For Immediate Release:                                                                               Contact:

July 7, 2008                                                                                                         Bridgett Frey

                                                                                                                202-510-0632          

***Media Advisory for Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. CT/11:00 ET***

**Call #: 800-895-1241; Conference ID: IOWA**

National Faith Leaders Call for Humane Treatment of Immigrant Workers

Recent Exploitation of Flood Cleanup Workers and Agriprocessors Raid in Iowa Highlight Desperate Need for Reform

Des Moines, IA – On Thursday, July 10, 2008, three of the nation's leading bishops will join Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform in calling for the humane treatment of immigrant workers and their families, given the recent ICE raid in Postville, IA and the reports of worker exploitation and mistreatment during Iowa's recent flood crisis.  The leaders will comment on the growing concern that the religious community has for such abuses and the need for a comprehensive solution to our nation's current immigration crisis.  

Amidst a chorus of faith leaders calling on Congress to investigate the Postville raid, the bishops and clergy will denounce the troubling pattern of worker exploitation and disregard for immigrant families around the state.   From the raid in Postville to the exploitation of clean-up crews brought in to aid in recent flood recovery, the leaders will highlight these abuses as a wake-up call, revealing the urgent need for fair and humane immigration reform. The Agriprocessors raid in Postville tore parents away from their children and criminalized immigrant workers, while company executives have yet to be held accountable for serious labor violations.  Similarly, clean-up crews in the Cedar Falls area experienced unjust working conditions, jeopardizing their safety and basic human rights.  Following the flood, leaders on the call toured the affected areas and heard first hand testimony of the unacceptable working conditions.   

WHAT: National Faith Leaders Call for Humane Treatment of Immigrant Workers

WHO:  Patty Kupfer, Manager of Partnerships, America's Voice (moderator)

Rev. Catherine Quehl-Engel, Chaplain of Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa

Bishop Alan Scarfe, Episcopal Diocese of Iowa 

Bishop Steven L. Ullestad, Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Bishop Gregory Palmer, Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

WHEN: July 10^th, 2008; 10:00A.M. CT/11:00 ET

DIAL-IN: 800-895-1241 CONFERENCE ID: 74692

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About Christians For Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR):

CCIR represents a coalition of Christian organizations, churches, and leaders, from across the theological and political spectrum, united in support of comprehensive immigration reform. Despite our differences on other issues, we are working together to revive comprehensive immigration reform as soon as possible, because we share a set of common moral and theological principles that compel us to love and care for the stranger among us.