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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 


MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                June 11, 2009
 
 
Michele Garnett McKenzie                                                          Briana MacPhee
The Advocates for Human Rights                                     United Families MN Committee
612-341-3302 x117 (office)                                                          612-396-5610
612-360-3818 (cell)
 
 
Community Assembly on Immigration coming to Minnesota on June 14th
Congressman Keith Ellison hosts Illinois’ Congressman Luis Gutierrez for a
community dialogue on Immigration.
 
 
Who?               Office of Congressman Keith Ellision, Office of Congressman Luis Gutierrez (Illinois), and Familias Unidas Minnesota Committee
What?             Community Assembly on Immigration
Where?            Church of the Incarnation
                        3817 Pleasant Ave
                        Minneapolis, MN 55409
 
When? Sunday June 14th 2009 (2:30pm)
 
 
Minneapolis, MN- On Sunday June 14th Congressman Keith Ellison will host Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez for a community assembly on immigration. This gathering will highlight the failure of the current immigration system to keep families and communities together.
 
Congressman Luis Gutierrez has visited communities across the country to document the harm being caused to citizens in the absence of Immigration Reform. His visit to Minnesota is a part of the Family Unity Tour, a series of community gatherings hoping to build momentum for federal changes to the Immigration.
 
Gutierrez will listen to testimonies of people whose families have been separated as a result of the inequity of the immigration system.
 
“Families in our state are being torn apart. Children are being separated from their mothers, communities are being destroyed as a result of our current system,” said Briana MacPhee, United Families MN Committee. “We want change, and we want it now.”
 
“U.S. immigration law must protect the basic human right to dignity and to respect for unity of the family,” said Michele Garnett McKenzie, advocacy director at The Advocates for Human Rights. The Advocates for Human Rights, one of the event organizers, supports immigration laws which meet international human rights standards including respect for the unity of the family, due process, freedom from arbitrary detention, protection of refugees, and protection of workers.
 
The United Families MN Committee is made up of a diverse group of organizations who have worked side by side; combining efforts, all for the sake of the same issue: just and humane immigration reform that respects the sanctity of our society’s most valuable asset– our families.
 
 
 
Pre-Event Press Conferences: Church Basement
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. Congressman Ellison and spokespeople
           
Community Assembly: Main Church
2:30 – 4:15 Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez, United Families MN Committee, and other speakers.
 
Post-Event Press Conference: Church Basement
4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Representation from Congressman Keith Ellison, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Congressman Eric Paulson, Senator Amy Klobuchar, State Senator Patricia Torres Ray, State Representative Paul Thiessen, Minneapolis Mayor RT Ryback, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Brooklyn Center Mayor Tim Wilson, testimony participants, religious leaders from Minnesota Catholic, Jewish, Protestant & Muslim communities and other elected officials.
 
 
 

The Advocates for Human Rights is a non-governmental, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of internationally recognized human rights. With the help of over 600 volunteers, The Advocates investigates and exposes human rights violations; represents immigrants and refugees in our community who are victims of human rights abuses, trains and assists groups that protect human rights; and works through education and advocacy to engage the public, policy makers and children about human rights and cultural understanding. The Advocates holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations.