Dear Friends and Community,

Yesterday, the Latino Policy Forum, along with Alianza Americas, Center for Immigrant Progress, The Resurrection Project, and the National Immigrant Justice Center hosted the first installment of our three-part webinar series titled “Contextualizing the Migrant Crisis Narrative.”

Panelists and experts, Juan González from UIC’s Great Cities Initiative and Democracy Now, Dr. Ana Gil-Garcia of the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance, Ligia Bolívar from Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, and Oscar Chacón of Alianza Americas discussed the historical, political, and economic complexities that create the perfect storm for mass displacement and global migration, from Venezuela and Latin America.

For those of you who joined us, thank you! However, if you missed it, you can watch it HERE

There has been an incredible response to this webinar series and we almost hit capacity for Zoom for yesterday’s event, so register soon for Parts II and III:

Part Two is scheduled for Thursday, February 1 at 10 am CT, and will focus on Chicago’s response to the urgent need of new arrivals at the community, city, and state level, as well as lessons learned. This session will feature me, as well as Eréndira Rendón of The Resurrection Project, and Lisa Koop of the National Immigrant Justice Center, and will be moderated by Sandra Diaz of the Center for Immigrant Progress.

And finally, concluding the series on Thursday, February 22 at 9:30 am CT is Part Three, addressing the tension between Black and Latino communities but also among new arrivals and the long-term undocumented. Panelists include Eréndira Rendón of The Resurrection Project, Benji Hart, interdisciplinary artist, author, and educator, and Matt DeMateo of New Life Centers of Chicagoland, and I will be moderating the discussion.

Please join us and as always, thank you,

Sylvia Puente

President & CEO, Latino Policy Forum