The Immigrant Connection Annual Conference — now called Welcome Conference — commenced September 23 with a powerful time of worship, reflection and prayer as conference attendees joined in a healing and restorative time of singing and praying for and over our communities, work and immigrant neighbors.
Welcome Conference 2024 was by far the largest Immigrant Connection conference with over 200 attendees made up of Immigrant Connection Legal Network members as well as church, community and corporate partners. While each member in the movement has a unique role to play in the ongoing national work, we gather annually in our united commitment to stand with immigrants and ensure that Immigrant Connection’s vision continues to unfold across the country.
Conference attendees convened for three days as legal practitioners, church and denominational leaders, and community partners delved into a focused time of training in :Foundations of Welcome,: :Cross-Cultural Skills,: :Navigating Trauma as Service Providers,: :Program Management: and :Legal Skills.: Plenaries focused on learning more about our defining and refining unique roles in the movement, ways we can become more immigrant-centered in our work and understanding how to journey well with immigrants in our communities.
The Immigrant Connection Conference remains the only one of its kind in the nation. This unique church-based immigration legal services conference provides invaluable education, peer-to-peer learning and best-practice sharing for Immigrant Connection movement members.
Along with the professional development focus, Welcome Conference 2024 celebrated Immigrant Connection’s 10-year anniversary. A special banquet was held to recognize and honor key partners and leaders as well as the tireless service and dedication of sites and staff. The evening remembered the last 10 years of God’s faithfulness and looked ahead to the next 10 years at what the Holy Spirit will do in and through Immigrant Connection.
Immigrant Connection is comprised of 35 local sites across 22 states. Over 70 Department of Justice accredited legal representatives and nearly as many additional legal support staff and volunteers meet with immigrants daily to assist them in various immigration processes — processes which bring immigrants and the communities they are part of stability and strength. The movement is on track to serve over 12,000 immigrants in 2024, and by December, Immigrant Connection will mark the milestone of having served over 40,000 clients since 2014.
Besides our growing legal network, more churches across the country are partnering with us. They desire to learn more about extending welcome, love and service to immigrant neighbors through various Welcome Programs.
As 2024 closes and Immigrant Connection enters its second decade of service and impact nationwide, won’t you consider standing with immigrants?
We invite you and your church to join the Immigrant Connection Movement and our Church Partnership Program. Our partnership program is for all churches — not just those interested in legal services. We believe every church is called to love and welcome immigrants, and Immigrant Connection is prepared to journey with your congregation to learn more and take action.
For more information on Immigrant Connection Church Partnerships, visit icwelcome.org/mychurch.
Sera Han leads Communications for Immigrant Connection.
