The Year of the Immigrant

The Year of the Immigrant

The Institute on Public Safety & Social Justice (IPSSJ) is currently partnering with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) to raise the profile of the human rights crisis that is occurring in our country due to the ever-increasing numbers of deportations. Several major events are currently being planned through this collaboration.

Upcoming Events

Forced Out: A Unity Forum at the Crossroads of Immigration & Incarceration

Thursday April 5th, 10am-2pm
UIC Student Center East – Free and Open to Everyone

To RSVP for these events, please email the IPSSJ.

Over 2.3 million people are held in American prisons at any given time, and nearly 400,000 immigrants are deported each year – these are the highest rates of incarceration and deportation in American history. These policies of containment and removal come at an enormous cost to communities, families and taxpayers. And the same forces are at play in both systems – prison privatization, widespread criminalization, and the politics of fear.

This teach-in creates an opportunity for conversation and strategy-sharing among students, community leaders, and especially families impacted by these policies. By educating ourselves about our common stories and struggles, Forced Out will increase the connections among impacted groups and help to create a stronger, more unified voice for policy change across racial and ethnic identities. This teach-in will balance in-depth dialogue with concrete action opportunities – participants will learn about more than a half-dozen current campaigns to unite our communities and advocate for change.

Call for Co-Sponsorships

 Event Co-Sponsors agree to:

• Recruit at least 10 people to attend the event
• Take some role (volunteering, running a workshop, participating in action fair, speaking, logistics) in the planning of the event
• Publicize the event through your e-mail list
• Agree to forward press release to press contacts

 In return, Co-Sponsors are recognized on press, fliers, and web materials, and honored at the event. To become a Co-Sponsor, contact Ryan Lugalia-Hollon at rlhollon@adler.edu and include your Organization Name, the Contact Person for your organization, and in what role(s) you are interested.  If you are interested in hosting a workshop, please include in your e-mail a proposed title and workshop description. There are a limited number of spaces.

Sponsors include: Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Fighting to Overcome Records and Create Equality (FORCE), Immigrant Youth Justice League, the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), Target Area Development Corporation, Community Renewal Society, Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition, Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY), Project Nia, UIC Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, National Immigrant Justice Center, Moratorium on Deportation Campaign, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, ARISE Chicago, Rafael Cintron-Ortiz Latino Cultural Center, Office for Peace and Justice, Office for Immigrant Affairs and Education of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Transformative Justice Law Project, Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation, Arab American Action Network, UIC African-American Cultural Center, Free Write Jail Arts and Literacy Program, UIUC Labor Education Program and the Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, Interfaith Leadership Project, ENLACE Chicago.

Past Events

A DREAM Deferred: The Mental Health Implications of Being an Undocumented Student

This is a panel presentation that will include a number of individuals who would be protected by the Dream Act were it to pass on a national basis. Adults brought to the United States as children are often clinically anxious or depressed based upon their compromised legal status here in the United States. (November 1, 2011)

Deportation & The Breakdown of Healthy Families

Currently in Chicago there are 82,500 children who have recently lost a parent to deportation. Although our mayor stated that he would like to make Chicago the “friendliest city toward immigrants”, this sentiment has not lessened the burden of children, most of whom are American citizens who are forced into struggling to survived here without one or both parents due to deportation. (January 12, 2012)