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Archive for May, 2011

Sign-On Letter in Support of Deferred Enforced Departure Extension for Liberians

May 22nd, 2011 JALSA No comments

As many of you know, Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians is set to expire on September 30, 2011. Since 1991, the United States has provided temporary legal status to Liberian nationals who fled and have been unable to return to Liberia due to unstable conditions resulting from the civil war. On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed a memo extending DED for Liberian nationals through September 30, 2011. The extension provided these Liberians with temporary work authorization, but it expires in six months and does not provide them with a new pathway to obtain lawful permanent residency.

We are collecting organizational signatures for a sign-on letter in support of an extension of DED for this population – for more information and to sign on, please visit
http://www.energyofanation.org/liberian_ded_letter.html/
Organizational signatures will be accepted through May 27, 2011.

Liza Lieberman
Grassroots Policy Associate and
DC Young Leaders Coordinator
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
1775 K Street NW, Suite 320
Washington, DC 20006

Categories: Protecting Civil Liberties Tags:

About JALSA

May 10th, 2011 JALSA No comments

When you join JALSA as a member for 2011, you become an essential part of a progressive public policy organization, inspired by Jewish traditions and teachings, leading the way in protecting civil rights and constitutional liberties, and fighting for social and economic justice.

As a member of JALSA, you can be proud of your organization for:

* Fighting for environmental and food justice;

* Defending the rights of all workers, including immigrant       workers, to organize;

* Leading the effort to pass sick days legislation;

* Submitting amicus briefs in key discrimination, religious accommodation, and free speech cases;

* Standing up for progressive taxation;

* Opposing discrimination against the LGBT community;

* Protecting public school funding, and oppposing privatization     and high-stakes testing; and

* Creating the “First Friday” speaker series to engage with top     level policymakers each month.

For more information on JALSA’s ongoing work, click here.

How can JALSA remain such a reliable voice, even in tough economic times, representing progressive views at key moments in the legislative and judicial process?

It’s because we have a strong membership base -including you – behind everything we do.

Please send in your 2011 dues today so that JALSA can

continue to work with you to realize our shared vision for

a more just world.

Sincerely,

Andrew Fischer, Esq              Sheila Decter

President                             Executive Director

JALSA is a special interest group. Our special interest is promoting the general welfare; safeguarding access to equal opportunity; and eliminating the legal, societal and economic barriers that stand between too many and the promise of the American dream.

We are a membership-based non-profit organization based in Boston. We are dedicated to being a strong, progressive, inter-generational voice, inspired by Jewish teachings and values, for social and economic justice, civil rights, and civil liberties for all peoples.

Recent efforts include:

  • Strengthening the state’s commitment to quality public education by working with legislators and educators to ensure adequate funds, reduce dropout rates and close achievement gaps;
  • Working on cutting edge issues, like green jobs, to ensure that low-income and minority communities have access to job training and green employment opportunities.
  • Addressing health as a civil right, supporting the improvement of and access to health care for people of all incomes;
  • Continuing legislative and judicial activities to prevent discrimination against members of gay, lesbian, and transgender communities; and
  • Providing advice to tenants and homeowners facing foreclosure, and working on statewide legislation to remedy the effects of the mortgage market collapse;

Major victories and Accomplishments:

  • Coordinating an ongoing effort to focus on civil rights through counsel with the state’s senior level civil rights officer, a position created in response to our coalition’s advocacy;
  • Bringing together scientists, academics, and advocates in support of the state’s stem cell law;
  • Founding Community Servings, the hot meals program for people with AIDS and other life-threatening diseases, and their caregivers.
  • Successfully protecting the constitutional right of religious freedom by coordinating two amici briefs in two important cases on religious accommodation before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Categories: *ABOUT JALSA*, Information Tags: