With his mom behind bars for having a deportation order, 21 year-old Bryan Rivera spoke with "the voice of hundreds of kids being affected by immigration laws," alongside Bishop Joseph Pepe and other religious leaders of Nevadans for the Common Good.

Testimony from 'Nevadans for the Common Good' detailed how the failure to address a broken system is tearing apart families, harming children and weakening communities in Southern Nevada, thus highlighting how policy implementation at the local level is ultimately dehumanizing people.

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Even with a Board that included a Supervisor elected by the Tea Party, PCIC leaders leveraged a unanimous vote (5-0) in support of a resolution making Pima an "immigrant welcoming county."

Bud Foster of KOLD-TV reports that half the speakers were against the resolution. However, he notes, "the opponents were not organized like the supporters were. Most of this crowd ere from the Pima County Interfaith Council." In photo, PCIC leaders pre-meet before filing into the boardroom. Fr. Tom Tureman of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church and Rev. Randy Mayer of Good Shepherd of United Church of Christ spoke on behalf of the organization.

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At a press conference convened by Valley Interfaith Project with the Arizona bishops, Catholic Bishop Thomas Olmsted signed a letter to the Arizona congressional delegation for immigration reform, attesting that "the cost of inaction is too high." Bishop Olmsted was joined by Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, Rabbi John Linder, ELCA Bishop Steve Talmage, Denise Resnick of DRA Stategic Communications in Phoenix and Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Broome noted that some companies don't come to Arizona because they think the state does not treat people well.

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300 leaders of the Sound Alliance and their allies reached an agreement with King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski to support an ordinance that would change how the County handles ICE "detainer requests". Under current practice, when undocumented immigrants are arrested and taken to the County Jail, ICE often sends requests to the jail to hold them at County expense until ICE can transfer them to a nearby for-profit immigrant detention center. Under the ordinance, the County will stop honoring these requests except when an individual has been convicted of certain violent or serious crimes.

People from a diverse mix of faith, labor, and community organizations at the assembly were excited to have an opportunity to strike a blow against our nation's unjust immigration policy at a local level. King County has a population of over 2 million residents and includes the City of Seattle.

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Methodist Bishop Janice Riggle and Catholic Cardinal Daniel Dinardo spoke at a TMO press conference supporting comprehensive immigration reform and condemning the "Safe Act" bill. With clergy and representation from every major religious denomination in Houston, leaders called on those who oppose the SAFE Act to communicate their perspective with the Congressional representatives. Bishop Michael Rinehart of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America noted that the SAFE Act contradicts the immigration principles local religious leaders first put forth in 2008. Rev. John Ogletree of First Metropolitan Church and Rabbi David Lyon of Congregation Beth Israel also called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

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In an unprecedented collaboration between leaders from two Chambers of Commerce and judicatories from Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith traditions, 200 Austin-area stakeholders gathered for an afternoon of learning about economic, business and legal perspectives on immigration reform. This was the second event in a campaign organized by clergy leadership to support compassionate immigration reform, with the number of attendees doubling since the first event.

Austin Interfaith Hosts Immigration Reform Event, Austin American Statesman

At least 70 leaders from Communities Organized for Relational Power (COPA) organized a meeting with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff to address immigrants' fears about reporting crime and the preponderance of racial profiling.

Participants included people like Johnny Delmar, a UCSC student who shared his story about being profiled recently by rifle-armed police looking for robbery suspects.

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Leaders of the Northern Arizona Interfaith Council succeeded in persuading the city council of Flagstaff to adopt a resolution supporting immigration reform that reflects the essential economic role immigrants play as workers, the importance of family unity and the need for a path to citizenship. Flagstaff is the only municipality in Arizona to pass a resolution with these elements.

Flagstaff City Council Approves Resolution Supporting Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Amigos NAZ

Taking full advantage of the August recess, Arizona Interfaith leaders met with Senator John McCain for frank conversation about the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform. Judicatory leaders and key Arizona clergy discussed with the Senator how to broaden Congressional support for reform that includes a path to citizenship.

McCain: Backing Immigration Reform Sends Right Message, Arizona Republic

" Nieto spoke Tuesday during a news conference called by The Metropolitan Organization at which Houston faith and business leaders responded to a new plan for comprehensive immigration reform. The legislation, unveiled last week by a bipartisan group of senators, is the first major overhaul of U.S. immigration policy since 1986.

Speakers including Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of the Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, and Rabbi David Lyon of Congregation Beth Israel said the highest priority should be creating a process for undocumented immigrants to earn legal status and eventual citizenship."

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