MEDIA ADVISORY
April 27, 2010
CONTACT: Kristin Williams, Faith in Public Life, 202.459.8625

TELE-PRESS CONFERENCE: THURSDAY at 1 PM EDT

Arizona Law Renews Faith Community's Fight for Immigration Reform

Events across the Country this Weekend Condemn AZ Law, Call for Comprehensive Reform Now

WASHINGTON -  In the aftermath of Arizona's newly passed and widely condemned law criminalizing illegal immigration and cracking down on "suspected" illegal immigrants, evangelical, Catholic and mainline Protestant leaders will gather on a conference call with journalists on Thursday, April 29 at 1 pm ET to kick off a nationwide weekend of urgent action for immigration reform. As the Arizona law heats up the political debate in Washington by demonstrating the immediate and severe consequences of failing to fix our broken immigration system, thousands of people of faith across the country will make the moral case for comprehensive immigration reform on May 1st and 2nd with an Immigrant Sabbath and Prayer for Immigrants weekend.

These events escalate the faith community's ongoing efforts to enact moral and pragmatic immigration reform that replaces our dysfunctional system with one that reflects our economic interests and the high value we place on families.

WHAT: Telephone press conference to launch "Immigrant Sabbath" and "Prayer for Immigrants" Weekend of Action

WHO:   

• Bishop Minerva Carcaño, United Methodist Church, Desert Southwest Conference, Phoenix, AZ
•   Rev. Troy Jackson, University Christian Church, Cincinnati, OH
•   Yvonne Diaz, Iglesia Menonita Hispana, Mennonite Church USA, Goshen, IN
•   Father William Hoppe, St. Leo's Catholic Church, Queens, NY, PICO National Network      
•   Jen Smyers, Church World Service, Washington, DC

WHEN:           Thursday, April 29 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

CALL-IN INFO: (888) 674-0222, Call Title: "Weekend of Action"

RSVP: Please email or call Kristin Williams at kwilliams@faithinpubliclife.org or 202.459.8625 to reserve your place on the call

Faith community events happening from coast to coast for the "Immigrant Sabbath" and "Prayer for Immigrants" weekend include:

o   St. Louis, MO: May 1 March for Immigration Reform with hundreds of people of faith (United Methodist Women)

o   Dallas/Fort Worth, TX: May 1 Mega March from Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe to City Hall for Comprehensive Immigration Reform with 50,000+ people from across Texas (Welcoming Immigrants Network, Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance)

o   Queens, NY: All-night interfaith prayer vigil on May 1 at the Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria including procession, music, prayers, and testimonies, with a 7 a.m. press conference on Sunday, May 2 (Queens Congregations in Action, a PICO National Network affiliate)

o   San Jose, CA: Interfaith prayer service for immigration reform before May 1 rally at City Hall (People Acting in Community Together, a PICO National Network affiliate)

o   Gilroy, CA: Interfaith prayer service in support of immigrants at St. Mary's Catholic Church on May 2 (Justice for Immigrants, United Conference of Catholic Bishops)

o   Berkeley, CA: May 2 press conference and vigil in support of immigration reform (Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action, a PICO National Network affiliate)

o   Wichita, KS: May 1 faith march for immigration reform and an end to deportations that tear families and communities apart (Sunflower Community Action, United Methodist Church, Mennonite Church USA)

o   San Mateo, CA: a silent march and rally in support of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform on April 30, beginning at Congregational Church of San Mateo and ending at St. Matthew Catholic Church (Peninsula Interfaith Action, a PICO National Network affiliate)

o   Oakland, CA: Press conference and interfaith prayer service at Cathedral of Christ the Light on April 30 (Oakland Community Organization, a PICO National Network affiliate)

o   Columbus, OH: Prayer Vigil at St. James the Less Catholic Church  on May 1, beginning with a holy hour followed by a candle-light procession to honor Mary while praying the rosary

Dozens of other congregations and parishes affiliated with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Justice for Immigrants program, PICO National Network, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, and other faith networks and denominations will be participating in the "Prayer for Immigrants" weekend by praying or preaching about immigration in their houses of worship in San Jose, CA; Camden, NJ; Berkeley, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Orlando, FL; Chicago, IL; and Beaumont, TX.  Earlier in the week, over 1,000 black, Latino and Anglo members of Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) will assemble to condemn Arizona's stringent anti-immigrant bill, push Dallas political leaders not to let Texas or this nation become Arizona, and press for commitments to support immigration reform.

This weekend of activity builds on the faith community's leadership in the March FOR America: Change Takes Courage and Faith last month, which drew 200,000 people to Washington, DC to rally for immigration reform, as well as hundreds of grassroots events organized by religious groups across the country and hundreds of thousands of pro-reform postcards from people of faith to Members of Congress.

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