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It has been an exciting six months for the ISAAC Project.  In February, I attended a training seminar offered in Washington, D.C. by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.  It centered on building capacity and positioning networks such as ISAAC so that they can reach out more efficiently to the immigrant community and to the agencies affiliated with them.

It was at this seminar that I learned about different grants offered by the Federal Government through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  One in particular about integration services for legal permanent residents seemed within the reach of the ISAAC Project.  After a few months of hard work, the grant was written and submitted.  It would not have been possible without the help, expertise and the many talents of Suzii Paynter, Charlotte Bumbulis, Anne Olson and Julie Valentine.

The grant is in the amount of $100,000, and, if granted, will serve the population of south San Antonio and surrounding areas through ESL classes for eligible legal permanent residents.  It will also be used to start a federally recognized and accredited immigration service agency there, which is named Proyecto ELIM and is sponsored and hosted by Baptist University of the Américas.  This agency will submit its application for federal recognition and accreditation at the end of June.  It will be an affiliate of the ISAAC Project.

One of the goals of the ISAAC Project is to build relationships with interfaith coalitions and other groups outside Texas doing immigration ministry centers.  This goal has begun to unfold as Comunidade Evangelica de Miami, an Evangelical church that serves the Brazilian population, recently joined the ISAAC Network.  Diana Pinto, a passionate lady with experience as an immigration law clerk at a Miami law firm, will lead the Immigration Service and Christian Aid Center.  This is a milestone for the ISAAC Project and the first step in the process of creating a national network.

Another interfaith organization has recently joined the ISAAC Network:  the Christian Community Development Ministries for Korean Churches, based in Dallas, Texas, will be requesting federal recognition and accreditation for the Dallas Immigration Services Center.  This effort will be led by Pastor Samuel Song.

A recent development for the ISAAC Project has been the creation of an advisory board.  Seven people committed to Kingdom work from all over Texas will contribute their vision and passion for immigration ministry to ISAAC.  The first meeting of the board will take place during Convención in San Antonio, on June 28.

Developments in the area of immigration at the national level, such as the recent measures signed into law in Arizona, are cause for concern.  But there may be a silver lining:  as State governments and municipalities toughen their stance on undocumented immigrants, the issue comes back to the forefront of political dialogue.  It is there that it justly belongs.  These developments will hopefully make our political leaders get back to the table, dialogue and find the consensus needed to work toward a much needed comprehensive immigration reform.

Our prayers are with them as the ISAAC Project positions itself to better serve communities all across the nation when our broken immigration system is finally repaired, and hopefully, sooner than everyone expects.

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