When the Centreville Immigration Forum (CIF) recently held its annual awards dinner, Executive Director Terry Angelotti welcomed attendees to The Waterford at Fair Oaks. She also got straight to the point of the event.

“In an atmosphere in our country when there’s so much negativity about immigrants, you respect immigrants and what they bring to the global community,” she said. “And you know that they make our experiences richer.”

The CIF runs the Centreville Labor Resource Center (CLRC), which helps local immigrants obtain work, wages, English-language lessons, job skills and other important life tools enabling them to provide for themselves and their families. And fittingly, the theme for the Sept. 21 dinner was “Celebrating our Global Community.”

“This is about telling our story and inviting others to be part of it,” said Angelotti. “Our board of directors is responsible for our success – and half the spots on it are filled by immigrants. They bring their own experiences to it and know what it’s like to stand on a street corner, hoping for work.”

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) also addressed the crowd. “America is at a crossroads again about immigration, and some Americans have forgotten who they are,” he said. “America is America because of immigrants.”

When he first moved to Fairfax County, he said, its foreign-born population was 3 percent; today, it’s 28 percent. And although some people initially feared their influx would adversely affect schools and increase crime, he said that hasn’t been the case.

“Fairfax County schools are in the top 100 in the country and have one of the highest graduation rates,” said Connolly. “And the crime rate is the lowest of the top 100 jurisdictions in the country. We’ve created 650,000 jobs and our median income is $106,000 – third in the country.”

He also stressed that chain migration isn’t something bad, but rather, leads to family reunification. He then told the story of how his Catholic grandmother fled discrimination in Ireland by coming to the U.S.

“Today, her grandson stands before you, a U.S. congressman,” said Connolly. “You don’t know what an immigrant will become. Immigration leads to a richer fabric, stronger country and more vibrant patriotism. And those who believe in the value of immigrants need to stand up. It’s a belief in freedom and the right of everyone to enjoy it. And that’s why the CIF is so important – because it’s not just words, it’s actions – and we need a lot more of it, all over America.”

Anh Phan brought greetings and congratulations from U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). Noting Centreville’s “rich diversity,” he said, “Our communities are stronger when we come together with can-do spirit to make a difference in the lives of others.”

Similarly, Gaston Araoz-Riveros, brought a congratulatory message from U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). Saying the CIF has made “invaluable contributions” to Centreville, Kaine praised its “remarkable advocacy work” on behalf of immigrants and to change immigration policies. He also thanked the organization for “creating a better community.”

CIF Community Organizer John Cano noted the “positive contributions our immigrant brothers and sisters make in the community. Our mission is to recuperate wages [when employers refuse to pay immigrants for completed work], educate the community about immigrants and work with others at the state level to change legislation. Immigrants make communities better.”

Speaking about immigrant families at the Mexican border was CIF Board member and immigration attorney Lisa Johnson-Firth. “I was at a detention facility this summer and interviewed parents whose children were taken from them,” she said. “One woman had her child taken from her arms, and a man’s son was taken while they slept. I witnessed firsthand how our legal system is failing. They moved 300 families with no notification to their legal counsel.”

She said that, in September 2019, 300,000 people in this area will lose their temporary, protected status. Besides losing jobs, said Johnson-Firth, the fallout will also affect schoolchildren because “their parents will lose their homes. Every day, people are deprived of their rights and liberty by judges who order deportation with no adjudication.”

So, she said, “We need to get involved and hold our local leaders responsible. We also need to support organizations like the CLRC, CIF and Legal Justice Center that are working on the front lines for immigrants. Immigrants need our help; and if we allow the most vulnerable people to have their rights eroded, all people’s rights will be eroded.”

For more information about the nonprofit CIF, or to contribute, go to http://centrevilleimmigrationforum.org/.