News Archives » North America
Immigration Reform Now is Good for the U.S. Economy April 13th, 2009
Recent signals from White House officials that President Obama will address immigration reform this year are welcome. Among the issues of concern is the fate of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of our society.
Ant-immigrant groups are inserting fear and intimidation into the debate with phone calls and emails to the Democratic leadership in Congress to abandon any effort for immigration reform. This opposition comes despite overwhelming evidence that a majority of Americans agree that the current immigration system is broken – they support reform and oppose “enforcement only” tactics.
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G20: Prioritize the Needs of the Poor April 7th, 2009
On April 2, the Group of Twenty (G20) World leaders met in London to discuss the global financial crisis and explore ways to address the situation. Created in 1999, the G20 is a meeting of Finance Ministers on matters of global finance. It is composed of a group of seven (G7) wealthy nations, namely Germany, the United States, Britain, Japan, Canada and Italy; 12 members from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and South Africa (the only Africa nation in the G20) and representatives from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union.
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Ask Your Member of Congress to take Action on Immigration Reform April 6th, 2009
People of faith continue to call for reform of the broken immigration and border systems in the US. With the Congress on Easter/Passover recess from April 6 – 17, and many Members in their home districts, we have a wonderful opportunity to ask them to take action on immigration and border reform. Faith communities across the United States are coming together in more than 120 Neighbor to Neighbor in-district meetings with their Members of Congress to ask them to enact Comprehensive Immigration and Border Reforms this year.
The Oblate JPIC Office has released a resource guide on Immigration and Border Reform that includes talking points for meetings with your elected representatives. The resource is a PowerPoint that can also be used as a discussion tool with groups.
Download the PowerPoint on Immigration and Border Reform
Immigration and Border Reform educational document available in PDF (Download PDF)
Tell your Member of Congress to act boldly on immigration reform. Join your faith community or interfaith group for action. Contact George Ngolwe [gngolwe@omiusa.org] for additional information about neighbor-to-neighbor in-district visits and tips on talking about immigration and border reforms.
Civil Society Groups Urge President Obama and Congress to Curb Food Speculation to Fight the Global Hunger Crisis March 27th, 2009
Letter to White House, Congressional Leaders Demands Swift Action
WASHINGTON, DC – Tuesday, a coalition of faith, hunger, international development, farm and food organizations including the Oblate JPIC Office, sent a letter to President Obama requesting decisive support for efforts to wring out excess speculation in agricultural futures markets that threatens the food security of hundreds of millions of people. The letter notes that “A significant part of last year’s food price fluctuations were the result of excessive speculation in the commodities markets by the very hedge funds and investment banks that helped create the current economic meltdown.”
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World Day for Water March 26th, 2009
To underscore both the potential dangers of “water wars” in places that are home to 40 percent of the world’s population – and the promising opportunities for cooperation and development – the United Nations marked the World Day for Water on 22 March with a focus on trans-boundary waters and their management.
“The amount of water we have has remained constant for thousands of years, while the number and types of users have increased massively… population growth, urbanization, land use changes, and global warming … are creating competing pressures on this finite resource,” says UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in his remarks marking World Water Day. “As a result, the amount of water available for each person is increasingly unequal, and diminishing dramatically.”
This year’s theme, “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities,” aims to explore opportunities to build trust among countries as they manage their common water resources in ways that promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth. Some 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water, making them vulnerable to the water-borne illnesses that kill 4,200 children every day.
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