In a recent address to the annual World Meeting of Popular Movements, Pope Francis coined the term “social poets” to describe those who work toward equality and justice for all of humanity. The address was a powerful message that made me feel such overwhelming gratitude, love and respect for CLINIC’s network of affiliates. The compassion and dedication that fuel our affiliates every day is both encouraging and inspiring.

“You are social poets, because you have the ability and the courage to create hope where there appears to be only waste and exclusion. Poetry means creativity, and you create hope. With your hands you know how to shape the dignity of each person, of families and of society as a whole, with land, housing, work, care, and community. Thank you, because your dedication speaks with an authority that can refute the silent and often polite denials to which you have been subjected, or to which so many of our brothers and sisters are subjected. But, thinking of you, I am convinced that your dedication is above all a proclamation of hope.”

In his message, Pope Francis quotes Mathew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.” We believe in the power of our network to strive for justice in each individual case they handle. We also believe in the power of the collective when CLINIC provides the opportunity to advocate for immigrants on a larger scale. 

CLINIC, along with many other immigration organizations, has been fighting on behalf of immigrants on both the local and national levels for many years. Regardless of party or political affiliation, politicians and government officials must be held accountable for injustices being done and ineffective or harmful immigration policy. While individual affiliates may feel that large-scale advocacy efforts are impossible to accomplish, it is important to remember that you are not alone. CLINIC is here to serve as the tool to coordinate the advocacy goals of our network affiliates so these challenges can be met. 

The current administration has felt the collective muscle of advocacy efforts many times over the past year. When change did not occur as promised, advocates rose up in solidarity with one another to proclaim their power. Stories were shared and letters were written. People gathered together and created joint efforts to make sure their voices were heard at the highest levels. This perseverance, such as by advocates in relation to the reinstatement of the “Migrant Protection Protocols,” proved to the government that immigration advocates would not back down. 

That type of power only resides in the collective. The strength of one voice is amplified with each voice that adds to the chorus. In the coming months, we hope that you find renewed strength in knowing that CLINIC’s Advocacy team will be helping to empower your advocacy efforts and ensure your voice is heard on the issues that are most important to your organization.

In order to effectively advocate on behalf of our network, we need to fully understand the needs of the immigrants that are reaching out for assistance. Our network of affiliates see the struggles in the immigrant community first hand. You are in the best position to tell CLINIC what issues are causing the most immediate harm to the most vulnerable. This is the moment to become the voice for those whose concerns have too often been ignored. 

You know how to show the face of true humanity, the humanity that is not built by turning your back on the suffering of those around you, but in the patient, committed and often even sorrowful recognition that the other person is my brother or sister (cf. Lk 10:25-37) and that his or her joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties are also mine (cf. Gaudium et spes, no. 1). To ignore those who have fallen is to ignore our own humanity that cries out in every brother and sister of ours.

In January 2022, CLINIC’s Advocacy team will take the combined voice of CLINIC affiliates to the next level with the launch of the CLINIC Action Network, or CAN. CAN is a two-way communication platform between CLINIC affiliates and the CLINIC Advocacy team to discuss advocacy topics and build advocacy skills. CLINIC’s Advocacy team will use the listserv to share sign-on opportunities, days of action, strategic communications resources and much more. Importantly, the listserv will also allow CLINIC affiliates to interact with each other and build advocacy ties.  

Any CLINIC affiliates interested in raising their organization’s individual voices and engaging in advocacy collectively with the full CLINIC network are invited to join! Email advocacy@cliniclegal.org with your name, title and organization to join CAN!

In early 2020, Catholic Charities Diocese of Pueblo, Colo., launched Taste Around the World, a volunteer driven community event that became an annual celebration of newcomers sharing their culture and traditions through food, drinks, and dances with their long-standing neighbors. Three years prior to the launch of the Taste Around the World, the CLINIC affiliate was on a mission to learn about the intersection between immigrant integration and immigration legal services as they worked to create a community that was welcoming and inclusive.

Catholic Charities of Pueblo utilized CLINIC’s three integration surveys to gather the perspective of clients, community members and agency staff around immigrant integration in the community. The data shared that community members — both newcomers and long-standing residents — wanted more opportunities to engage with one another. While Catholic Charities would host various opportunities to bring the community together, it became evident that while newcomers attended, they still held back from engaging. “We needed to create an event where newcomers would be the leaders [of the event] and feel empowered,” said Fikile Ryder, Immigration Program Coordinator and DOJ Immigration Counselor at Catholic Charities of Pueblo. This led to the Taste Around the World, where newcomers lead and taught others in the community about their home countries, traditions and cultures. The event was a great success, bringing over 60 community members and positive feedback. Catholic Charities even had multiple requests to host the event again.

Unfortunately, 2021 saw the pandemic still keeping most people at home, and Catholic Charities of Pueblo was not able to host the Taste Around the World event in person. Instead, the team got creative and decided to host it virtually. Every day during the month of November, Catholic Charities of Pueblo used Facebook to share a video of a member from the community cooking a dish from their home country, dancing or sharing their culture. This year, 21 participants filmed themselves preparing dishes, such as arepas, tacacho, Cambodian fried fish, papa a la huancaina y budin, umbhida, and chicken ala motor masala, just to name a few. Other participants shared how they celebrated Día de los Muertos, and one group filmed a folkloric dance from Nuevo León State. Countries represented include, Mexico, Colombia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, South Africa, Italy and Zimbabwe, among others. During the virtual event, everyone had a role to play  ESL students and tutors, members of the receiving community, first generation immigrants, several Catholic Charities staff, and even fifth generation immigrants.

Through this event, the immigrant community has felt empowered, “[they are] able to say I am here, and I am part of this community,” said Guadalupe Hernandez-Saenz, community organizer at Catholic Charities Diocese of Pueblo. Now she realizes that those participating were hesitant to participate at first but overcame their fear and were happy to do it once they realized others were participating as well. One participant shared, “I feel so grateful with your program for helping me get ahead in life, for taking ‘me’ into consideration to be part of this event to highlight my culture, but most of all for making me feel that I am part of this community and [recognizing] my presence.”

CLINIC applauds Catholic Charities Diocese of Pueblo for their ongoing efforts to promote immigrant integration in the community. Share with us how your community is pursing integration in your organization or community.