Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Farmworker "Say Yes to Immigration Reform" Caravan Here September 3

A caravan of farm workers is making its way around Florida to meet with Members of Congress and encourage them to support comprehensive immigration reform.  The caravan, sponsored by the Florida Farmworker Association of Apopka, will visit Gainesville Tuesday morning September 3.
The group will visit Congressman Ted Yoho's office at 5000 NW 27th Court at 9 a.m. and then hold a press conference at 11 a.m. at the Mennonite Meeting House, 1236 NW 18th Avenue in Gainesville.  They plan to meet with UF students at noon at La Casita, 1503 West University Avenue, and then proceed to the Plaza of the Americas on the UF campus for lunch and conversation with students and faculty.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

September Week of Action

The annual CIW Week of Action in Gainesville will be September 16-22, 2013 and will feature the launch Sunday afternoon September 22 of a regional campaign by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in the southeastern states.  The Modern-Day Slavery Museum will be on the UF campus Wednesday September 18 and at Trinity United Methodist Church Thursday September 19 with presentations by Immokalee farm workers at each location.  The PBS documentary "Rape in the Fields" will be shown Wednesday evening September 18.  More details will be available later.

Gainesville Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice is currently meeting at 6 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at the Mennonite Meeting House, 1236 NW 18th Avenue, Gainesville (opposite Gainesville High School, between PNC and Wells Fargo banks).  Our next scheduled meetings will be August 19 and September 9.  You are welcome to join us.

Activities planned for this coming Fall and Winter include a visitation program for undocumented immigrants in the Baker detention center, "Breaking Bread, Building Bridges" suppers to help local congregations understand immigration issues, and an immersion visit to the Immokalee tomato fields during the winter harvest.  We are working closely with Alachua County Coalition Against Human Trafficking on farm labor issues and with Comprehensive Immigration Reform Now! to encourage Congress to fix the broken immigration system.