Immigrants' Rights Project
The next Immigrant Rights Project meeting is June 22nd at 4:00pm. The meeting is at the ACLU office, which is located at 3601 Main Street, KCMO.
If you are interested in attending, please email Holly Weatherford or call 816-756-3113 ex. 234.
What is the Immigrants' Rights Project?
The purpose of ACLU’s local Immigrants’ Right Project (IRP) is
- to be supportive of the civil liberties educational activities by local groups or organizations already serving immigrant and refugee populations in KS and W. MO,
- to fill in the gaps for civil liberties education where such gaps are found
As an extension of the national ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, we are a local taskforce highlighting the work of service organizations which target immigrant and refugee populations. We support their work as it intersects with our concern for civil liberties protection. We do not want to supplant or duplicate efforts already going on. The focus of the local Immigrants' Rights Project, however, is narrow: educational efforts to enhance the experience of civil liberties by immigrant and refugee populations in our region.
Who attends?
- Representatives from organizations like El Centro, Inc., Cross Border Network, Migrant Farmworkers Project, Jewish Vocational Services and Immigrant Justice Advocacy Movement (IJAM).
- Concerned ACLU members
- Interested community members
- Representatives from faith communities
- Immigration attorneys
- Service providers for immigrant and refugee populations
- Immigrants and refugees
What are the projects of the Immigrants' Rights Project ?
- Comprehensive Resource Directory for Immigrants and Refugees
- Know Your Rights trainings for Immigrants and Refugees
- Know Their Rights trainings for service providers to the immigrant and refugee populations
What does the Constitution say about immigrant rights?
The Bill of Rights and the Constitution protect the rights of all persons, not just citizens.
Every person in the United States regardless of their immigration status has a right to: due process; equal protection; a jury trial; freedom from cruel and unusual punishment; freedom from unreasonable search and seizure; and freedom of speech, religion and association. Due Process, protected by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution, is the right to be treated according to the letter of the law by the government when the loss of life, liberty or property is at stake. Equal Protection, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, is the right of all persons to be treated equally under the law. On number occasions, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that undocumented immigrants are recognized as “persons” guaranteed due process under the 5th and 14th Amendments. Therefore, certain kinds of discrimination against them by the government violate the Constitution.
Downloadable Resources
- Know Your Rights -- Protect Yourself from Immigration Raids
- Conozca Sus Derechos -- Protéjase de las redadas de inmigración
Want to know more about the ACLU national Immigrants' Rights Project? Learn more about Immigrants' Rights