Immigration - A 50 State Issue: a Focus on State and Local Immigration Initiatives: January 11-13, 2012The conference opens later today with the Most Reverene John C. Webster, Bishop of Salt Lake City providing the keynote address Catholic Public Policy and State Compacts."
Marjorie Cortex, reporter for the Deseret News, in her article Catholic Bishops, advocates to meet in Salt Lake to discuss immigration reform writes, Conference organizers also recognize that Utah is a destination state for many immigrants, Bishop Wester said. "In our own Catholic Church, 80 percent of Catholics speak Spanish. That's an incredible statistic."
The conference agenda includes: 1. Immigration Laws and Their Impact on the Church: Harboring and Transporting Laws; Marriage Barriers for Undcocumented Immigrants; Separation of Children and Families and Impact on Clergy and Seminarians 2. Federal /State Enforcement Partnerships including John Sandweg, Special Counselor to DHS Seretary Janet Napolitano; Laura Olson, Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Department of Homeland Security and Don Kerwin, Executrive Director, Center for Migration Studies (respondent) 3. State Immigration Enforcement Laws - An Overview: Arizona and Alabama Laws and Copycats; E-Verify Legislation; Education and Public Benefits 4. Communicating the Message~ speakers are Alfonso Aguilar, Executive Director, Latino Partnershipfor Conservative Principles and former Chief, U. S. Office of Citizenship and Ali Noorani, Executive Director, National Immigration Forum 5. Lessons Learned from Different States with speakers representing Nebraska, Phoenix, Georgia and Boston 6. Proacctive Strategies with presenters Mario Russell, Senior Attorney, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New York and John F. Whitaker, General Counsel, Diocese of Birmingham; Rob Tasman, Associate Director, Louisiana Catholic Conference and Allen Sanchez, Director, New Mexico Catholic Conference.
223 are registered! This afternoon I met a wonderful woman from Hawaii who works on immigration with Roselani Enomoto, CSJ!
Posted by Ginger K. Hedstrom, Justice Associate
