NILC Awards Dinner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2013

CONTACT
Adela de la Torre, 213-674-2832, [email protected]

GROUPS CELEBRATE THE “YEAR OF THE IMMIGRANT” AT NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER COURAGEOUS LUMINARIES AWARDS DINNER

SEIU, Southern Border Communities Coalition Recognized for Their Leadership on Immigrants’ Rights

LOS ANGELES — Hundreds will gather this Thursday, Oct. 17, to celebrate a banner year for immigrants’ rights at the National Immigration Law Center’s annual Courageous Luminaries Awards Dinner. This year’s honorees, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Southern Border Communities Coalition, will be recognized for the unique and powerful role each group has played in the fight for just, humane immigration reform.

The awards dinner, which will be hosted by comedienne Jenny Yang, will take place at The Center at Cathedral Plaza, 555 West Temple Street, Los Angeles California, at 6 pm. Guests will enjoy musical performances from La Chamba, a Los Angeles band that draws musical inspiration from Peruvian Chicha rhythms, and the multiethnic Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance drummers.

“In a year in which immigration debates too often have focused on politics over policy, SEIU and the Southern Border Communities Coalition stand out as champions of sound legislation that protects workers’ rights, promotes community safety, and upholds civil liberties for all those living in this country,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. “We are so proud to fight alongside organizations like these for immigration laws that reflect our nation’s values of justice, fairness, and family unity.”

Courageous Luminary – Movement Leader honoree SEIU is a national leader for economic justice and is known for its fierce advocacy for immigration reform. The organization, which represents more than two million workers, has devoted an unprecedented amount of resources to mobilize the country, shift the public debate, and engage in legislative advocacy to ensure that aspiring citizens can become full participants in the nation’s society and democracy. Their commitment to immigrants’ rights extends beyond the halls of Congress: SEIU workers have served as plaintiffs in several of the National Immigration Law Center’s lawsuits challenging racial profiling laws in Arizona and elsewhere.

Courageous Luminary – Community Leader honoree Southern Border Communities Coalition has emerged as a powerful voice representing the economic and societal needs of the millions of Americans living and working along the U.S.-Mexico border. Representatives from the organization have been unafraid to hold members of both political parties accountable for overzealous border militarization and have advocated that the country instead dedicate border resources on initiatives that promote economic growth and respect civil and human rights.

Previous Courageous Luminary Award recipients include Academy Award–nominated actor Demián Bichir, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and advocate Jose Antonio Vargas, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, Ai-jen Poo and the National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Day Laborer Organizing Network executive director Pablo Alvarado, and the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice. The Courageous Luminaries Awards Dinner ceremony was established in 2007 to honor individuals and organizations that have worked to improve the lives of low-income immigrants in the United States.

Established in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center is the only advocacy organization in the United States exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their families. NILC advances its mission through policy analysis, litigation, education, and advocacy. Over the past three decades, NILC has won landmark legal decisions protecting fundamental rights, thwarted policies that would have devastated the lives of low-income immigrants and their family members, and advanced major policies that reinforce our nation’s values of equality, opportunity, and justice for all.

To purchase tickets to the 2013 Courageous Luminaries Awards Dinner, please visit http://www.nilc.org/2013awardsdinner.html.

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