffer when police come after them and knock at their doors at night to ask them to show their papers or sign papers … But I also learned that most of the immigrants have confidence, and even though they are arrested and feel unwanted they are still strong. They encourage one another to contact their neighbors if they are taken…. I am with them in prayer.” Sr. Xaveriana and Sr. Socorro wrote: “We heard and learned many new things that are happening in this country. This workshop helped us to become more aware of how human rights are being violated in this country. We are surprised to hear that the police and ICE are arresting people in their homes early in the morning. Many people do not know what to do if they face this situation. Through this, we realized that we need to share this information with the people around us … so they will be able to prepare and to be more aware if it happens to them.
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