[Pacg] Iowa Interfaith Immigration Coalition: Petition Drive

[Carolina 1961]

>From Ellen Fisher
crcsd79 at hotmail.com
Iowa Interfaith Immigration Coalition

The National Interfaith Immigration Coalition is conducting a petition drive
directed at presidential candidates with the purpose of showing grassroots
support for the immigrants in our midst. What the national coalition can
offer is solid support from their member denominations and organizations,
organizational guidance, and some financial help. Alicia Claypool (Iowa
Civil Rights Commission), Connie Ryan Terrell (Iowa Interfaith Alliance),
and  Doris Knight (Justice For Our Neighbors) have met and begun plans to
carry out this petition drive. We have named ourselves, and any who will
join us, the Iowa Interfaith Immigration Coalition. We have called the
petition, "Creating a Welcoming State."  To read the Immigration petition,
go to www.iowatia.org. Please share this site with others.

While the short-term purpose of this effort is to give Iowans an opportunity
to show their support for immigrants and encourage a more positive political
immigration rhetoric, we have a longer-term goal of encouraging Iowa
communities to become more intentionally welcoming toward immigrants,
recognizing the essential gifts they bring to us.

Our numeric goal for this petition drive is 10,000 signatures. Our deadline
for collecting signatures is November 26. We will be contacting
denominational and organizational leaders, along with all other networks
that come to our attention which have this common interest, asking them to
send the petition to their member lists. The Interfaith Alliance will
provide the website service to receive responses from individuals on the
internet. They will also receive all paper petitions and requests by phone
for information. We will be providing staff help for Connie to enter the
signatures and prepare the final petitions.

On December 4 or 5, we will hold a press conference announcing that we have
collected (10,000) signatures showing that Iowans want to reflect a
welcoming spirit. Following the press conference, small groups will deliver
the petition message to prearranged meetings with all 17 candidates, and/or
their key aides. We invite your organizations to send the petition to your
membership or mailing list. We encourage you to ask individuals to take the
petitions to any meetings they are attending.

Thank you for anything that you can do to help in this effort to encourage
Iowans to express their positive feelings for immigrants.
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