Immigration education

MCC Great Lakes is involved in immigration education in our communities, as well as supporting partner organizations providing direct immigration services. Please visit immigration.mcc.org for more detailed work about MCC's work across the United States.

Education

MCC Great Lakes participated in the Immigration Listening Project several years ago. The Immigration Listening Project was launched by MCC U.S. in order to assess attitudes about immigration among Anabaptist churches across the U.S. MCC staff organized listening sessions with 36 groups from Anabaptist churches. The project intentionally included a diverse spectrum: people of color and white people; new and long-time immigrants. Order a (free) printed copy of the booklet here or download the PDF here.

Partners

Just Help - Just Help’s mission is to help Elkhart County residents access quality, timely and affordable legal services. Center staff will receive clients and direct them to the most appropriate community agency, such as Elkhart Legal Aid, the Volunteer Lawyer Network or La Casa of Goshen. Clients whose needs cannot be met by other community organizations may be served by Just Help’s attorneys, according to a sliding fee scale.  

Brazo en Brazo - Brazo en Brazo consists of a group of congregations in the Lima area which minister to Hispanic immigrants in the area.

Proyecto Esperanza (Project Hope) - Located at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold, Ohio, Project Hope offers counseling for immigrations on their legal rights along with other services. The programs at Zion Mennonite have grown to include meals, classes, food and clothing distribution, summer outreach to camps and tax clinics. Project Hope, with volunteers from Zion and the Archbold community, also offers citizenship classes for local immigrants. Project Hope was featured in the 2009 spring issue of the MCC Great Lakes newsletter.

Resources

Loving Strangers as Ourselves: Biblical Reflections

This resource, in the form of a booklet, reflects on God's view of the strangers in the biblical text. The booklet is a timely resource for churches. In this booklet you will find seven lessons written by seven different Anabaptist authors addressing biblical texts in which God reminds his people about how to treat the strangers who live among us.  Also available in Spanish: Amando a los Extranjeros.

Immigration and Conscientious Objection Packet- Guía de Inmigración y Objeción por Conciencia

A guide to the U.S. citizenship application process for immigrants who are opposed to war and military service. Packet includes information in English and Spanish.

There are many additional resources available at immigration.mcc.org/resources