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CMS Educates Parishioners on DACA and ITIN

Rebecca Rybaltowski, Outreach Assistant communicates information to parishioners about DACA and ITIN.

On Sunday October 20th over 40 parishioners at Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas attended an informational session on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the stall on immigration reform and the impact of recent reform in healthcare. (more…)

CMS Hosts a Successful Citizenship Workshop

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CMS staff and volunteers work with legally qualified permanent residents to take the critical step to becoming American citizens.

On Saturday October 19th Catholic Migration Services hosted a Citizenship Application Assistance Workshop at St.James Cathedral in downtown Brooklyn, Over 80 permanent residents worked with staff and volunteers to complete their citizenship applications.

CMS is a part of The New Americans Campaign to provide free and much needed access to legally qualified permanent residents to take the critical step to becoming American citizens. The process to obtain citizenship can be confusing and complex. Limited knowledge about the path to citizenship and costly fees can make the process more difficult for legal residents. However, the benefits is worth the trouble. When new Americans gain the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of citizenship they contribute more fully to their communities. (more…)

Telemundo Broadcasts Information about CMS’ Citizenship Assistance Workshop

Wednesday October 16, 2013

Telemundo featured Catholic Migration Services in a live broadcast highlighting the upcoming Citizenship Application Assistance Workshop. On Saturday October 19th CMS will be hosting a Citizenship Application Assistance Workshop at St. James Cathedral in downtown Brooklyn. This event is a part of a larger initiative of The New Americans Campaign in which a national network of legal-service providers, faith -based organizations, businesses, foundations and community leaders help to pave the way for legally qualified permanent residents to become American citizens. All across the nation the workshops are free and they provide people with knowledge about the process to naturalization.

Julia Hernandez staff attorney at CMS speaks on Telemundo about CMS’ upcoming Citizenship Application Assistance Workshop.

Click here to see the interview. (more…)

Shining Star Dinners in Review

Tuesday October 15, 2013

On October 4th and October 11th over 850 attendees representing different immigrant communities in the Brooklyn and the Queens dioceses gathered to celebrate this year’s Shining Star Award recipients. In total 30 leaders who have made major contributions to their church and to their community were honored at Gargiulo’s Restaurant in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, NY. The recipients of the awards are selected by their respective ethnic communities. All of the recipients of the awards are selected because they have done outstanding work in the church or they are distinctive leaders in their community. They were honored because they bring unity to the people in their communities.

Shinning Star Award recipients with The Most Reverend Raymond Chappetto, D.D., V.G., and Reverend Patrick J. Keating, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Migration Services.

Guests were welcomed by staff members from Catholic Migration Services and they started their evening with a bountiful cocktail reception. Before the main event began attendees enthusiastically took photographs with The Most Reverend Raymond Chappetto, D.D., V.G., and Reverend Patrick J. Keating, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Migration Services.

(more…)

CMS Marches for Humane Immigration Reform

Monday October 7, 2013

On Saturday October 5th CMS marched across the Brooklyn Bridge for humane and dignified immigration reform alongside hundreds of people on what organizers called a “National Day of Immigrant Dignity and Respect.” Nationwide thousands of supports marched to draw attention to the government passing much needed immigration reform that treats immigrants with dignity and respect and which would serve to unify families.

CMS staff began the day at St. Leo’s church in Corona, Queens where they participated in an 8:00 a.m. mass. The topic of the homily was rooted in the universal and ancient history of migration. The priest emphasized the Church’s support for equality for all and he emphasized that everyone in American should have the same opportunities. After the mass parishioners gathered for an immigration forum where people were encouraged to speak about their own immigration stories or reflect on how immigration has impacted their families or their communities. The central premise of the forum highlighted the fractures within families that have been created because of the stall in progressive immigration reform. Some participants spoke about their personal difficulties accessing basic benefits because their parents are undocumented even though they themselves are documented.

Rebecca and Benjamin representing CMS at a rally before the march across the Brooklyn Bridge.

After the forum CMS staff alongside Faith in New York marched from the church to Corona Plaza where they boarded buses that would take them to Cadman Plaza in downtown Brooklyn. Once there our staff members were joined by hundreds of organizations and participants.

The march across the Brooklyn Bridge was (more…)