Monthly Archives: March 2022

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Removing Barriers to Legal Migration to Strengthen our Communities and Economy

Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)

First, many members of the public mistakenly believe that our current laws permit anyone to immigrate legally to the United States as long as they don’t have a criminal background or other negative baggage and are willing to wait their turn in line. But as members of this subcommittee are well aware, our laws take the opposite approach. Being free of such disqualifying characteristics is not enough. To be admitted as a lawful permanent resident (LPR), a person must also affirmatively qualify under one of several specific categories created by Congress. The main categories are those seeking unification with specified family members who are U.S. citizens or LPRs, those whose occupational skills are needed by U.S. employers, those who hail from countries that in the past five years have sent relatively few immigrants to the United States, and refugees. A person who doesn’t fall within any of those four categories (or a handful of much smaller miscellaneous categories) cannot lawfully immigrate to the United States.
Second, the Immigration and Nationality Act contains more than 20 pages laying out the grounds on which otherwise qualified intending immigrants are ineligible. These inadmissibility grounds generally relate to criminality, national security, communicable diseases, likelihood of becoming a public charge, protection of the U.S. labor force, and the integrity of the immigration system itself.
Third, with some important exceptions, there are annual numerical limits on the admission of qualified immigrants. Those limits are of two kinds. There are annual numerical ceilings for eachcategory (and many subcategories) of immigrants – family immigration, employment immigration, etc. Within each of those categories, there are additional annual limits on how many immigrants may be admitted from a single country. In the past three decades Congress has enacted several laws concerned principally with immigration enforcement. Not since the Immigration Act of 1990, however, has Congress taken any major action to update our nation’s policies on legal immigration. In the intervening decades, much has changed, and there is now ample reason to revisit the system that governs the lawful admission of immigrants to the United States.

See video and read statements here>

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Study: Historic federal housing discrimination led to millions of Black, Latino Americans breathing dirtier air today


INDIANA ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTER:

The historic practice of federal housing discrimination, known as redlining, has led to millions more Black and Latino Americans breathing in dirtier air than White Americans over decades, according to a new study.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, found that redlining and other discriminatory policies have led to racially segregated communities that disproportionately exposed and continue to expose more Black and Latino Americans to nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter from vehicles and nearby industrial sources.

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Alzheimer’s disease is the only illness where the person passes away twice

Latino caregivers say they’re facing more barriers

Sarah Rodriguez spends most of her day multitasking as she switches from watching her mother on remote cameras to talking on video and phone calls with doctors and aides to organize proper care for the 67-year-old. The 40-year-old’s life in Virginia has been like this ever since her mom was diagnosed with younger onset Alzheimer’s two years ago.

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Bloomington Refugee Support Network

Our mission is to serve, with our partnerships, the refugees (in Indianapolis and globally), as well as asylum seekers, Dreamers, and other immigrants in the Monroe County community, and nationally.
Towards that end, we:

  • EDUCATE THE PUBLIC on the needs of refugees and asylum seekers, locally and globally
  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOP RESOURCES for use by local and Indiana resettlement agencies, the refugees, asylum seekers, other immigrants, local NGO’s, and the volunteers
  • HELP CLIENTS OBTAIN THE RESOURCES THEY NEED (working with SVDP home visits; vouchers; interpreters, drivers, anthropologists, finding work, finding apartments, receiving needed goods in addition to food (such as furniture, household appliances, personal supplies, clothing, medical and mental health care, acclimation) We have 15 trained coordinators (2 assigned to each family) to assist with obtaining the resources; the Coordinators receive additional drivers, interpreters, etc. when needed; we provide funds for legal help, including related expenses (travel and accommodations to Indy and Chicago for court appearances, and application fees) and for other needs, on a case-by-case basis.
  • ADVOCATE for increased U.S. refugee resettlement, including Bloomington resettlement, for adequate funding for refugee resettlement, and for private sponsorship for resettlement, and for support of asylum seekers, Dreamers, and other immigrants.
  • FUNDRAISE for refugees and resettlement agencies, locally, in Indiana, and globally, and for local asylum seekers, Dreamers, and other immigrants.
  • RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS, INTEREST AND COMMITMENT for refugee resettlement and support for asylum seekers, Dreamers, and other immigrants.

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El Centro Comunal Latino
Job Opportunity

El Centro Comunal Latino (CCL) seeks an energetic and motivated individual with excellent interpersonal,
planning, and organizational skills; efficient, creative at solving problems, and knowledgeable of the local
community; and ability to work with a wide range of people specifically with the ability to effectively interact with the Latino population. Knowledge of Latino cultures and strong oral and written communication skills in both Spanish and English.

Title: Director/Health Projects Coordinator Position (29 hours/week)
Deadline: Friday, April 1, 2022
Job Description: The PRIMARY OBJECTIVE of the Coordinator is to organize and support the work of CCL. Under limited supervision, the Health Projects Coordinator (as funded by the Indiana Minority Health Coalition [IMHC]) performs a variety of tasks and projects that emerge from needs in our county’s Latino community. The Health Projects Coordinator is responsible for staffing the center during the center hours as well as providing administrative, programming, and outreach responsibilities. Depending on the qualifications and interests of the applicant, may also have additional project assignments. Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Have basic knowledge of computers including database, spreadsheet, and word processing software.
    Administrative
  • Attend to responsibilities affiliated with the day-to-day operation of the office and act as point person on projects.
  • Provide direct service to the community, specifically with respect as they interact with culturally and
    linguistically diverse populations.
  • Manage the interpreters’ network.
    Programming
  • Develop, and administer, and support health and other related programs and services in partnership with CCL
    Board of Directors and volunteers.
  • Build community relationships by staffing events at the center and off-site.
    Community Relationships
  • Assist in building relations and collaborating with community agencies and organizations towards organizational
    and financial support as well as coordination of health and related programs.
  • Develop grassroots support for the mission and goals of CCL.
  • Maintain the CCL image within the community (all segments).
    Indiana Minority Health Coalition
  • Represent accurately and appropriately the mission and vision of CCL to IMHC and in turn that of IMHC to its
    various publics and CCL.
  • Maintain effective communications between IMHC and CCL as management of allocated grant.
  • Observe all IMHC policies and protocol, delivering a high quality of service and serving as a positive role model.
    Miscellaneous
  • Responsible for secondary duties or projects assigned.
    Requirements
  • At least an associate’s degree and at least one year experience in working within a not-for-profit organization is
    highly desirable.

For more information or to apply (send resume and cover letter) to sbsanbritt.15@gmail.com

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Indiana Hospitals Plan to Begin Tracking Health Inequities

Local data shows that doctors do a better job at ordering key tests for controlling patients’ diabetes for their white patients than their Black counterparts. For white patients, doctors order such tests on average 62% of the time. For Black patients that measure fell to 58%. It was even lower for Latino patients, 56%.

On a national scale, diabetes impacts one in six Black people and one in 10 white people. About 24% of Black people and 29% of Hispanic/Latino people who have diabetes have uncontrolled diabetes, compared with 11% of white diabetes patients.

In Marion County, where Black people make up 20% of the population, 37% of those who receive diabetes care are Black patients, said Dr. Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, vice president and chief health equity officer at IU Health.

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Representation is an ‘Encanto’: Afro-Latinos will not be erased

“But you don’t look Latina,” is a phrase IU senior Emillianna Puello knows all too well.

Puello, who is Black and Dominican, identifies as Afro-Latina. Puello and Afro-Latinos everywhere have struggled with passive aggressive comments that discount their culture. 

According to a Pew Research study, Afro-Latinos make up 5% of the Black population in America. Despite this, they had little to no media representation until the Disney movie “Encanto” was released on Nov. 24, 2021. 

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Communities Not Cages Indiana Coalition

The Communities Not Cages Indiana Coalition invites you to participate in several events this week which are associated in part with the Detention Watch Network’s National Advocacy Day on Thursday March 3rd.  The goal of the Communities Not Cages Indiana Coalition is to help reverse the proposed expansion of the Clay County Jail in the heart of Brazil, Indiana.  This jail houses both local people charged with breaking the law and immigrants detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials through a contract with ICE.  County authorities justify the proposed enlargement of Clay County Jail in part on the expected continued massive detention of immigrants, even though those numbers have dropped considerably under the Biden administration.  We fervently hope that federal and local policies will shift to humanitarian alternatives to detention for both immigrant detainees and local incarcerated folks in the near future.

  • Visions for Clay County: A Community Conversation Sunday, March 6, 4:00-5:15 pm EST*In person event* Location: Brazil First United Methodist Church, 201 N Meridian St.Facebook Invite (for sharing via social media): https://fb.me/e/1Lkhj6rL3; Please see attached flyer!Description:Especially for residents of Brazil IN and all of Clay County: What do you enjoy about living in Clay County? What opportunities and needs do you see in the community? If you had $20 million dollars to spend on your community, how would you spend it? Join this community conversation facilitated by Rev. Kerry Clear of Brazil First United Methodist Church to share your voice and vision for a Clay County that addresses important issues, welcomes the stranger in our midst, and provides the resources necessary for everyone to thrive. This conversation is in partnership with the Communities Not Cages Indiana Coalition and is a part of the national Communities Not Cages Advocacy Day during the first week of March.