Pima County Interfaith Educates Immigrants on Proposed Changes to 'Public Charge' Rule
Forty members from St. John the Evangelist Church and the neighborhood attended a civic academy yesterday to learn about “public charge.” This new policy by the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security would affect many legal immigrants who are applying for permanent residency (green cards) and penalize applicants if they or their families have received government support such as SNAP (food stamps), subsidized health care, and other support that the government has labeled a “public charge.”
As rumors of this new policy surfaced, immigrant churches and Pima County Interfaith started conducting research. The fear began a few months ago when the press began to talk again about this policy. Rumors and misinformation led many immigrants to renounce their citizen children’s benefits out of fear. Among those immigrants most affected by this proposal are low-income families, single mothers, and children with chronic illnesses.
At Sunday’s session, a single mother asked if she could lose her permanent residency if she continued to receive AHCCCS, Arizona’s version of Medicaid, for her infant baby. Fortunately, she received her visa through the VAWA program that so far is exempt from being a 'public charge.'
After the session, some attendees thanked the St. John team for making this presentation. They said they felt more relaxed now that they knew which programs would be counted as 'public charge.'
A young mother said, "I'm going to register for citizenship classes and I'm going to apply to become a citizen. I'm afraid this administration will find another way to revoke my residency and separate me from my family."
PCIC Congregation Cited as Example of Episcopal Faith in Action
"St. Philip's in Tucson engages in the political and electoral processes on more than one level. It was a founding member of Pima County Interfaith Civic Education Organization, a nonprofit advocacy organization that takes action on issues that impact families and communities at the local and regional levels. The advocacy and education have included issues such as gun violence, immigration, environmental economics, education funding, Sandwell-Weiss said.
The group hopes that by providing information and helping people connect those issues to their faith, especially Jesus' call in Matthew 25 to find him while caring for people on the margins of society, "hopefully it will make a more informed electorate and an electorate that will work to make some changes," she said."
Episcopal Congregations Find Ways to Engage in Current Political Cycle, Episcopal News Service
PCIC Calls on AZ Corporate Commission to Approve Electricity Plan
"Existing programs that save Tucson Electric Power customers money on their energy bills will be cut significantly. That's the bottom line reached at the end of the March 16 Arizona Corporation Commission public hearing....
The story: TEP must meet the Arizona Energy Efficiency Standards unanimously adopted by the ACC and overwhelmingly supported by small businesses, organizational leaders and citizens throughout Arizona."
ACC Should Stop Stalling and Approve TEP Energy-Efficiency Plan, Arizona Daily Star