The first two weeks of August recess have certainly been exciting! At rallies, vigils, and town halls across the country we have shown our faith by engaging our decision makers in the vital discussion of immigration reform and members have been listening. Whether you rallied in front of Speaker Boehner’s in Ohio, attended a town hall in Texas or Washington state or California, contacted your member of Congress, or changed your Church sign to reflect your congregation’s support for immigration reform, your voice and our collective voice as Church is echoing across the country. With two weeks of great work behind us we have 3 weeks ahead of us, to build on the momentum and successes of the weeks before. Below you will find several resources to help you advocate for comprehensive immigration reform this August.

• Attend a Town Hall Near you! We know that anti-immigrant and anti-reform groups are planning to attend many of these events and so we need to raise faithful and compassionate voices in support of immigration reform that offers a pathway to citizenship and keeps families together. You can find a compiled list of town halls by state here.  This list was gathered from public information but it is by no means an exhaustive list so, if you don’t see your Representative, we recommend visiting their website or calling their in district office.
   
• Download our Comprehensive Immigration Reform Advocacy Toolkit for sermon suggestions, Town Hall "how tos," Signs of Change and much more!
   
• Check out the 5 Rules of Recess from our friends at Sojourners

• Place a call to your representative right now in support of immigration reform (202) 225-3121.
   
• Find state specific statistics about immigrants and the positive contributions they make with these profiles from the Immigration Policy Center. These make great "leave-behinds" for in-district visits or letter drops

• Our work won't end in August! Join the Interfaith Immigration Coalitions 40 Days Fast Action for Immigration Reform campaign and share it with your congregation and community. The campaign starts the Sunday after Labor Day and lasts from September 8 to October 18. This national initiative is part of our interfaith coalition effort to keep the pressure on the U.S. Congress after the August recess to pass compassionate immigration reform legislation that reflects American values and honors the God-given dignity and right of every individual. You can find more information and register for the action at http://fastaction.us/en/.  Information in Spanish is also available, http://fastaction.us/es/

As always, thank you all for your inspiring work and please let us know how we can best support your advocacy efforts.