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This is a podcast interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, founder and former Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast celebrates the thirty-sixth anniversary of former Mayor Harold Washington’s Executive Order 85-1 that prohibited city agencies, including the police, from cooperating with the enforcement activities of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. After the Chicago City Council enacted an ordinance sharing Mayor Washington’s goals twelve years ago, the City Council recently added new amendments to Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, signed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on February 23, 2021. The podcast commends the activism of the Chicago Immigration Working Group for its efforts to build a truly welcoming city. To that end, that Group reminded all that “to be a true welcoming city, Chicago must start to divest from criminalization, begin to invest in our communities, and ensure true police accountability.” (press release celebrating the new amendments which includes the list of the diverse groups that constitute the Chicago Immigration Working Group): https://www.icirr.org/News/Welcoming-City-Ordinance-is-a-win-by-and-for-our-communities%2C-but-work-remains-to-be-done

For more information on Chicago’s response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and Mayor Harold Washington’s issuance of his Executive Order 85-1, see “A Clear View from the Prairie: Harold Washington and the People of Illinois Respond to Federal Encroachment of Human Rights,” 29 S. Ill. L. J. 285 (Fall, 2004/Winter, 2005):
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2997657

A new development: Justice Dept. asks Supreme Court to dismiss 'sanctuary' immigration suits - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/justice-dept-asks-supreme-court-to-dismiss-sanctuary-immigration-suits/ar-BB1efXl7?ocid=msedgntp

This is a podcast interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, founder and former Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. President Biden announced that he would restore the United States partnership in refugee resettlement by inviting up to 125,000 refugees to our nation in the next fiscal year while also exploring increases in the number of refugees previously designated in this fiscal year. This podcast describes the leadership Illinois demonstrated over the four decades since the enactment of the Refugee Act of 1980. It encourages us to rebuild our local community support for refugee resettlement by strengthening the public-private collaboration that has benefitted our communities. You can find information on the Illinois resettlement agencies and the work they do at: https://rcusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019IllinoisRCUSA.pdf

Chicago programs include:

The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago Refugee Resettlement Program: https://www.catholiccharities.net/GetHelp/OurServices/RefugeeResettlementServices.aspx

Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago: https://www.ecachicago.org/project/give-clean-water/

RefugeeOne: http://www.refugeeone.org/

World Relief Chicagoland Refugee Resettlement: https://chicagoland.worldrelief.org/

Heartland Human Care Services: https://www.heartlandalliance.org/program/rics

HIAS recently invited individuals to urge the new administration to sign a Presidential Determination for resettling refugees and begin the work of rebuilding these programs. You can sign the letter by following this link: https://us.e-activist.com/page/email/click/10027/783130?email=ctK6n2%2BsCqhOiO4f8OZ0W8LMtSVFLyox&campid=JsUx9s5d%2B2Q=.

This is a podcast interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, founder and former Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. Inspired by the Rev. Dr. Silvester S. Beaman’s benediction from the inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on January 20, 2021, this podcast urges those seeking to reform immigration law to seek our common humanity. Recognizing the whirlwind of changes in immigration and refugee law from 2017 to the present, the podcast suggests we have to consider what we owe to those who have contributed to the growth of our nation as we reconsider how best to reform our nation’s laws. To listen to the benediction of the Rev. Dr. Silvester S. Beaman, Pastor of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilmington, Delaware, see: https://bethelwilmington.org

To read more of how Abraham Lincoln understood his motivation for the Emancipation Proclamation, see, Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg, The Words That Remade America, (Simon & Schuster, New York, N.Y., 1992) pp. 143-44.

For a compilation of the many changes that occurred within immigration law and policy since 2017 and some of the projected proposals for change, see: https://www.aila.org/advo-media/issues/all/first-100-days

This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. On November 20, 2020, the designated World Children’s Day, Rev. Mousin discusses what can be done in response to the thousands of children detained, deported, and excluded from applying for remedies permitted under the Refugee Act of 1980. In addition, he invokes the ten immediate priorities recommended by a coalition of several national organizations including among others, The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights and the American Academy of Pediatricians to correct United States immigration and refugee law and policy regarding children.

The Immediate Priorities for the Protection of Immigrant Children can be found at: https://www.theyoungcenter.org/stories/2020/11/10/immediate-priorities-for-the-protection-of-immigrant-children-november-2020?rq=Immediate%20Priorities. Amnesty International offers one way to take immediate action to protest the proposed deportation of the 28 children and their families through this link: https://act.amnestyusa.org/page/59764/action/1?ea.tracking.id=vxd8hcs1&ac=W2011EARMR1&ea.url.id=5018432&forwarded=true


The podcast refers to an On Being interview with the late Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks which can be found at: https://onbeing.org/programs/remembering-rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks/ Rev. Mousin’s article “You Were Told to Love the Immigrant, But What if the Story Never Happened? Hospitality and United States Immigration Law” provides additional information on Rev. Theodore Conklin’s description of the hospitality offered Mary, Joseph, and Jesus when they fled into Egyptian exile in the text at footnote 128. St. Vincent DePaul’s call to not abandon the children can be found in the same article in the text at footnote 172. See: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2784951


For more information on World Children’s Day see: https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-childrens-day In addition, for a discussion on the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the United States’ failure to adopt it and its impact on asylum-seeking children, see Rev. Mousin’s article on “Rights Disappear When US Policy Engages Children as Weapons of Deterrence,” at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3317913

Can It Be Fair Process Without a Fair Process to File an Asylum Application?

This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. He responds to the federal government’s proposed regulations that would change the time limit for filing an asylum application before an Immigration Judge. These proposed rules will hinder the ability of individuals to pursue cases without lawyers and increase the difficulty of pro bono representation by volunteer lawyers. We encourage you to file your own comments opposing part or all of the proposed procedures and asking the government to withdraw the entire proposed rule. To assist you in obtaining a link to the proposed procedures or in filing your comment, you may incorporate your remarks into one of the templates provided by the following:

Our colleagues at the National Immigrant Justice Center have provided sample comments and a link to file comments at: https://immigrantjustice.salsalabs.org/protectasylum/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=4dcbbfd7-b673-4263-9b92-abc70008cc18

You may also find the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s template at: https://www.aila.org/takeaction#/89

Both websites provide additional information on how the proposed regulations prevent bona fide applicants from litigating their cases. To be accepted by the government, please ensure your comments are filed on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, Friday, October 23, 2020.

The critical point remains that you choose at least one element of the proposed rules that you believe is incompatible with our nation’s commitment to fair process to achieve justice and make your voice heard.

If you are curious about the details necessary to file a complete asylum application, you can view the ten-page form and the instructions at: https://www.uscis.gov/i-589

Please note, American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh, 760 F.Supp. 796 (N.D. Ca. 1991), was actually settled on January 31, 1991 instead of 1990 as stated in the podcast.

This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, DePaul’s University Ombudsperson. Craig is founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. In recognition of Ombuds Day 2020, Craig talks about the role of an Ombuds in a polarized society. Ombuds not only serve their institution, but their skills and experience can model practices and provide guidance in addressing polarization and conflict outside the walls of our institutions as well. For another example of how an Ombuds can serve an institution’s ability to live out its mission, see Craig’s article in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, “Vincentian Leadership: Advocating for Justice,” at https://works.bepress.com/craig_mousin/5/