Progress Illinois

Over 100 new citizens joined the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) in Springfield today to lobby for immigrants rights. The group spent much of the day meeting with lawmakers and pushing for increased funding for both English language programs and citizenship transition programs. ICIRR executive director Joshua Hoyt said the group also hoped to draw attention to the Access to Religious Ministry Act (HB 2747).

"[It] is one bill that we have proposed in order to help people who are in detention," said Hoyt. He explained that the bill would "oblige counties that have turned the detention of immigrants into a business to allow religious workers to go visit immigrants in those jails."

The freshly-minted American citizens who traveled to Springfield included immigrants from all over the world. According to Hoyt, such diversity strengthens their cause.

"We have a big contingent of Polish people here today, a big contingent of Korean immigrants, and big contingent of Latino immigrants," said Hoyt. "They go and talk to their legislators and they deliver different groups of legislators. Some of the issues affect some groups more than others, but each of the groups clearly needs the others."

State Reps. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) and Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago) were among those who welcomed the group, and ICIRR says that today marks the beginning of a major voter mobilization drive for the November election.

"We are going to be working in 20 communities -- ten suburbs and ten cities -- this November on voter mobilization," said Hoyt. "Since 2004 we’ve registered 57 thousand people. We take this stuff very seriously."

For more information on ICIRR click here.

Image courtesy of ICIRR.