PICO Background

PICO Background

• People Improving Communities through Organizing• 60+ faith-based community organizations across US• 17 states• A vehicle for faith-communities to do social justice

work • PICO New Jersey & Camden Churches Organized for

People

PICO’s Approach to Faith-Based Community Organizing

• Building Relationships

• Leadership Development

• Faith Integration & Grounding

JFI/PICO PARTNERSHIP

• Grant through Catholic Campaign for Human Development

• Helped support Justice for Immigrants organizing & advocacy work in 15 dioceses

• Immigrant & Non-immigrant engagement

USCCB Statement in April

• "It is vital that the framework includes a path to citizenship, so that undocumented immigrants can come out of the shadows and into the light and have a chance to become Americans. It gives hope to millions of our fellow human beings.”

Archbishop Gomez, Chair

Committee on Migration

POPE FRANCISUS CONF OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

STATE CATHOLIC CONFBISHOP / DIOCESE

P P P P P P P P P P PCATHOLIC VOTERS IN THE PEWS

FULL ENGAGEMENT OF CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

Statewide Training March 2-3, 2013

St. Joseph’s Parish Organizing Team, Somers Point

St. Damian Parish Organizing Team, Ocean City

Camden bishop: 'Moral urgency' for immigration reformPhiladelphia Inquirer

40 Vigils at Rep. LoBiondo’s office

Vigils at Rep. Smith’s Office

Al Punto con Jorge Ramos

9-DAY PILGRIMAGE FORCITIZENSHIP

- 160 MILES

- 4 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

Holy Cross Parish Organizing Team, Bridgeton

Christie Agrees to In-State Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants

12/19/13

Across the Country• 104 face-to-face meetings with Members of Congress & 352

more with their staff• 87,107 Phone Calls, emails, postcards, letters into

Congressional Offices• 52,542 people attending public events, pilgrimages and

prayer vigils• 294 national and local earned media stories• Of the 26 House Districts where PICO ran local campaigns:

21 face-to-face meetings, 8 made public comments in support of citizenship, 3 voted against defunding DACA, and 2 signed on to HR 15