CINCINNATI - Immigration advocates working around the country gathered in Greater Cincinnati in February for a conference focused on renewing faith in comprehensive immigration reform after repeated attempts to change the current system in recent years have not been successful.

The SC Ministry Foundation-sponsored event "Together on a Journey of Hope" supported advocates involved in systemic and direct efforts while offering a place to generate hope in a Judeo-Christian context. The conference also supported the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati's Public Statement on Immigration released last year.

"What are we hoping for?" asked Donald Kerwin, Executive Director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) in Washington, D.C. "Not just legislation, but to change the hearts of enough people so that good legislation will be inevitable."

Kerwin, whose address (click here for full address) opened the conference, focused on how the current immigration system and its effects on immigrants and other community members contradict Catholic social teaching, which includes principles of sanctity for human life, dignity of the person and the rights of workers.

"In our tradition, rights are the minimum "good" common to us all, including our immigrant brothers and sisters," said Kerwin to the nearly 65 immigration leaders and advocates in attendance. "Migration has always been how we, as a people, have encountered God."

Kerwin also pointed out that a weak immigration system is also a civic crisis. When a country denies an immigrant's health and education, the public's health and education are endangered, he explained.

"Conversely, when you welcome immigrants and allow them to contribute fully to the country, it benefits all of us," he said.

Douglas Rivlin, Director of Communications at the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C., agreed with this message and spoke to the group about how to communicate it effectively.

"We have to associate values with immigrants," he said during a session on strategic communication. "They are our neighbors, coworkers, parish members and friends."

Media and public communication has been identified by immigration leaders as one of the most challenging aspects of advocating for immigration reform. Rivlin provided models developed by the National Immigration Forum that address common problems encountered by advocates, among them misperceptions in the media.

Immigration advocates also face the challenge of building trust among stakeholders in their communities across the country. This has played a crucial role in Pueblo, Colo., where Jayne Mazur, Executive Director of the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pueblo, has worked to bring the community together for years.

"It's one of my biggest challenges," Mazur said, describing how the ability to unite the community has been affected by Pueblo's new wave of immigrants mixed with an unsteady economy.

Many participants resonated with Mazur's experience in their own communities. At least one third of those in attendance came from outside Cincinnati and there are notable differences among their regions (such as immigrants' countries of origin), there are also notable similarities.

Participants from a number of places in the country could relate to the story of Arlene McNamee, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Fall River, whose organization provided the primary response to one of the worst Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in recent history.

McNamee talked to small groups about the chaos that ensued after 300 immigrant workers were aggressively arrested by 300 ICE agents in New Bedford, Mass., in March 2007. "We had to treat it like a natural disaster," McNamee said.

In other communities, door-to-door raids and other smaller-scale raids reflect similar situations of separation of infants and children from parents and mistreatment of immigrants.

Sister Alice Gerdeman, CDP stressed concerns for the separation of children and parents while touching on current initiatives among women religious congregations, including the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, to assist immigration families during times of desperation.

A number of Sisters of Charity serve immigrants directly and systemically. These Sisters as well as those on the congregation's Leadership Team attended the conference.

Sister Barbara Hagedorn, SC, President of the Sisters of Charity, felt that the conference built on the strengths and knowledge of participants. This, Sister Barb believes, will help advocates "be more effective in promoting solutions to unjust structures that keep people poor and displaced from their homelands."

What can immigration advocates like the Sisters of Charity expect as the U.S. immigration system and the humanitarian crisis continues indefinitely?

Mirna Torres, Director of Division of Immigration for CLINIC, urged everyone at the conference to consider insights from her time talking to different immigrant groups and organizations from around the country.

"We cannot separate legal service providers and strategies from political organizing," Torres said. Included in Torres' address were questions about the aftermath once these efforts are successful in reforming the current immigration system. "Are you prepared for legalization?" she asked, hoping to illustrate to participants the long-term impact of their work.

Advocates, who Torres hopes will someday include more immigrants themselves, will need to have perseverance and determination, even if legislation is passed.

This long term vision asserted Kerwin's remarks at the opening of the conference. The need is not just for legislation, but also "for the day when we'll be able to recognize all people as our brothers and sisters."

And to participants, who are working to make that day a reality, he said: "Have faith. That day is coming."