Events

Virginia Federal Advocacy Day on the Hill

WHAT: VACIR, LAJC and VACOLAO invite you to join us at our advocacy day where we will bring Virginia constituents to Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Virginia Senate and House caucuses to discuss issues important to immigrant communities in our state.

On June 4th, the House passed the Dream and Promise Act which will now move to the Senate where it faces an uphill battle. We will meet with the offices of Senators Kaine and Warner to urge them to support the passage of this bill that would provide permanent relief for millions of TPS holders, DREAMers and Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED)

We will also be discussing with our senators and house representatives the IDEA act, the nomination of Ken Cuccinelli as Acting Director of USCIS and other issues and thank the representatives for their support of the Dream and Promise Act and the recent passage of the Beyer Amendment that would require increased reporting on unaccompanied children from federal agencies.

WHERE: We will convene at (Bread for the World) and walk to US Congress.

WHEN: Monday, June 24, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. – 2:30pm

WHO: Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO), Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR) and Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC).

REGISTRATION REQUIERED: Fill out this ink: https://forms.gle/j7Xx1z3HiXPnrTbu9

CONTACT:  Please contact Edgar Aranda Yanoc at [email protected] for more information.

: VACOLAO invites you to a lunch-time discussion of our legislative agenda where we will talk about our legislative success stories and work that remains to be done. Senators, Delegates and immigrant right advocates will be part of the discussion.

VACOLAO in collaboration with our organizational partners and hundreds of statewide immigrant advocates, pushed for pro immigrant bills, in both the House and the Senate, such as access to driver’s privilege card for undocumented immigrants in Virginia, as well as for Equity tuition for DREAMers and many other bills and issues such as combating wage theft. VACOLAO also pushed back against anti-immigrant bills.

This is an opportunity to meet with advocates and legislators and discuss issues that important to immigrants residing in Virginia.

WHERE: 4444 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington VA 22204 (Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington)

WHEN: Monday April 29, 2019 from 11:30 – 2:00 pm (Lunch will be served, door opens at 11:00am)

REGISTRATION: Seating is limited so please registered at your earliest convenience by clicking here: https://goo.gl/forms/LsRSlXCi901KMW1i2

PROGRAM: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f92qiNSBV4sL62tl4wlr9IMSzdHwJ8rk_3xLW1WJ__I/edit?usp=sharing

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES: https://vacolao.org/immigration-reform/vacolaos-2019-legislative-priorities-results/

If you have questions, please email Edgar Aranda-Yanoc at [email protected] or call us at 703-772-1555.

VACOLAO is a non-profit and non-partisan organization.  VACOLAO’s mission is to serve as a working alliance among organizations in Virginia that serve or support the interest of the Latino communities in order to empower the community and secure equal treatment, equal opportunity and equal representation for Latinos/Hispanics in Virginia.

VACOLAO – VIRGINIA LATINO/IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY DAY

Thursday, January 17, 2019, Richmond, Virginia (Scholarships available)

WHAT: Join the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO)’s annual Immigrant Advocacy Day to meet with elected representatives and advocate for legislation and issues important to Virginia’s immigrant communities. The top priorities of VACOLAO’s legislative agenda are: Driver’s License Access for all immigrants in Virginia, expanding in-state tuition for immigrant students regardless of their legal status, among other important legislation.

WHEN: Thursday, January 17, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. (We will provide light breakfast and lunch)

Transportation available from Falls Church. It will leave from 6066 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041 at 6:30am that morning. Please arrive by 6:15am. We will be returning to northern Virginia at 5:00pm.

WHERE: We will convene at 919 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219 (Tidewater Room) and will meet of our representatives at the new building of the Virginia General Assembly.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Registration fee: $ 20.00. Please register here: https://2019vaimmigrantadovacyday.eventbrite.com

If you pay by check, please make payable to the order of VACOLAO and send us at 6066 Leesburg Pike, suite 520, Falls Church, VA 22041

SCHOLARSHIPS: Limited scholarship assistance is available to cover the event registration fee. To apply for a scholarship, please proceed with your registration and choose “scholarship”. Applications will be evaluated on a first-come first-serve basis.

CONTACT: Contact us at [email protected] or by phone at 703-772-1555.

For more information, please visit www.vacolao.org

Legislative Advocacy Training on Upcoming Immigrant Advocacy Day.

WHAT: Every year before the Immigrant Advocacy Day, VACOLAO organizes a training where we provide information on our legislative agenda that we will be advocates for during the general assembly as well as provide tools on how to become an effective advocate with state elected officials. This meeting will also provide an overview of what to expect during the actual advocacy day in Richmond.

 WHERE: 6066 Leesburg Pike, suite 520, Falls Church, VA 22041

 WHEN: Thursday January 10 at 7pm-8:30pm

 REGISTRATION: https://goo.gl/forms/dmqGETeUmGfMUdC72

For more information: Please call 703-772-1555 or write us at [email protected]

Information Session for Service Providers on Proposed Changes to Public Charge Rule and update on Immigration Issues 

WHAT: You are invited to a discussion on potential changes to the public charge rule and its impact on access to nutrition and healthcare programs.

On October 10^th, DHS published a proposed rule change to the public charge determination made during immigration admittance proceedings. If enacted, the proposed rule change would expand the kinds of benefits deemed a public charge to include non-cash benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and others.

This change would in practice force legal immigrants into a situation of choosing between feeding and providing healthcare for their families or preserving the ability to change to a more permanent status at some point in the future. These programs were designed to promote the health and welfare of children, the majority of whom are US citizens, and it is intolerable to jeopardize their lives in this way.

before the proposed rule was made public, news of the change has already had disastrous consequences for some legal immigrant families who are asking to be dropped from WIC, a federal nutrition program that provides parents of children including US citizens access to affordable formula, immunizations, and free health and nutrition classes. These programs were designed to help children and ensure their healthy development.

Come learn about the proposed rule change, the rule-making process and what you can do.

We will also provide an update on other immigration issues.

WHERE:  4444 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington 22204 (Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington)

WHEN: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 from 9:00 am to 11:00 a.m.

If you have questions, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 703-772-1555.

REGISTER HERE: https://goo.gl/forms/RPKuOmo3c2aMhykr2

Organized by Legal Aid Justice Center’s Immigrant Advocacy Program and VACOLAO.