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| Antonio Cube |
The 2009 keynote speaker for the Iowa Institute for Social Action will
be Antonio Cube, the national manager for the Justice for Immigrants campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB). Antonio has been working on immigration issues since 1998, including five years on the staff of a U.S. Senator
and serving with the Washington State Catholic Conference. Antonio is an immigrant himself, moving to the U.S. when he was
four years old with his parents.
In 2005, the USCCB created
the Justice for Immigrants campaign to infuse Catholic principles into the immigration debate and to work for the passage
of comprehensive immigration reform. The Campaign's primary objectives are to:
- Educate the public about Church teaching on migration and immigrants;
- Create political will for positive immigration reform;
- Enact legislative and administrative reforms based on the principles articulated by the bishops; and
- Organize Catholic networks to assist qualified immigrants obtain the benefits
of the reforms.
The Campaign aims to reach beyond
the networks of the participating national agencies, and to enlist the support of Catholic individuals and institutions in
dioceses throughout the country.