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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING PASO - WEST SUBURBAN ACTION PROJECT ON THEIR 15TH ANNIVERSARY
WHEREAS, PASO - West Suburban Action Project was started in Mount Carmel Catholic Church and founded on March 15th, 2009 by Yesenia S?nchez; and
WHEREAS, PASO is located in Melrose Park and it is committed to providing services to the surrounding communities. This includes Bellwood, Berkeley, Northlake, Maywood, Berwyn, Addison, Cicero, Chicago, and many more; and
WHEREAS, many community meetings were held in the Mount Carmel Catholic Church gymnasium where over 400 people gathered on inauguration day. The community decided to unify their voices to fight for Immigrant Rights, Public Safety, and Health Access for Immigrants; and
WHEREAS, a component of these early years was education for undocumented students, and helping make in-state tuition for undocumented students a reality in 2011. Other components included voter registration, citizenship classes, and community organizing; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, PASO along other allied organizations and community members won a state law for undocumented individuals to obtain temporary driver's licenses; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, Mony Ruiz joined PASO as its new executive director; and
WHEREAS, PASO's immigration legal clinic, founded in 2016, became a model in the West Suburbs by combining services, organizing and helping hundreds of people naturalize their status; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, PASO marched on to fight for Welcoming spaces for immigrants to live and work, and advocated for Welcoming ordinances and resolutions in Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Berwyn, and Summit; and
WHEREAS, PASO joined other organizations in the state to advocate and win important legislation, including the IL Trust Act, VOICES Act and IL RISE Act; and
WHEREAS, PASO was one of the main organizations who participated in a rally in downtown Chicago to demand the abolition of ICE where 12,000 people were in attendance; and
WHEREAS, in 2020 the...
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