Washington Update
Wisconsin on the Move for Child Protection
By Merrill Smith, LIRS Washington Representative

St. Anskar's Episcopal Church in Hartland, Wis., was the scene February 16 for the kickoff event of "Kids Can't Wait," a strategic grassroots campaign to win support in key states and congressional districts. LIRS Policy Advocate Merritt Becker was the lead presenter. Liberian asylee Mekabou Fofana, who had been detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and abused while in custody, told of his harrowing experiences both in Liberia and the United States. Attorney Mary Meg McCarthy of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center spoke of her experiences representing children held by the government. Merritt brought it home by linking the problem to the solution—the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act (S121/HR1904), now pending in Congress. Finally the Lost Boys Choir, an a cappella group of six young Sudanese refugees recently resettled in Iowa, charmed the audience with hymns in their native Dinka language. About 50 people came out for the event on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, mostly at the invitation of LIRS Ambassador Bill Duke. Many took copies of templates for creating the 4,186 paper dolls symbolic of children detained in 2000. The dolls were presented to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee when they held hearings on the bill February 28. To find out more about the paper doll campaign, click here.

Why Hartland? Well, besides being an all-around fine town in America's Midwest, Hartland is situated in Wisconsin's 9th congressional district, home base of Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner. Rep. Sensenbrenner chairs the House Judiciary Committee, through which all immigration legislation, including the children's bill, must pass. He also happens to be a parishioner at St. Anskar's but could not make it to the event.

The next day, Merritt took the presentation to Trinity Lutheran Church in Roselle, Ill., Rep. Henry Hyde's district just outside Chicago. Future events are planned in Phoenix, Ariz., and outside San Diego, Calif., in the districts of House Immigration subcommittee members Reps. Jeff Flake and Darrell Issa. If you want ideas on what you can do in your town, click here or e-mail Merritt at mbecker@lirs.org.

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