Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network

Watch the VIDEO of our rally here:

Immigration Rally video

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Members of the Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network rallied at Market Square in Cleveland Saturday, hoping that their message on immigration rights is heard all the way to Washington.

They said the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 is too restrictive.

“The actual name of this bill should be the border militization, national ID, corporate and prison subsidy and family separation act,” said Don Bryant, of the Greater Cleveland Immigration Support Network.

The group wants to see more equitable immigration reform and legislation that is more welcoming to immigrants.

Elisa Bredendiek emigrated from Germany eight years ago and now assists with programs at the GCISN.

“We were hoping to get a more inclusive reform that would get the path to citizenship quicker and easier. There are still a lot of fees involved, a lot of waiting,” Bredendiek said.

The group said immigration reform is not only a social justice issue but an issue critical to economically dying cities. Richard Herman, Immigration Attorney and Co-Author of “Immigration INC.,” said Americans should not fear, but welcome immigrants who could make Northeast Ohio more sustainable.

“We need to create jobs and small businesses. And, the data supports the notion that new businesses are created increasingly by immigrants and minorities. So, for us to reboot Cleveland’s economy and to re-populate, we need to start welcoming the immigrants and the minority job creator,” Herman said.

Jennifer Lawrence, of Cleveland, said she doesn’t think most Americans are against the idea of immigration.

“I think it’s just that the immigrants that are seeking equality — everybody in America is seeking equality. Everybody wants jobs,” she said.

Herman said Cleveland was built on the backs of immigrant workers, and it could be revitalized with immigrant businesses.

“With cities that are depopulating like Cleveland, we need human capital and families and investors and immigration reform offers that opportunity,” Herman said.

The ESL (English as a Second Language) and Spanish Classes will be starting their winter/spring session on February 4th, 2013

If you’ve want to learn English or brush-up on your Spanish skills, join the Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network for our language classes. Both ESL and Spanish classes are free and no sign up or registration is required. All are welcome to drop in on the classes!

For the new session, the class times will be:

ESL: Mondays 7pm-8:30pm

Spanish: Mondays 7pm-8:30pm*

*Please note that for the winter/spring sessions, ESL classes will now be on Mondays (instead of Tuesdays).

Location of the Classes:

Catholic Worker Storefront

4241 Lorain Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113

For more information please call us at:

216-282-0722

Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network Invites you to our Annual Fundraiser Dinner

Let’s celebrate our 9th anniversary!

Where?: Storefront| 4241 Lorain Ave| Cleveland OH 44113

When?: Saturday, December 1st, 2012 ~  7-9PM

What?: Celebrate GCISN’s 9^th Anniversary

Cost?: Suggested donation $15 (everyone is welcome)

We will provide a light supper

Enjoy a talk about Arab communities and their fight for justice

Questions?: Call 216.798.9177 or

Email: elisa@immigantsupportnetwork.org

Cleveland Welcomes the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity: A bi-national initiative
You are invited to welcome the 110-person caravan, and to join the community forum on the “Drug War” violence in the U.S. and in Central America.
North Presbyterian Church
4001 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44103
September 5, 2012, 7:30 PM – 9 PM

DREAMers, along with legal and community organizations, recently launched the “We Own the DREAM” campaign to offer trustworthy information, direct help with the application process, and access to free or low-cost qualified attorneys to eligible immigrant youth.

Text “OwnIt” to 877877 or for Spanish, text “Únete” to 877877 for more information.

The Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network will provide free classes to prepare for the U.S. Citizenship Test on Tuesday, August 21st and 28th, 2012.

The free classes will be conducted at the Denison Avenue United Church of Christ, 9900 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102

Class time: 7:00PM-8:30 PM
Instructor: Zaeem Lone

Register by contacting don@immigrantsupportnetwork.org or 440.263.5205

May 5, 2012

Please join our annual Immigrant March in support and solidarity with Cleveland’s immigrants.

Since Market Square is still under construction, our march will be held downtown this year.

Saturday May, 5, 2012 ~ 2P.M.

Public Square

SW quadrant

in front of Tower City

September 28, 2010, the Immigrant Support Network hosted an event called: Racism, War, Failed Economics, and IMMIGRATION: Why should I care? Immigration is the hot topic of the year: The New Arizona Law, Islamophobia in New York and elsewhere, undocumented workers, failed border enforcement, the Dream Act, etc.   However, all too often the discussion fails to describe how our system as a whole is broken and how all these aspects are intertwined. Our talk “Racism, War, Failed Economics and Immigration” will take a holistic approach of trying to systemically identify cause and effect relationships that have structurally contributed to our current Immigration dilemma.

The two guest speakers who shared their knowledge on these issues were Eloy Garcia, a member of the Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT) and Elizabeth Zunica, a recent John Carroll graduate. Elizabeth spent her summer on the U.S. – Mexican border working for “No More Death” shared her personal experience about border dynamics and gross-roots movements in opposition to SB 1070.

Eloy García is a member of the Colombia CPT project. He is a Chicano activist Attorney, US Army Veteran, Catholic lay missionary, and SOA “86” prisoner of Conscience from New Mexico. Eloy has most recently worked in Bolivia in the push for the nationalization of the country’s petroleum industry, in the northwestern United States organizing for immigration reform, and in the deserts of Arizona working on immigration detention issues.

For the folks who couldn’t make it to our talk or who would like to listen to it again, we put an edited recorded version of it on our website. Please click this link to access our broadcast.