Coalition for Education about Immigration 
Nashville, Tennessee
About Us
Origin

In 2006 anti-immigration rhetoric was intensifying in the Nashville community. Myths and misconceptions about immigrants and immigration along with corresponding vitriolic conversations seemed to be proliferating on national and local radio talk shows. An idea that originated in the Community Relations Committee (CRC) of the Jewish Federation in 2006 expanded to a series of exploratory meetings with immigrant advocates, including members of Conexión Americas and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC).  Discussions that ensued led to the formation of the Coalition for Education about Immigration (CEI).  From the onset, the founding members of CEI believe that when provided with accurate information, the Nashville community will draw reasonable, educated conclusions of their own. What began with a concern of a half dozen community members grew, in a short time, to a grassroots membership of nearly 300 individuals and more than a dozen loosely affiliated organizations.


Mission

The Coalition for Education about Immigration (CEI) is a grassroots organization devoted to facilitating educated, rational and informed conversation on immigration and related issues. Our mission is to provide our community with clear and accurate information that will position members to adopt reasonable, fact based conclusions about the immigration debate. 

 

A Viable Position on Immigration

CEI supports:

The development of opportunities to allow hard-working immigrants who are already contributing to this country to come out of the shadows, regularize their status after satisfying reasonable criteria, and over time, pursue and option to become lawful permanent residents, and eventually, United States citizens, if they choose to do so.

Reforms in our family-based immigration system that honor humanitarian and American family values and significantly reduce waiting times for reuniting families in the United States, something that can take years, even decades under the current process.

The development of legal avenues for new immigrant workers and their families who wish to migrate to the United States as well as the implementation of a safe, legal, and orderly process in which the rights of all workers are fully protected.


Effective border protection policies that are consistent with American humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect. These policies will allow for critical and legitimate tasks of identifying and preventing entry into the United States by terrorists and dangerous criminals, implementing immigration policy, and maintaining the integrity of national borders.

Accomplishments

To date, CEI has:

 

a.       written and adopted a formal position paper on local and national immigration  reform;

b.      organized a Speakers’ Bureau that has addressed thousands of Nashvillians in a variety of               formats;

c.      met with members of the local legislature and members of Congress;

d.      trained Immigration Ambassadors to serve as educational emissaries;

e.      created The Clergy for Tolerance, an informal network of clergy interested in spreading                     positive messages about immigrants in our community and the problems with which they 

          are faced;

f.       joined in a broad-based coalition to oppose the English-only Charter Amendment 

          proposed for Davidson County

g.       appeared on local radio and television; and

h.      created a widely distributed newsletter and educational materials.

 


Meetings

CEI meets monthly to share information and educate its membership.  Last year a extended strategic planning session was held to set specific goals and develop action plans.  Goals and action plans serve as the centerpiece for each of our meetings. 



Executive Leadership

Although all significant decisions are made collaboratively by its membership, a steering committee was created to guide the work of the Coalition.  Steering Committee members include the following:

 

            Avi Poster (Jewish Federation CRC), Chair

            Tom Negri (Loews Vanderbilt Hotel), Vice-Chair

            Stephen Fotopulos (TIRRC), Executive Board Member

            Judy Saks (Jewish Federation CRC), Executive Board Member

            Renata Soto (Conexion Americas), Executive Board Member

            Jose Gonzalez (Conexion Americas), Executive Board Member

            Tara Lentz (Community Activist), Committee Chairperson

            Debby Gould (Community Activist), Committee Chairperson

 

Coalition for Education about Immigration