By Nicole Ferguson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A week after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake wrecked the island nation of Haiti, members of Nashville's Haitian community gathered to thank the world for their support and plea for continued support. 

"We have all been touched by the efforts of the international community on behalf of the Haitian people," said minister Mario Clerjuene. "Haiti still needs your help and will continue to need it in the months and years ahead."

"We need your help. The Haitian community in Tennessee needs your help," pleaded Marie Alvarez, a staff member with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. "The people of Haiti need your help." 

The gathering was held at one of Music City's four Haitian churches, The Nashville First Church of the Nazarene. The church saw one of their Haitian ministers off last week, when he returned home to provide medical relief. 

Dr. Maromy Samuel reported to the church this week, saying conditions in Haiti are far worst than any image on television, and the country is in dire need of medical supplies, food and water. 

The Alvarez family is trying to bring their parents home from Delmas, a town just outside of Port-au-Prince. Their father, Florentin, is diabetic, and splitting the last of his diabetes medication.

"We just want to get him here so he is not one of these victims that could of been saved [but wasn't] due to lack of medicine," said Hudson Alvarez of his father. 

Meanwhile the Tennessee National Guard departed Nashville in the early hours Tuesday. Their first stop was to Pope Air Force base near Fayetteville, NC where they picked up aid supplies. They're expected to drop off the supplies, pick up Americans in Haiti and return to Tennessee by Wednesday. 

A prayer service in Creole and English is being sponsored by the Haitian community on Saturday, January 30. It will be held at The Nashville First Church of the Nazarene at 6:00 p.m. 

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The U.S. Constitution requires an actual count of U.S. population every 10 years, and 2010 will mark the 23rd time the nation participates in a complete census of the people. The U.S. census helps provide the demographic data essential for policymakers to make informed decisions affecting their constituents, and to determine the efficient allocation of over $300 billion in federal funds.

In Tennessee, the foreign-born population has grown at 10 times the rate of the U.S.-born since 2000, and ensuring the census process is accessible to this community is vital to effective democratic representation, smart distribution of resources and fulfillment of this constitutional mandate.

The census has always been intended to include everyone living in the United States, regardless of national origin or status in the citizenship process. Immigrant parents pay the taxes that fund schools just like everyone else, and districts need those funds to provide quality education for all our children. The purchasing power of Tennessee's Latinos and Asians alone totaled $7.8 billion in 2008, and sales taxes on those purchases fund our state and local governments. Undocumented workers are equally as important to count, as these individuals contribute nearly $10 billion a year to Social Security and Medicare nationwide and create $1.7 billion in economic output in Tennessee. Because the census occurs only every 10 years, all U.S. residents and taxpayers are essential to include whether they are citizens today or the citizens of tomorrow.

The census historically results in a significant undercount of new immigrants and refugees, which makes it difficult to paint an accurate picture of our vibrant nation. Newer community members are naturally more hesitant to participate because of unfamiliarity with government institutions, and many immigrants come from countries where government officials are viewed with less confidence. The survey process itself can be a foreign concept to many immigrants and refugees.

Unfortunately, Nashville has an added burden to overcome, as the city has given immigrants mixed messages about the core function of local government and law enforcement. Since April 2007, the Davidson County sheriff's 287(g) program has extracted more than 5,000 people from our city after coming into contact with local police for driving viola- tions and other minor offenses. The mass deportation of so many hard-working friends and neighbors has created considerable fear of government in the immigrant community, regardless of immigration status. When census workers knock, it is unclear whether immigrant households will be willing to open the door.

In 2010, the Census Bureau will not include a long-form survey with questions about nativity and citizenship. While this information would be useful to better understand trends in population movement and immigrant integration, the most important objective of the U.S. Census is a complete count. The simpler and more accessible the process, the better. City leaders have a compelling interest to reach out directly to immigrant communities and send a clear message that the census is meant for everyone; elected officials simply can't represent their constituents' best interests if they don't know where they are. Our newest Americans also have a civic responsibility to open their doors and take this most basic step in our participatory democracy; we must all stand up and be counted.

This editorial was printed in The Tennessean on October 7th, 2009

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091007/OPINION01/910070376

Perla Trevizo

Chattanooga Times Free Press

..."I think (the Hispanic community) is seeing how important it is to be fully engaged in the civic process," said Stephen Fotopulos, director of Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

He said the increased voter participation for Hispanics is due, in part, because they see people around them being affected by tougher immigration enforcement, including deportations for minor traffic violations.

Local organizations, including La Paz de Dios, the statewide immigrant and refugee rights coalition, and Dalton's Coalition of Latino Leaders, actively registered voters for the presidential elections.

But the increase of voters can't be attributed solely to those efforts, said Elias Feghali, communications director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

"It's the recognition of a growing community utilizing the available resources to have a voice," he said.

The increase also reflects the growth of the Hispanic population in the region, particularly in areas such as Dalton and Calhoun, in Georgia, he said. Politicians no longer can ignore Hispanics and expect no backlash, Dr. Swansbrough said.

"As the numbers increase, and you see this in the sensitivity to immigration issues, many congressmen have had to walk very carefully because obviously this is a significant bloc of voters, as we saw just recently in the Senate debate over the ratification of Justice (Sonia) Sotomayor," he said.

Click to hear Eli Feghali comment on this story

Jannell Ross and Chris Echegaray

The Tennessean

El Manjar owner Ariceli Lopez talks with Juan Lopez's family during lunchtime. Lopez says business is slow because immigrants are afraid of gathering and drawing attention from authorities. SHELLEY MAYS / THE TENNESSEANWhen the Martinez family drives the half-hour from home into Nashville, wife Deanna is behind the wheel every time.

It's not because of some standing debate between husband and wife about who is the better driver. It's because Deanna Martinez's husband is one of the estimated 130,000 to 170,000 illegal immigrants living in Tennessee.

He can't renew his driver's license since Tennessee tightened the documentation requirements a few years ago. And Davidson County is the only place in the state where the sheriff's office participates in a federal program in which a traffic stop can lead to deportation.

"Imagine sitting at the breakfast table one day and your husband saying, 'I'm going to be deported because I forgot to use my blinker when I changed lanes the other day.' That's just not a risk we like to take," Martinez said.

Even so, Martinez didn't consider leaving Tennessee until recently, when her husband lost his landscaping job and she learned hers was headed overseas.

Supporters of the driver's license restriction, the sheriff's office 287g immigration program and a 2-year-old state law that allows increased reporting of employers who hire illegal immigrants, say those policies were aimed at forcing illegal immigrants out of the state.

They also say it hasn't worked.

"I think we need a real solution," said state Rep. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, who sponsored the state's Illegal Alien Employment Act. "We need the federal government to do something real on immigration. But I will continue to introduce legislation as long as the federal government continues to turn a blind eye."

Trying to ride out storm

What has happened, immigration advocates and immigrants themselves say, is that illegal immigrants already in Tennessee are making themselves less noticeable, avoiding large day labor sites and businesses and other places that immigrants gather.

It's hard to generalize what's happening in immigrant communities, but there seems to be a typical ebb and flow in the population, said Stephen Fotopulos, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

"Most immigrants are doing what every American is doing," he said. "They're trying to wait it out and ride out the storm."

Janell Ross

The Tennessean

Bedford County Mayor Eugene Ray Jr., left, talks with Captain Rodney and Jim White on the Shelbyville square. The influx of Somali immigrants in Shelbyville has highlighted fears and tensions.More often than not, in a combination gas station and coffee shop near Smithville, Tenn., the topic of conversation turns to immigrants and the effect they have on Tennessee.

They rob American workers of minimum-wage jobs because they'll work for less, customers say. They have as many children as possible so that they can lay claim to food stamps and TennCare. They don't pay taxes and don't care to learn English.

Al Sue, a transportation company executive who travels Tennessee for work, hears the same thing at stops not just in Smithville, about an hour southeast of Nashville, but all over the state.

"Just about anytime you're in there or any one of these places where people gather, you are going to hear about it," said Sue, who ranks illegal immigration and misinformation among his top concerns. "One of them starts in on immigrants, and before long there are a lot of people who are nodding their heads to a bunch of stuff that is 70 percent false, but 90 percent believe it to be true."

The people inside those coffee shops are the kind The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition workers want to reach. The group recently received a $50,000 grant to expand its Welcoming Tennessee program, money to fund thought-provoking billboards or gather people to air fears and complaints.

Other groups are joining in — starting conversations about the estimated 4 percent of Tennessee's population born in other countries. The topics are as simple as why various groups settled here and as complex as immigration and tax laws.

"We're not so much trying to change the public's concept of who is American ... but to get people to think, to use reason instead of reacting to immigrants from a place of frustration and fear," said Stephen Fotopulos, the coalition's executive director.

Chattanooga Times Press

As Congress talks about possible immigration reform, states continue to struggle with handling the issue on their own.

“Clearly what the situation cries out for is action at the national level,” said Ken Ellinger, associate professor of political science at Dalton State College.

State legislators recognize that a comprehensive immigration solution can’t come from the state level, he said, but they are passing laws as a result of their frustration with the federal government. Lack of consensus among members of Congress has stalled efforts to pass federal legislation.

In the first quarter of 2009, state legislatures in all 50 states introduced 1,040 bills and resolutions relating to immigrants and immigration, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

From January through March, Tennessee has introduced 64 immigration-related bills and resolutions and Georgia brought forth 24, according to the group.

Stephen Fotopulos, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said the organization is tracking 35 to 40 immigration-related bills.

A bill that recently passed both the House and Senate in Tennessee creates a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person to knowingly provide, transfer or submit false identification to any other person for the purposes of employment. Another bill that also passed both chambers established the “We Want To Learn English Initiative,” which requires the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Education to establish and administer a grant program to provide resources for immigrants and refugees in Tennessee to learn English.

And today, the Senate will consider a bill — SB 1141 — that requires jailers across Tennessee to determine the legal status of every person arrested and contact the Department of Homeland Security if they believe the person is in the country illegally.

“Over the last couple of years, our state legislators have actually worked very hard to better understand these issues and make sure we weren’t passing misguided legislation that has unintended consequences for everybody,” said Mr. Fotopulos.

“The biggest danger is the bill up (today) which, instead of complementing federal immigration enforcement, it actually conflicts with President Obama’s Secure Communities Initiative by requiring local jailers to inspect immigration documents without any training, funding or infrastructure support,” he added.

Kathy L. Gilbert

United Methodist News

The Rev. Sonnye Dixon says his faith calls him to pray for his neighbors.

When President Barack Obama opens the debate on immigration with Democratic and Republican legislators June 8, the Rev. Sonnye Dixon will be doing what his faith has taught him: praying for his neighbors.

Dixon, pastor of Hobson United Methodist Church, joined with community, business and faith leaders at a press conference June 1 to launch a national campaign to reform immigration for America. Similar press conferences were held across the country.

“I have been taught by my faith to welcome the stranger and to love my neighbor even if that neighbor is an enemy,” Dixon said. “I am praying for that conversation because an epidemic of xenophobia is infecting our nation.”

The Reform Immigration for America campaign is an effort of 200 national, regional and local organizations representing labor, faith, education, business and community working for comprehensive immigration reform.

“The June 8 meeting is an extension of Obama’s pledge during the election campaign,” said Avi Poster, president of the Coalition for Education on Immigration in Nashville. “Comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue.”

“America doesn’t want families torn apart, it is time for practical and common sense reform,” said Remziya Suleyman, policy coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Praise for conversation

United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño applauded Obama’s decision to start the conversation on immigration and work toward reform in 2009.

“As United Methodists, we believe that immigration is a human rights issue that needs serious attention,” Carcaño said in an April 13 statement thanking Obama for putting immigration reform on his agenda for 2009.

Carcaño, also the chairwoman of the United Methodist task force on immigration, said the church stands “firmly in believing that the inherent value of all immigrants means that all of their civil liberties should be respected and maintained regardless of their legal status. We believe, however, that our present immigration policies violate these basic rights.”

The United Methodist Council of Bishops expressed their commitment to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and to stand in solidarity with “our immigrant neighbors” at the conclusion of its spring meeting May 13.

“I am praying for success,” Dixon said. “How we deal with reform is how we will be viewed in the world.

“God puts people in our paths so we can learn to love them.”

Blake Farmer

Nashville Public Radio

A Tennessee immigrant advocacy group was recognized Wednesday night at the Library of Congress for a campaign to get people talking about the effects of immigration – good and bad.

‘Welcoming Tennessee’ has trained 70 immigrant ambassadors to meet with and listen to civic groups. The state has seen a 300% growth in its foreign-born population over the last 15 years. Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition director Stephen Fotopulos says his organization purposefully shifted focus away from policy makers and toward the community.

“In Tennessee, as a new destination state, one of the real challenges to integration has been sort of the resistance to newcomers.”

The dialogue started in Tennessee is needed in Congress, says Margie McHugh. She’s with the Migration Policy Institute.

“Right now, Washington doesn’t have that kind of feed back, they’re just obsessed with the legalization debate and how difficult and angry that debate is. And I think people in local communities are ready for a much more grown up conversation.”

The Migration Policy Institute highlighted four immigrant integration programs in what is the first year of the E Pluribus Unum Prize. 500 applied.

Other winning programs are in El Paso, New York and Littleton, Colorado. The E Pluribus Unum Prize comes with a $50,000 award from the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

Perla Trevizo

Chattanooga Times Free Press

...The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, based in Nashville, said it supports the court’s ruling but emphasized that immigration reform still is essential.

“In general, the Supreme Court should be applauded for upholding the true intents of the law and basic principal of fairness,” said Elias Feghali, the organization’s communications coordinator.

“(The ruling) prevents identity theft laws from being misapplied to immigrant workers,” he said. “There’s a difference between someone maliciously stealing your identity to harm you and immigrants working hard to feed their families.”

But he emphasized that the court’s ruling is not a substitute for federal immigration reform.

“Only immigration reform will allow immigrant workers to come out of the shadows ... putting an end to the black market for identification documents,” Mr. Feghali said.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- There's a massive local call for immigration reform. It's estimated close to 3,000 folks showed up for a rally about the issue.

The hope is President Obama could support new reform laws in the upcoming months. In the meantime, there were similar events across the country to highlight the need. People at the National Coalition of Latino Clergy say there are countless stories of families being unjustly separated because of deportation laws in Nashville.

"We pray, and we are clamoring, for comprehensive immigration reform, that members of Congress understands there is an urgent need for immigration reform," said Reverend Miguel Rivera, national Coalition of Latino Clergy.

Over the next few months there will be 19 other events like this all across the country.