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Congratulations/Felicitaciones!
Local students proudly hold their certificates for achieving proficiency toward the Seal of Biliteracy. Eighteen students, sixteen from Port Townsend High School and two from Chimacum High School, were honored at the Port Townsend School District Board meeting on May 5, 2022 for reaching this significant goal .
Nancy Zamberlin, the teacher of JCIRA's adult evening ESL class, set up and conducted the testing required to earn the Seal of Biliteracy. JCIRA funded the test fees for eleven of the students from immigrant families.
We applaud the hard work these students have put into furthering a world of bicultural, biliterate global citizens.
For more information on the Seal of Biliteracy: CLICK HERE.
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Update on Afghan Family in Port Townsend
Ali, Storya, and daughter Nihal, the family from Afghanistan that members of JCIRA and other friends have been sponsoring, have been living in Port Townsend for the past four months. They have been learning English and adapting to the culture of the United States. Unfortunately, the apartment where they have been living has become unavailable.
Ali and Storya are now assessing their options. They may decide to stay in this area if suitable living accommodations can be found. Any help finding housing for them would be greatly appreciated. You can contact us at jcirawa@gmail.com or call JCIRA at 360-232-6070. They may decide to move to Seattle to be with relatives and other Afghans. However, the housing situation in Seattle is also very difficult. A third possibility is a move to Arizona to be with other relatives. If they stay in this area we will continue to help them to the best of our abilities. Whatever choice they make, their transition to life in this country will continue to be challenging.
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VOICES OF REFUGEES
On the banks of the river
run children
follow, follow
the boat
all the way to the ends
of the world
where the gulls play
where seas meet
where people hold each other
no matter what
the next storm brings.
There will be wind
there will be sorrow
there will be great
unknowns
in the next tomorrow.
And still we have
each other
We do this
to keep
together,
together.
By Polly Thurston (PT resident & QUUF member)
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Thought You Might be Interested
Border Patrol Checkpoints and the Drug War: The Insanity Continues
By Patrick G. Eddington
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On June 6, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued their latest report on operations at internal checkpoints operated by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), previously requested by Senators Pat Leahy (D‑VT), Patty Murray (D‑WA), Gary Peters (D‑MI) and Representative Bennie Thompson (D‑MS). Among the key findings:
- About 75 percent (12,194) of U.S. citizen drug seizure events involved marijuana only. About half of checkpoint events in which Border Patrol seized drugs from U.S. citizens (8,098 of 16,315) included the seizure of a personal use quantity of marijuana and no other drugs. Of particular note, CBP officials told GAO investigators that U.S. Attorney’s offices in their sector generally do not prosecute people for possessing personal use quantities of marijuana. (p. 27)
So CBP agents are making stops and seizures of minuscule amounts of marijuana in order to tout the “achievement” to their superiors and the public. And 91 percent of the time, those drug “busts” involved U.S. citizens. (p. 25)
For more on this go to the Cato website here.
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CHAUTAUQUA IMMIGRATION WORKSHOP
An important part of the recent Chautauqua/Rhody week of events was a series of workshops. In addition to music, food, art and vaudeville, a variety of small group discussion workshops was planned. Joanne Murayama, local quilt artist and historian, was asked to lead a session on immigrant family histories, based on her Japanese family having been interned in a detention camp during World War II. Joanne invited Libby Palmer and Jean Walat of JCIRA (Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Advocates) to join her as co-facilitators
On Sunday afternoon, May 22, a group of 15 people gathered for a workshop called Why I’m Here, to talk about how each of us ended up in the US. Ancestors of everyone present had come from countries outside the US. We discussed and shared answers to questions such as: Where did our families come from? What led them to leave their native birthplace? What was their experience arriving in the US? How does it compare to the experiences of immigrants today? We also talked about JCIRA’s current work with Jefferson County immigrants – helping provide legal aid, family services, advocacy in legislative matters and a special fund to help those immigrants in need.
It’s already been suggested that similar small group workshops might take place sometime in the future, perhaps online. There are fascinating and important stories to be shared, even in our seemingly homogeneous community. For further information, contact Joanne at jsmurayama@gmail.com
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GOOD NEWS DEPARTMENT
1. One Step Closer for Healthcare for Undocumented in Washington
Recently, JCIRA joined with many organizations including WAISN, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, in requesting the Health Benefit Exchange apply for the Section 1332 State Innovation Waiver. If approved, it will provide access to federally non-subsidized health and dental coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder to all Washington residents, regardless of immigration status. We'll be updating you on the application, but in the meantime you can learn more about the need and the support from the Health Benefit Exchange release here.
2. Texas City Gives Money for Immigrant Non-Profits
San Antonio will give $1.5 million of its federal COVID-19 relief funds to nonprofits aiding immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. City Council members said this is part of the city's welcoming of immigrants and the funds will help groups dealing with the current surge of immigrants. To read more go to the San Antonio Report here.
3. Michigan Proclaims June as Immigrant Heritage Month
Michigan is celebrating the contributions of immigrants in shaping communities and in strengthening the state economy. There are more than 678,000 immigrants in Michigan, about 7 percent of the population. For more click here.
4. The Children of Immigrants are the Ones Getting Ahead in America.
Children of immigrants defy the trend of "downward mobility" over the last few generations. As the American ideals become more unattainable, children of immigrants arriving in the U.S. from 1980 through today appear to surpass their parents and move up the economic ladder. For more on this story click here.
5. D.C. Activists Create Emergency Aid Operation for Bussed Migrants
When Texas announced plans to bus migrants to Washington, D.C., a group of people created an emergency aid operation. They meet migrants arriving at all hours and provide medical care, food, shelter and transportation. Read more here.
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JCIRA Newsletter Needs New Editor!
We're looking for a volunteer with newsletter experience and computer skills. Familiarity with MailChimp would be a real plus but not a requirement. Not to worry, we would provide ample orientation and training to make this work. You would be working either solo or with another JCIRA member to produce a monthly, and at times bi-monthly, newsletter, containing primarily submissions by members. And we welcome new ideas including possible format changes for the newsletter. So if this sounds like something you want to try out, let us know by contacting jcirawa@gmail.com. For more information you can call Roberta at 206-769-6721.
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