A look back: Spring Lobby Weekend 2019!

Saturday, March 23-Tuesday, March 26 in Washington, D.C.

Five hundred young advocates from all around the U.S. brought a clear and compelling message to Congress: Reject increased funding for immigration detention and deportation. Invest in alternatives to detention and expand accountability.

That Was Powerful

We spent Saturday and Sunday hearing from powerful speakers about immigration policy, discussing the stories we bring, training on lobbying, and learning from experts about our policy ask: reject increased funding for detention, deportation, and border militarization, and invest in alternatives to detention.

On Monday and Tuesday, we flooded Capitol Hill with that message, visiting 184 congressional offices representing 37 different states, including 26 meetings directly with a member of Congress.

Highlights:

  • Sanaa Abrar from United We Dream joined Hannah Evans, FCNL’s Legislative Representative for Immigration and Refugee Policy, for a powerful dialog. Together they unpacked the strategy behind our call to reduce federal funds for immigrant detention as a tool for advancing immigrant justice. Watch the recording.

  • We heard from Krystal Milam, a former FCNL Advocacy Corps member who is now working in the House of Representatives, and Katie Adams, a former Senate staffer who now works in faith-based advocacy.

  • On Saturday we made space to share own stories, opening up to each other about why each of us came from around the country to advocate for change.

  • Panelists Ashley Feasley of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Daniella Burgi-Palomino of the Latin America Working Group; Lilian Serrano from San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium; and Shaw Drake from the ACLU shared stories from the border and illuminated the ongoing crisis of detention, deportation, and border militarization.

  • Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) helped us kick off lobby day on Tuesday. She shared her own moving story of her parents, who immigrated from Mexico, and how we can effectively make change. Watch the recording

Photos from Spring Lobby Weekend 2019

Check out the best moments from our time in Washington, D.C.

See Photos

Join Us Next Year in Washington, D.C. - March 28-31, 2020!

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