PICC Joins 48-Hour Fast on National Mall as Culmination of Month-Long Women's Fast for Families
Apr 7 2014 Press Center
MEDIA ADVISORY April 7, 2014
FROM: Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC)
CONTACT: Natasha Kelemen, 267-230-7337; Shamaine Daniels (509) 460-1912
PENNSYLVANIA IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP COALITION JOINS 48-HOUR FAST ON NATIONAL MALL AS CULMINATION OF MONTH-LONG WOMEN'S FAST FOR FAMILIES
After more than 1500 women fasted in 80 events across 35 states, Washington DC and Mexico City, 100 women converge in DC to host a "Courage Cafe" to feed the courage of Federal leaders to act on fair immigration reform and stop deportations
PHILADELPHIA, PA – 100 women from across the country will sacrifice food in order to feed the courage of federal leaders to pass comprehensive immigration reform and take executive action to stop deportations.
For the last year, organizations across Pennsylvania have advocated for immigration reform, which would benefit the local economy and provide security to families living in fear of deportation.
"Immigration reform is both the morally and economically right thing to do. I am fasting to give speaker Boehner the courage he needs to do what is right by immigrants and the American people", says Shamaine Daniels, PICC's Board Chair. Shamaine Daniels is an immigration attorney and the first immigrant to be elected to Harrisburg City Council.
They will launch the 48-hour fast through a press conference on the National Mall followed by a procession to the Capitol. They will spend the next 48 hours sacrificing food but serving up courage through "courage conversations" and filling up a Courage Basket with messages from fasters and supporters around the country to encourage elected leaders to act.
The women will be visited by members of Congress including Representatives Lucille Eoybal Allard (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Linda Sanchez (D-CA). After the breaking of the fast, the women will deliver the messages of courage they gathered to the Capitol.
The action is a culmination of the Women's Fast for Families, a month-long series of cross-country 24-hours fasts sponsored by We Belong Together. The Women's Fast for Families grew from a national women's summit held in February, at which women pledged to continue to highlight immigration reform as a women's issue that disproportionately impacts women and tears families apart, and to pushback on inaction on reform as a front of the War on Women. The Women's Fast for Families is a collaboration of We Belong Together, The Fair Immigration Reform Movement and SEIU.
About Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
The Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC) is a diverse coalition of over 50 member organizations and hundreds of individual members. Our mission is to advance immigrants' rights and promote immigrants' full integration into society by advocating with a unified voice for greater public understanding and welcoming public policies throughout Pennsylvania. Our membership includes grassroots community groups, mutual assistance associations, service providers, advocacy organizations, unions, faith communities, community leaders and concerned individuals. PICC plays a unique role as the only organization in Pennsylvania that brings together organizations and individuals representing different ethnicities, immigration statuses, faiths, and other backgrounds, to work collectively on immigrant rights in Pennsylvania. PICC is a member of the Executive Committee of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM).
About We Belong Together
We Belong Together is a national campaign to bring forward the priorities of women in immigration reform, and to mobilize women to push for immigration reform that: includes a clear path to citizenship; keeps families together and upholds the family immigration system; protects survivors of violence; prevents workplace abuses; promotes the health and wellbeing of women and children; honors women's work inside and outside the home; and is not driven by enforcement. We Belong Together is co-anchored by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, with the participation of women's organizations, immigrant rights groups, children, and families across the country.
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