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Hispanic ministry office wants to be ready to help if needed

Story and photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

In a move to make sure the Office of Hispanic Ministry has a plan that can be put into action immediately, if needed, Sister Cecilia Hellmann ASC, director of the office, called on those in the local area to review and clarify a plan to respond to Latinos who may face actions by immigration officials.

Because of a recent action in the diocese when several Latinos were detained, the need to clarify options and name people who can offer advice and assistance, became clear.

Msgr. Don Eichenseer and Sister Joan Stoverink ASC of St. Damian Parish in Damiansville attended the meeting and agreed that if needed, the church would be opened for Latinos to gather and seek help when an immigration action to search for undocumented workers occurs.
The church was opened late last year, and it became clear that everyone involved in helping Latinos needed to review and add to the plan that Hispanic Ministry office presently has.

Members of the Illinois Coalition for Community Services attended the meeting and added information about actions that have been carried out throughout the state of Illinois concerning undocumented workers.
The coalition works with 74 of Illinois’ 105 counties.

Often, parents can be deported because they lack documents, but if they have been in this country for a number of years and have children, their children are United States citizens and are not subject to deportation.
Large immigration raids to detain workers have not occurred in the diocese, but smaller actions have taken place.
“The story doesn’t end with a raid,” Sister Hellmann said. “It just begins.”

Sister Hellmann said she wants to make sure a coordinated effort is made to assist the families, to give them information about a network of people who can assist them.

“We can’t stop the journey, but we may be able to ease the path,” she said.
The group hopes the new administration will make positive steps to address the question of undocumented immigrants.

President Obama met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in recent weeks, which the group sees as a hopeful sign.

“The change in administration may change the way the conversation about undocumented workers is viewed,” Nancy Tegtmeier, associate director of the coalition, said.

The group hopes to enlist help from other denominations, making the response to the undocumented an ecumenical response, they said.

Workshops for Latinos on knowing their rights have been and continue to be conducted, Johanna Gillan de Orozco of the coalition said. “Those workshops are very important.”

For more information on the ministry and how to help, please call Sister Hellmann at 235-9601, ext. 129.