SWOPblogger

karlos says: forwarded by our friends at NNIRR...

Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste:
February 14, 2006

In simultaneous press conferences today in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, immigrant rights advocates released a report on immigrant rights in the Northwest: "In Our Own Words: Immigrants' Experiences in the Northwest." The report is available on-line at the PCUN website:

http://www.pcun.org/campaigns/InOurOwnWords.pdf

“In Our Own Words” presents the testimonies of 230 immigrants from around the world living in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. As the Senate prepares to debate immigration reform, this report provides a timely look at the real lives of immigrants and shows how the immigration system affects immigrants’ efforts to live, work, and integrate into communities in the Northwest.

The immigration system fails to provide a meaningful path to citizenship for many immigrants in the Northwest. As a result, millions of immigrants without permanent status suffer employment discrimination and civil rights violations, and have limited access to basic services like health care and education.

To eliminate hardships that immigrants face, the report recommends creating meaningful pathways to citizenship and strengthening and enforcing worker protections. It also recommends broadening opportunities for immigrants to become a part of community life, and protecting immigrants from civil rights violations and institutional discrimination.

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_________________________________
Arnoldo Garcia
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Red Nacional Pro Derechos Inmigrantes y Refugiados
310 8th Street Suite 303
Oakland, CA 94607
Tel (510) 465-1984 ext. 305
Fax (510) 465-1885
www.nnirr.org

# posted by karlos @ 1:02 PM