Thread: TIRRC WORKING FEVERISHLY TO DEFEAT TN IMMIGRATION BILLS

The TIRRC in Nashville worked hard and succeeded in defeating many immigration bills brought forward last year. They are working even harder this year to defeat the many bills in this 2007 legislative session.

Cleveland, Tn was the latest place for TIRRC's misrepresentation of the bills by an attorney with the pro-illegal alien group. An article in the Cleveland Daily Banner said the bills were anti-immigration, not anti-illegal immigration. Joe Brooks was the writer of the misleading news story sympathetic to illegal aliens and the group supporting them in Cleveland called the Ocoee Regional Multicultural Services Center (ORMS), co-chaired by Tom Rowland, the City's Mayor. TIRRC visited the ORMS and continued the farce of being pro-legal immigration and yet against every bill that Americans and Tennesseans want to protect their cities and state from the invasion of illegal aliens and their profiteers.

Off Limits Immigration Update

Posted by PJ Tobia (03.22.07, 1:41 PM)

In this week’s Off Limits section of your Nashville Scene, we reported on a bill making its way through the state legislature that would make it a crime to transport undocumented immigrants into Tennessee. The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition opposes the bill on the grounds that it would burden individuals with enforcing federal immigration law, particularly church groups that often venture across state lines.

It seems that the coalition might not have to worry about road-tripping, undocumented believers after all. Today, the bill’s sponsor Rep. Mike Turner, told the Scene that another Nashville Democrat, Rep. Rob Briley, is crafting an amendment to the bill to exempt church organizations. But Turner says that’s as far as he’ll go.

"Some folks wanted to include all charitable groups" in the amendment, Turner says. "I opposed that because these are too easy to start up. Anyone can start a charity, it's much harder to start a Catholic church."

http://www.nashvillescene.com/blog/pitw ... 1474.shtml

http://www.tnimmigrant.org/TN_Coalition ... short.html

http://www.clevelandbanner.com/NF/omf/d ... 143+cr=gdn

2007 Board Members of TIRRC

Monica Hernandez, Highlander Center (New Market) -- PRESIDENT

Francisco Flores, Grupo Sueno (Memphis)

Sharmila Murthy, The Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee & Cumberlands (Nashville)

Jennifer Rosenbaum, Southern Poverty Law Center (Nashville)

Renata Soto, Conextion Americas (Knoxville)

Saadia Williams, Race Relations Institute (Knoxville)

Jihan Abdulla, Nashville Association of Muslim Youth (Nashville)

Julio Fernandez, Nashville Comite de Hispanos (Nashville)

Riyad Alkasem, Islamic Center of Nashville (Nashville)

Salaad Nur, Somali Community Center of Nashville (Nashville)

Henry Blaz, Progressive Baptist Church (Nashville)

Principles

The Coalition:

Will be led primarily by immigrants and refugees

Encourages the participation of all immigrants and refugees as well as their supporters

Sets aside personal or organizational agendas in order to advance the rights and well being of immigrant and refugee communities

Advocates and defends the rights of all immigrants and refugees regardless of immigration status, and will not compromise the rights of the few for the rights of the many

http://www.tnimmigrant.org/TN_Coalition ... ciples.htm

Focus Areas

Grassroots policy change
Centers around the Coalition's goal to "create a powerful voice in the public arena that is truly representative of the interests of the state's immigrant and refugee community." Examples of TIRRC advocacy activities include: legislative visits, letter writing campaigns, petitions, and direct actions.

Defense of civil liberties and civil rights

Focuses on informing immigrant and refugee communities as to their rights by distributing multi-lingual know your rights materials, holding know your rights seminars, and helping to organize a response from immigrant and refugee communities in cases in which it appears the rights of community members have been violated.

Grassroots leadership development

Concentrates on increasing the voice of the immigrant and refugee community by identifying budding grassroots groups, and developing these groups' capacity to participate in the civic process by way of local trainings and ongoing consulting.

Public awareness

Focuses on educating Tennesseans as to the contributions of Tennessee immigrants and refugees, the special needs of this growing population, and the realities of immigration.

http://www.tnimmigrant.org/TN_Coalition/Focus_areas.htm