http://www.icirr.org/
Español | Korean | Chinese | Arabic ICIRR Network: ICIRR Home | Events Calendar | Press | Resources | Projects | About ICIRR | Volunteer! |
Sign Up for ICIRR's Newsletter... Last Name: First Name: E-Mail:

This website is available in multiple languages!
Welcome to the homepage of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. You can use this website to find out more about who we are, see our upcoming events, learn more about the state of immigration reform, find links to the various projects run by the Coalition, and much more!
Read more about what's available on this site...
Got Immigration Debate Updates?
Looking for information on the immigration debate? Check out our "Immigration Debate Blog," with updates straight from the desk of ICIRR Policy Director Fred Tsao. Also see our "Fact Sheets" section for information about the Senate and House bills |

Recent News
Immigrants Rights Radio, 950 AM, Wednesdays from 10 am - 12 noon | 08/31: Immigrant group taking a long walk, By Sara Olkon, Chicago Tribune | 08/31: Group: GOP mailer likens immigrants to 'disease', BY SCOTT FORNEK, Chicago Sun Times | 08/30: Immigrants flock to the suburbs, BY SCOTT FORNEK, Sun Times Political Reporter | 08/24: ICIRR Statement - How Silly People Think | 08/24: Immigration Plan Gets a Boost, Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post | 08/19: ICIRR Press Release - Faith groups defend their right to register new citizens and Latinos to vote | 08/17: Batavia preparing for Labor Day immigration march, By John Johnston, The Daily Herald | 08/15: Statement from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights about Elvira Arellano | 08/15: Activist refuses deportation, takes refuge in church, By Oscar Avila, Chicago Tribune | 08/15: New Data Shows Immigrants’ Growth and Reach, By RICK LYMAN, New York Times | 08/07: Critics Say Politics Driving Immigration Hearings, August 7, 2006, New York Times | 08/05: Bush Hails Border Security Improvements, By Nedra Pickler, The Associated Press | 08/04: Growth of Foreign-born Minority Populations in D.C. suburbs, By Lyndsey Layton and Dan Keating, The Washington Post | 08/01: ACLU, Muslim Group Demand End to Citizenship Delays, By H.G. Reza, Los Angeles Times | 07/29: Elgin is targeted in voter sign-up, By Tom Polansek, Elgin Courier | 07/28: House G.O.P. Planning Recess Hearings, By RACHEL L. SWARNS, New York Times | 07/27: Green Cards Would Mean Fingerprinting at Airports, By ERIC LIPTON, New York Times | More Recent News...

August 30th - ICIRR RELEASES IMPORTANT REPORT
Marching Towards the American Dream: Illinois Immigrant Citizens Settle in Chicago Suburbs

While long a factor in ‘urban elections’, immigrant populations are changing the political landscape in Illinois. Immigrant citizens and the U.S. born children of immigrants are fast becoming the critical voting blocks in Chicago’s suburbs this November and beyond. A Research Brief, titled “Marching Toward the American Dream: Illinois Immigrant Citizens Settle in Chicago Suburbs” was released Wednesday by the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). It is based on the recently released U.S. Census figures for 2005 and reveals that over the past five years the number of immigrants in the state has increased by 177,000, a figure greater than the population of Aurora, Illinois’s second largest city.

Some key findings of the report:

- Naturalized immigrants and their U.S. born children now represent 19% of all eligible voting age people in Illinois.
- The number of naturalized immigrants in suburban Chicago rose by 127,000 persons, or 38 percent, in the last five.
- The number of immigrant citizens in the suburbs (460,000) dwarfs the number in the City of Chicago (229,000).

Read the full report here.

Read the full press release here.

Read the Sun Times' coverage of the report here.



Download the Immigrant Worker Justice Walk Flyer in English and Spanish.

To register for the Walk, download our Walk Registration Form and Walk Waiver.

What is the Immigrant Worker Justice Walk?

Over Labor Day weekend, thousands of immigrants and their allies will take part in a historic, multi-day, multi-city event: the Immigrant Worker Justice Walk. The "March 10 Movement," which helped bring together the massive mobilizations in Chicago this spring, has called for this Walk from Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood to US House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office in Batavia. The Immigrant Worker Justice Walk will highlight the lack of real comprehensive immigration reform, which would benefit our families and our communities.

What are the themes of the Immigrant Worker Justice Walk?

• Justice for Immigrants
• Faith
• Family
• Civic engagement and voting

What is the route of the Immigrant Worker Justice Walk?

The Walk will start in Chicago and will go through the communities of Berwyn, Oak Park, River Forest, Melrose Park, Maywood, Elmhurst, Villa Park, Lombard, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, West Chicago and Batavia. You can find a map at www.icirr.org, and use the contact information below for more specific information.

Why are we walking to House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s Office in Batavia?

US House Speaker Dennis Hastert is in a powerful position to either block or enact real comprehensive immigration reform. We are asking him to pay attention to the contributions of undocumented immigrants, and to pass immigration reform that allows for legalization for all; family reunification and civil liberties protection.

What can my institution do?

We are asking organizations to do the following:

1. Publicly endorse and support the Immigrant Worker Justice Walk (please email or call in your statement of support using the information below)
2. Help organize logistics for the Walk (e.g., providing water, food, etc. for Walkers)
3. Help organize events along the route of the Walk

What do I need to bring on the Walk?

Download our Walk List here.

March Route:



Read the full press release here.

For more information about the Immigrant Workers Justice Walk, please contact Ana Guajardo at aguajardo@icirr.org.


Become a Member of ICIRR!
It's been an exciting year, but the battle is not over! We need your support moving into this next stage of the push for comprehensive immigration reform.

Our members are our greatest strength, the ones in the trenches, assessing and meeting the needs of your constituencies. ICIRR is here to help by providing technical assistance, training, outreach, community organizing and advocacy support, public policy monitoring and analysis, and program grants to support training and civic engagement. Working together, we can make it happen.

To find out more about the benefits of becoming a member of ICIRR, download our Membership Information brochure here (Note: this brochure should be printed Landscape on legal sized paper).

To fill out an online membership application, click here.

For more information about membership, please contact Lawrence Benito at 312-332-7360, ext. 37 or lbenito@icirr.org.


May 1st Immigrant Workers' Justice March Videos on YouTube:
For those of you looking for videos of the marches on March 10th and May 1st, go to http://www.youtube.com and search for "chicago immigration"...you'll find plenty! Here's one from Mario Contreras Jr.:



***

What do you think of our website? How could it be more helpful to you?

Name:
E-Mail:


Comments:













How is my legislator voting?
Sen. Richard Durbin (D)
Sen. Barack Obama (D)
Rep. Bobby Rush (D)
Rep. Jesse Jackson (D)
Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D)
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D)
Rep. Henry Hyde (R)
Rep. Danny Davis (D)
Rep. Melissa Bean (D)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D)
Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R)
Rep. Jerry Weller (R)
Rep. Jerry Costello (D)
Rep. Judy Biggert (R)
Rep. Dennis Hastert (R)
Rep. Timothy Johnson (R)
Rep. Donald Manzullo (R)
Rep. Lane Evans (D)
Rep. Ray LaHood (R)
Rep. John Shimkus (R)
Copyright c. 2005 (ICIRR). Design by Andreas Viklund.