Friday, October 21, 2005

32 and Counting!

Congratulations to the more than 500 members of the Comunidad Catolica de Langley Park for becoming the 32nd congregation to join Action In Montgomery (AIM)! This largely Latino community is a mission of St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring. AIM, a broad-based coalition of congregations from diverse faiths, has increasingly been doing organizing work in Montgomery County immigrant communities, the fastest growing segment of the county's population.

Last October, at an action with more than 1000 leaders in attendance, AIM announced a campaign to open a full-service Citizenship and Immigration office in the county. Leaders pointed out that two-thirds of Maryland immigrants Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, yet the only full-service USCIS office in the state is in Baltimore City. This places a significant hardship on these immigrants, their families and even their employers, as they have to miss work for days and days in order to make repeated trips to Baltimore.

[full-disclosure: My church was instrumental in the founding of AIM, I have been a leader in the organization since its founding and am currently a member of the AIM Strategy Team.]

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