IRTF News

Join us next week for “Rivers of Resistance: Resource Conflict and Rural Organizing in the Americas,” our May Member Meeting hosted by Jacey. The event is on Thursday, May 16 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT and El Salvador/5pm PT. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86132677306?pwd=Qk1zVExpNHZpcUpaN2JDdTUzR25hUT09 

Sister Cities’ staff member Dr. Jacey Anderson will share her research on the history of resource conflict and rural organizing in two river basins in the Americas. She tracks how the people of each place used their local knowledge of the land to successfully prevent mining projects in the late twentieth century. Through oral history and unique access to private archives, Jacey argues the leaders of both movements were not traditional environmentalists, nor did they identify as such; they were ordinary people who were fighting for what they valued–living with dignity and respect for their surroundings.

English-Spanish interpretation is available. All are welcome to attend. We invite you to share this event, also found on our website’s calendar of events.

Watch the new CPT documentary “ضو - Light” and join our premiere event and discussion online to hear from film director Ahmad Abu Monshar and the CPT Palestine team.

Donate $50 to access the film and reserve your seat at the online premiere event.

Book your spot here: Light | Community Peacemaker Teams (cpt.org)

Click here to RSVP for our Power Hour on May 16th 3pm ET | 2pm CT | 1pm MT | 12pm PT.

Critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and more are key components of electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies.  As the world increasingly transitions to clean energy sources, global demand for critical minerals is on the rise.  

As a result, the U.S. government is currently considering entering into a number of possible “Critical Minerals Agreements” with foreign nations.  Depending upon how they’re written, these targeted trade deals could either help meet shared climate, job creation and sustainable development goals or end up accelerating exploitative models of resource extraction that are devastating for workers, communities and the environment.  

During this month's Power Hour briefing, we’ll be joined by Krista Shennum of Climate Rights International who will be summarizing a new report on the environmental, indigenous rights and labor implications of massive new nickel mining operations in Indonesia and Arthur Stamoulis of the Trade Justice Education Fund who will describe what’s at stake in new Critical Minerals Agreement negotiations and how you can help shape them.  

Webinar to discuss the report Free to Leave and Free to Stay, whioh details the impact of climate change in Honduras as a case study. Caritas France and ERIC are two allied organizations the work in global advocacy spaces, including the Climate Migration and Displacement Platform (CMDP).

The conversation will also explore the relationship between environmental degradation and forced displacement and migration. They will examine the concept of socio-environmental disasters and discuss the importance of prevention, respect for human rights during disaster responses and in the immediate displacement, and the impact on forced migration. The conversation will be rooted on how Honduras can support the needs of people displaced by climate-related events and the role of the international community in supporting this process, including advocacy opportunities.

You are invited to join the conversation: 

 Wednesday, May 15

 9:00 AM
 Register at: https://bit.ly/3UQEhxj

Panelists:
Elvin Hernández, ERIC
Yolanda González Cerdeira, ERIC
The event will be in Spanish with English interpretation available.

For over a decade, Alejandro’s research and advocacy work have focused on the successes and limitations of water justice social movements and the social and environmental consequences of extractive development in Central America. He has worked with a variety of non-governmental organizations in El Salvador, Honduras, Chile, Washington D.C., and California on issues spanning US trade policy, water governance, and gold and lithium mining. His work centers environmental justice that embraces diversity and coalition-building with underrepresented and vulnerable populations.

Registration: Extractive Industry & Environmental/Human Rights (givebutter.com)

Join the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), The Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, Arizona State University, and Borderlands Studios for an unforgettable VIRTUAL & IN-PERSON TOWN HALL and FILM SCREENING on Friday, May 10 as deported advocates and immigration leaders fight for a “Chance to Come Home.” This powerful live conversation will explore the experience of deportation in the U.S. immigration system & efforts of the unjustly deported to return home.

• Watch a short film by award-winning filmmaker, Alex Rivera, whose film The Infiltrators received two 2019 Sundance Film Festival Awards.
• Meet Howard Bailey, a deported U.S. Navy veteran recently reunited with this family in the U.S. after ten years of exile.
• Learn from renowned immigration expert Ahilan Arulanantham, professor and faculty co-director of The Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law.
• Meet Sarah Hamdi, a DACA recipient fighting to bring her sister Tina back to Ohio after she was deported from the only home she knows, as featured on NPR's "Here and Now."
• **Event moderated by NIJC's Nayna Gupta

In a moment when anti-immigrant rhetoric dominates national discourse, these advocates and artists are reclaiming the narrative on immigration as they fight for a Chance to Come Home.

JOIN US for this unique presentation and conversation on the future of immigration in the United States.