By: Ashmar Mandou

In front of a large crowd of eager parents, students, and public figures, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) hosted its second annual, “One Nation, One Dream” summit at Malcolm X College on Saturday. More than 1,500 people attended the summit and were joined by Governor Pat Quinn, US Senator Dick Durbin, Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, to name a few.

The summit served as a platform for ICIRR to unveil its plan for 2012 which includes a continued commitment to immigration reform, a pledge to work for healthcare and education for new Americans, and support for immigrant workers and entrepreneurs. ICIRR also launched “Uniting America” Initiative to encourage volunteerism and community dialogue between Illinois’s new Americans and their new neighbors. “We have won significant changes in deportation policies that will keep families together, but they will only work if people know about them and know what to ask for and we have a way of making sure families and individuals do not fall through the cracks,” said Congressman Gutierrez.

Attendees received training from community leaders on how to give Know Your Rights presentations in their neighborhoods as well as educational sessions on ICE’s ongoing review of pending deportation cases. Among the workshops given on Saturday were, Running for Local School Council, Training for Immigration Advocates, Youth Civic Leadership Academy, and Training for Mental Health professionals.

Additionally, ICIRR announced the new leadership of Lawrence Benito from deputy director to CEO. “We have an exciting year ahead of us,” said Benito. “Our platform consists of keeping families together, building political engagement, healthcare reform for the immigrant communities and promoting volunteerism to ensure an equal future for all of Illinois families,” said Benito.