Catholic Sisters from ten religious communities based in the Upper Mississippi River Valley are hopeful that the words of Jesus will get the attention of Iowa residents, political candidates and ultimately the President and Congress on an issue near and dear to them - immigration.

On Monday, (Dec. 12) the sisters are launching an effort to draw attention to the need for comprehensive immigration reform. The effort, called "Welcoming Communities," will involve a statement issued by the Sisters (see attached) and supported by billboards, posters and prayers services in the Quad Cities, Des Moines, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and Clinton, Iowa.

The billboards and posters (see attached) share a message about immigration based on the words of Jesus taken from the gospel of Matthew 25:35:  "I was a stranger an immigrant and you welcomed me." The signs will go up on December 12 and remain through early January.

"We declare ourselves 'Welcoming Communities' in affirmation of our Catholic tradition that holds sacred the dignity of each person," the Sisters said in their statement, "and we invite other communities and people of faith to join us in becoming 'Immigrant Welcoming Communities' through prayer, reflection, education and action."

"Our 'Welcoming Communities' stance is a direct response to the government's 'Secure Communities' program which has transformed local police officers into a primary gateway for deportation," explained the Sisters. "The results have been hundreds of thousands of detentions and deportations, serious civil and human rights concerns, due process violations and damaged trust between immigrant communities and local police."

They further noted that "the 'Secure Communities' process was marketed to local law enforcement agencies as a way to deal with serious and dangerous criminals. In fact, low-priority, non-violent offenders or even lawful permanent residents are being funneled into this program which is breaking up families, promoting racial profiling, and fueling a fear-filled and hateful anti-immigrant atmosphere."

National immigration reform organizations assert that the "Secure Communities" program has actually made communities less safe because many individuals are afraid to report crimes that they experience or witness for fear of being deported or having neighbors, family members or friends deported.  As a result, they state, crimes are going unreported and communities, rather than becoming "secure" are living in fear.

"Failure on the part of the federal government to reform the present unworkable immigration system has resulted in states passing legislation that is punitive and harmful to human rights," noted the Sisters.

"We understand that enforcement of law is part of any immigration policy," the Sisters emphasized.  "However, the present policy of involving state and local law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of federal immigration law, such as in the 'Secure Communities' program, is not achieving that goal.  True security lies in building relationships and respecting human rights and only true, comprehensive, compassionate immigration reform can deal with the crisis in our nation.  Therefore, we are declaring ourselves "Immigrant Welcoming Communities."

The following ten congregations of Catholic sisters are coordinating this public awareness campaign: Congregation of the Humility of Mary, Davenport, Ia., the Dominican Sisters, Sinsinawa, Wis.; Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Dubuque, Ia.; Sisters of the Presentation, Dubuque, Ia.; Sisters of St. Francis, Dubuque, Ia.; Sisters of the Visitation, Dubuque, Ia.; Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Ia.; Sisters of St. Benedict, Rock Island, Ill.; Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, La Crosse, Wis.; Sisters of Mercy, West Midwest Community, Omaha, Neb. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/catholicsisters.

 ###

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on recent interest from President Obama and his education secretary in the cost of higher education.

"It's good to see the Administration is at last recognizing the problem of high college tuition, at least verbally.  If the Administration wanted to take action, it could have taken seriously the mandate to study colleges' use of tax-preferred arrangements to house their assets.  The Treasury Department's study on donor-advised funds and supporting organizations, released this week, highlighted that colleges heavily use these vehicles, yet the study stopped there.  The Administration could and should find ways to get educational institutions to help the people they're supposed to help instead of hoarding assets at taxpayer expense.  In addition to the benefit of income tax exemption, private, tax-exempt colleges and universities are able to raise capital through tax-exempt bonds and tax-deductible contributions.  It's important to understand whether these tax benefits are fueling the tuition increases by subsidizing high salaries for college leaders and rock-climbing walls and other non-educational amenities to try to attract students.  The Administration should follow through on the proposal to require new disclosures for tax-exempt colleges and universities, similar to the schedule required for tax-exempt hospitals.  Additional transparency related to revenues and expenses would give us all a better handle on how tuition is set.  Colleges that have well-funded endowments, including money housed offshore to avoid taxes, should tap more of those resources before raising tuition."

Milan, IL - Milan Happy Joe's team members will host a special needs party for children from 10am to noon on December 13th at Horace Mann Early Learning Center.  Santa will be on hand to spread holiday cheer and delight to special needs children throughout the Milan area.  Approximately 100 children from Horace Mann Early Learning Center are expected to attend the event.  The first special needs party began in 1972 when Happy Joe Whitty opened his first store in the Village of East Davenport.  Since that first event 39 years ago, nearly 155,000 special needs children have attended parties throughout the 59 store chain.