Maricela Gutiérrez: With love and justice // Con amor y justicia

Dear Friends,

As the fight for immigrant and refugee rights has intensified over the last few years, our commitment to our work and core beliefs have only continued to grow exponentially.

It gives us great pleasure to announce SIREN’s upcoming 32nd Anniversary Celebration, a journey marked by both obstacles and triumphs, ups and downs, but most importantly, by devoted people who believe in the fundamental rights of every human being and their unyielding will to fight.

We ask you to join us on Friday, April 26, 2019 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose in support of immigrants and refugees. Stand with us because you believe in their rights, their contributions, and in their hopes and dreams. Stand with us because you believe that this moment in history requires each and every one of us do something to change the course of this country.

Join us on April 26, 2019 for an evening of inspiration and empowerment. Reserve your ticket today. Become a sponsor to uplift the lives of immigrants and refugees today. 

With love and justice 


Maricela Gutiérrez
Executive Director 

Queridos Amigos,

A medida que la lucha por los derechos de los inmigrantes y los refugiados se ha intensificado en los últimos años, nuestro compromiso con nuestro trabajo y nuestras creencias fundamentales solo han seguido creciendo de manera exponencial.

Nos complacemos en anunciar el aniversario de SIREN celebrando 32 años, un viaje marcado por obstáculos y triunfos, momentos altos y bajos, pero lo más importante, por personas devotas que creen en los derechos fundamentales de cada ser humano y en su inquebrantable voluntad de luchar.

Les pedimos que se unan a nosotros el viernes 26 de abril de 2019 en la Plaza de la Herencia Mexicana en San José para apoyar a los inmigrantes y refugiados. Únete a nosotros porque crees en sus derechos, sus contribuciones y en sus esperanzas y sueños. Únete a nosotros porque crees que este momento en la historia requiere que todos y cada uno de nosotros hagamos algo para cambiar el curso de este país.

Únase a nosotros el 26 de abril de 2019 para una noche de inspiración y empoderamiento. Reserve su boleto hoy. Conviértase en un patrocinador hoy para elevar las vidas de inmigrantes y refugiados.

Con amor y justicia,


Maricela Gutiérrez
Directora Ejecutiva

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EVENT CALENDAR 

CALENDARIO DE EVENTOS

FREE LEGAL CLINICS

CLINICAS LEGALES GRATUITAS

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CONTACT US:

EMAIL
info@siren-bayarea.org 

CENTRAL VALLEY
2904 N. Blackstone, Suite 202, Fresno CA 93703 | (559) 840-0005

BAY AREA 
1415 Koll Circle, Suite 108, San Jose, CA 95112 | (408) 453-3003

CAREERS AND INTERNSHIPS AT SIREN // FORME PARTE DE NUESTRO EQUIPO

FORME PARTE DE NUESTRO EQUIPO 

Para satisfacer las crecientes necesidades de nuestras comunidades de inmigrantes y refugiados, SIREN ha crecido enormemente en los últimos tres años duplicando el tamaño de nuestro personal, expandiendo nuestro alcance geográfico y casi triplicando nuestro presupuesto. Estamos buscando personas dedicadas y talentosas para unirse a nuestro movimiento en la construcción del poder de inmigrantes y refugiados. Ayúdenos a correr la voz acerca de las posiciones abiertas que actualmente tenemos disponibles en nuestras oficinas en el Área de la Bahía y Valle Central. SIREN ofrece un salario competitivo y un gran paquete de beneficios.

Para obtener más información o para presentar una solicitud, visítenos http://www.siren-bayarea.org/jobs.

CAREERS AND INTERNSHIPS AT SIREN 

In order to meet the growing needs of our immigrant and refugees communities, SIREN has grown tremendously within the past three years by doubling our staff size, expanding our geographic reach and almost tripling our budget. We are looking for dedicated, talented individuals to join our movement in building immigrant and refugee power. Help us spread the word about the open positions we currently have available in both our Bay Area and Central Valley offices. SIREN offers a competitive salary and a great benefits package.

For more information or to apply, please visit us at www.siren-bayarea.org/jobs.

SIREN EN LAS NOTICIAS

Fresno establece un comité de inmigración "largamente vencido", pero no tiene fondos. / Fresno establishes ‘long overdue’ immigration committee–but it has no funding. Fresno Bee Online: February 17, 2019.

Gutiérrez: Los inmigrantes tienen el poder con nuestro voto. / Gutierrez: Immigrants hold the power with our vote. San Jose Spotlight: February 6, 2019.

Se espera que Trump se centre en la seguridad de las fronteras en la dirección de la Oficina Oval de la Casa Blanca. / Trump expected to focus on border security in address from Oval Office. KGO-AM Online: January 9, 2019.

SIREN IN THE NEWS

Fresno establishes ‘long overdue’ immigration committee–but it has no funding. Fresno Bee Online: February 17, 2019.
 

Gutierrez: Immigrants hold the power with our vote. San Jose Spotlight: February 6, 2019.
 

Trump expected to focus on border security in address from Oval Office. KGO-AM Online: January 9, 2019. 

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EVENT CALENDAR 

CALENDARIO DE EVENTOS

FREE LEGAL CLINICS

CLINICAS LEGALES GRATUITAS

---

CONTACT US:

EMAIL
info@siren-bayarea.org 

CENTRAL VALLEY
2904 N. Blackstone, Suite 202, Fresno CA 93703 | (559) 840-0005

BAY AREA 
1415 Koll Circle, Suite 108, San Jose, CA 95112 | (408) 453-3003

Fresno establishes ‘long overdue’ immigration committee — but it has no funding

BY YESENIA AMARO, Fresno Bee

FEBRUARY 17, 2019 06:00 AM,

UPDATED FEBRUARY 17, 2019 02:08 PM

MI FAMILIA VOTA MI FAMILIA VOTA

Fresno immigrant advocates believe a “long overdue” new advisory committee will make a dent on issues affecting the local immigrant community — despite having no funding attached.

The Fresno City Council on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution to establish a 15-member immigrant affairs committee. The committee will be tasked with advising the City Council on issues related to immigrants, according to the resolution. 

In June 2017, the City Council turned down a proposal to establish a legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation.

The proposal asked for the city to include $200,000 in its 2017-18 budget for its contribution to the public-private legal fund that had been pushed by immigration and civil rights advocates.

Some acknowledged that not having to make an upfront funding commitment for the advisory committee might have played a role in the unanimous support for Thursday’s resolution. 

Samuel Molina, state director for Mi Familia Vota, said he and others had been advocating for the committee for about a year and a half. 

“It’s long overdue,” Molina said.

While he agreed that having no funding attached might have contributed to the passage of the resolution, he believes the committee can accomplish several things.

For example, it shows the immigrant community that the City Council stands with them and takes their concerns seriously, he said. The committee has the potential to address several issues within the immigrant community, like transition into citizenship and language barriers.

Plus, similar committees in other jurisdictions have shown to be effective. “Committees have worked to develop strategic plans on addressing immigrant issues and needs,” he said.

Council Member Luis Chavez said the city has to start somewhere when it comes to communicating with the immigrant community and including immigrants in the city’s decision-making process.

“This is a way to bring them to the table,” he said. “I think what we are trying to do here, is the first step in building a bridge with city hall and the immigrant community.”

Each council member will nominate two members and the mayor will appoint one, Chavez said. All committee members are expected to be in place by the end of March or early April, and the group will start its work soon after that. 

The committee’s meetings will be subject to the Brown Act and will be open to the public, according to the resolution.

Eliseo V. Gamino, chair of the Central Valley Leadership Roundtable, said he hopes the committee will have resources and accountability. 

The committee should be based on assistance and in “helping keep families together” – a need that has recently been illustrated with the case of a Navy veteran who fears could be deported, Gamino said. 

But Gamino said the committee does need adequate resources to be effective. 

“It has to have appropriate resources and accountability goals to help families stay... together and avoid deportation without due process,” he said. 

Chavez said the committee will have city hall resources, as well as access to department heads, the city’s attorney’s office and access to his personal office. 

Issues the advisory committee can help address, Chavez said, range from long wait times for international flights at the Fresno International Airport due to an inadequate number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, to offering English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and making citizenship classes more widely available. 

The legal defense fund is an issue the committee could bring back to the table as well, he said. 

Maricela Gutierrez, executive director with Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Services (SIREN), applauded the new committee. 

“I think this is a step in the right direction,” she said. “Our wish and dream is that one day there is actually an office of immigrants and refugee affairs.”

Read more here: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article226344450.html

Gutiérrez: Immigrants hold the power with our vote

SIREN started the 2019 year in the immigrant and refugees rights movement with the federal government in a partial shutdown, where more than 800,000 federal workers were working without pay due to a failure between President Donald Trump and Congress to compromise over a useless and unnecessary border wall.

And on January 25, after 35 days of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, a budget continuing resolution was passed to open the government for another three weeks — without funding for the border wall.

From the resistance by members of Congress who refused to give in to Trump’s border demands, a major theme rang true — immigrant voters helped put Congress in a position to resist this discriminatory and racist wall.

For the November 2018 midterm elections, we saw record voter turnout among immigrants on the regional, state, and national level. Though SIREN doesn’t engage voters on behalf of candidates, we heard the frustration from voters in those districts where incumbent members of Congress lost.

Our volunteers made more than 80,000 phone calls to Congressional Districts 10 and 21, who were represented by Rep. Jeff Denham and Rep. David Valadao, respectively, this past election. The number one concern voiced by immigrant voters was how Congress wasn’t doing enough for immigrants.

From not protecting immigrant youth by failing to pass a clean DREAM Act to not pushing back against Trump’s draconian immigration executive orders, immigrant voters shared their disapproval for their members of Congress and their empty promises. As a result, the two incumbents lost their congressional seats this past November, along with other incumbents across the state and country.