Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center http://las-americas.org Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:51:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 Donate to Las Americas http://las-americas.org/?p=932 http://las-americas.org/?p=932#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:51:01 +0000 katie http://las-americas.org/?p=932 Support the neediest immigrants!  Donate to Las Americas today!  Your donations directly benefit Las Americas’ programs including: the Battered Immigrant Women Program, the Asylum Program and the Family Immigration Program.

You can make your donation directly on this page by  clicking on the donate button and by completing your transaction through PayPal.  Join us in raising $5,000 for the the Family Immigration Program in order to receive a grant match from the Porticus North America Foundation!  Please let us know if you wish your donation to go toward the Family Immigration Program grant match. We sincerely thank you for your generosity.  ¡Muchas gracias!

]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=932 0 Las Americas’ 14th Annual Celebrity Waiter Dinner http://las-americas.org/?p=900 http://las-americas.org/?p=900#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:55:04 +0000 Claire http://las-americas.org/?p=900

14th Annual Celebrity Waiter Dinner

Las Americas will be hosting its 14th Annual Celebrity Waiter Dinner on Thursday, March 14, 2013.

Local El Paso Celebrities wait on tables and compete for the most tips. This is one of two major fundraisers for Las Americas so that it may keep its doors open to serve the neediest of immigrants.

It will take place at St. Pius in the Msgr. Arturo Banuelas Community Center located at 1050 N. Clark, El Paso, TX  79905.

The dinner will begin at 6 pm.

Tickets are $45 or $450 for a table of ten.  A $5 raffle ticket is also included in the price of the ticket.

Our celebrities have been graciously accepting their invitations! Who will be waiting on your table?!

2013 Celebrity Waiters

(as of publication) 

Andres Muro, EPCC

Patrick Manning, Reporter KFOX News

Dr. Mark Lusk, UTEP

Emma Acosta, City Representative District 3

Hal Marcus, Artist

Judge Veronica Escobar, County Commissioner

Dr. Yolanda Leyva, UTEP

Eduardo Beckett, Esq., Immigration Lawyer

Lesley Lopez, Prima Ballerina

Rabbi Larry Bach, Border Interfaith

Steve Ortega, City Representative District 7 &

Candidate for Mayor of El Paso

Josh Zuber, Reporter KFOX News

Rich Martin, Las Palmas Medical Center

Susie Byrd, City Representative Distric 2

Carlos Clugy-Soto, Cima Hospice

Dora Reyes, Singer with Azúcar

Sergio Saenz, EPCC

Susie Byrd, City Representative District 2

Martha Mejia Maidi, Orthodontist

Paul Cicala, Sports Anchor with KVIA ABC 7

Roxie Samaniego, of White, Samaniego & Campbell, LLC.

]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=900 0 Photos: Border Heroes 2012 http://las-americas.org/?p=813 http://las-americas.org/?p=813#comments Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:48:48 +0000 Rafael http://las-americas.org/?p=813 Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center would like to thank everyone who attended the Border Heroes Dinner on October 20,2012.

The Border Heroes were the Honorable Maria Salas Mendoza and West P. Cosgrove. Alexia Salvatierra was the keynote speaker.

 

Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 Border Heroes 2012 ]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=813 0 2012 Border Heroes Awards Dinner http://las-americas.org/?p=800 http://las-americas.org/?p=800#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:18:08 +0000 Rafael http://las-americas.org/?p=800 Judge Salazar Mendoza, West Paul Cosgrove, Rev. Alexia Salvatierra

THE HONORABLE MARIA SALAS MENDOZA AND WEST P. COSGROVE TO BE HONORED AS “BORDER HEROES”

The Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center 2012 Border Heroes Awards Dinner will take place October 20, 2012 at Temple Mt. Sinai, 4408 N. Stanton Street, El Paso, TX 79902 from 6-9 pm.

The Board of Directors of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center is proud to announce that the annual Border Heroes Awards will go this year to two longtime community leaders who have dedicated their lives to making our border a more just and humane place, the Honorable Maria Salas Mendoza and West P. Cosgrove.

Judge Maria Salas Mendoza, is the president of the El Paso Bar Association, District Court Judge of the 120th Judicial District Court, and a member of the El Paso Community Justice Council. She is a tireless advocate on behalf of women and children in the borderland. Judge Salas Mendoza is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law and received her undergraduate degree from Harvard-Radcliffe College.

West Paul Cosgrove has been a border activist for the past seventeen years. He is the founder of Project Puente and Casa Puente. West has been involved in numerous community activities along the borderland, but most recently organized We the Border: Envisioning a Narrative for Our Future in conjunction with Border Network for Human Rights. West recently moved to the Nogales, AZ-Nogales, Sonora border to work with the Kino Border Initiative.

Alexia Salvatierra, is the keynote speaker this year. She was the Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice—beginning as the director of CLUE in Los Angeles and then as the first CLUE-CA director. CLUE-CA was the initial lead agency for the New Sanctuary Movement, in which congregations in 37 cities around the country accompany and support immigrant workers and their families facing deportation

Tickets are $100 each or a table of 8 for $800. Checks may be made to Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.

For more information or to buy tickets please call Katie Hudak, Executive Director at 915-544-5126, ext. 22 or email: katieaniahudak@las-americas.org.

Download the Border Heroes 2012 Flyer

]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=800 0 Casa Puente http://las-americas.org/?p=777 http://las-americas.org/?p=777#comments Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:37:16 +0000 Nasley http://las-americas.org/?p=777 Friends of Las Americas,

We would like to make you aware of a great organization that provides local lodging. Please help us spread the word about about Casa Puente:

Casa Puente is a temporary home away from home, suitable for non-profit interns, small groups (10 or less) who come to the border for immersion trips, or anyone in the peace and justice or non-profit world looking for a temporary place to stay in El Paso. Located at 1009 N. Florence in El Paso, TX, the house boasts many amenities.

Please see Casa Puente’s flyer for more information.

]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=777 0 The Las Americas Site is Back! http://las-americas.org/?p=758 http://las-americas.org/?p=758#comments Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:22:40 +0000 Nasley http://las-americas.org/?p=758 The Staff at Las Americas would like to thank everyone for their patience during our transition and reconstruction period. As you can see, our website is back up and fully functioning. If you continue to experience problems, please contact the webmaster Administrator@las-americas.org.

Thank You!

-Las Americas Staff and Board of Directors.

]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=758 0 Photos: Celebrity Waiter Spaghetti Dinner 2012 http://las-americas.org/?p=681 http://las-americas.org/?p=681#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:04:34 +0000 katie http://las-americas.org/?p=681 Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center would like to thank everyone who attended the 13th Annual Celebrity Waiter Spaghetti Dinner on March 24, 2012.

We want to extend special thanks to our celebrity waiters who contributed their time and effort to this event. Without them, this event would not have been possible!

Celebrity Waiters:
Andres Muro, Beto O’Rourke, Corey Roen, Hal Marcus, Dr. Josiah Heyman, Dr. Kathleen Staudt, Louie Gilot, Maria Garcia, Marisa Marquez, Dr. Mark Lusk, Richard Martin, Sheriff Richard Wiles, Sergio Saenz, and Tania Chozet.

Ali and Betsy (Las Americas Staff) with guests Celebrity Waiter Maria Garcia serving the Sisters who attended Celebrity Waiters Hal Marcus, Corey Roen, and Richard Martin serving their tables Betsy with guests Winner of the iPad Lynn McCrum and other guests Guests of Juan Rodriguez Guests of Laura Guzman-Du Vernois Border Servant Corps. guests of Louie Gilot Sister Nancy Sullivan and friends Mark Du Vernois and Carlos Maldonado our excellent bartenders! Board Member Pamela Munoz with her son and a friend Celebrity Waiter Andres Muro serving his table ]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=681 0 PHOTOS: 2011 Border Heroes Awards http://las-americas.org/?p=563 http://las-americas.org/?p=563#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:40:08 +0000 Las Americas http://las-americas.org/?p=563 Patricia Medici, Olivia Chavez and Hal Marcus Mrs. Carolina Reyes, Louie Gilot and U.S. Congressman Silvestre Reyes Mrs. Guadalupe de la Vega and Mrs. Olga Delgado Mrs. Carolyn Feinberg and 2011 Border Hero Dr. Jacob Heydemann 2011 Extraordinary Volunteer Sr. Phyllis Nolan 2011 Border Hero Dr. Kathleen Staudt, with Mosi and Asha Daneel ]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=563 0 BORDER HEROES in the El Paso Times! http://las-americas.org/?p=557 http://las-americas.org/?p=557#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:35:36 +0000 Las Americas http://las-americas.org/?p=557 El Paso professor, surgeon named Border Heroes
By Hayley Kappes \ El Paso Times
Posted: 11/06/2011 12:00:00 AM MDT
Dr. Enrique Suarez congratulates honoree Kathleen Staudt at… (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)

›› Photo gallery: Border Heroes

University of Texas at El Paso Professor Kathleen Staudt and surgeon Jacob Heydemann were honored Saturday for years of giving back to the community.

The two were given the Border Heroes Award before 200 people at Temple Mount Sinai. The award was given by La Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization that offers legal representation to low-income immigrants, including refugees and battered women.

Staudt, a political science professor, in 1998 founded the Center for Civic Engagement, which connects UTEP students with agencies that help people and introduces them to volunteering in the community.

Since the center opened, thousands of UTEP students have volunteered by teaching U.S. citizenship classes and English as a second language to immigrants and by working with child-care and tutoring programs at the YWCA.

“I feel strongly in connecting students with real experiences that provide them with skills that they don’t always get in the classroom or from books,” Staudt said. “A lot of students, until they were involved with the center, had no idea of the ways to get involved in the nonprofit sector.”

The escalated cartel violence in Juárez has hindered students at the center from volunteering at serviceorganizations, including Casa Amiga, a domestic violence and rape crisis center in Juárez, Staudt said.

“This is such a special place,” she said. “The international border is what attracted me to come here in the first place. I’m optimistic that five years down the road the day will come when both of our cities can get back to our healthy relationship.”

Heydemann, an orthopedic surgeon in El Paso, works for free in clinics and hospitals throughout the state of Chihuahua, including FEMAP’s Hospital de la Familia in Juárez.

Most of his work is focused on treating children who require specialized orthopedic care and whose families can’t afford medical costs, Heydemann said.

“I’m a big believer of giving back to the community and improving the quality of life. I’m fortunate to have the skill set that I do to be able to give back.”

The awards dinner featured a keynote speech by journalist Angela Kocherga, the border bureau chief for Belo Television’s 20 stations and regional cable networks. Sister Phyllis Nolan, a volunteer at Las Americas, received a special award for her work with immigrant detention center detainees.

Rabbi Larry Bach, vice president of the Las Americas board, said the organization each year honors people in broad backgrounds who engage in community service.

“During their lifetime, both (Heidemann and Staudt) have done tremendous work in our community,” Bach said. “Las Americas provides one important service on the border in the immigrant community, and this is how we recognize those doing great work in a variety of fields.”

Hayley Kappes may be reached at hkappes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168.

]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=557 0 Have you seen our billboard on I-10? http://las-americas.org/?p=551 http://las-americas.org/?p=551#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:58:57 +0000 Las Americas http://las-americas.org/?p=551 Thanks to a donation from Louie Salazar and Clear Channel, Las Americas was able to promote the 2001 Border Heroes Awards dinner on a highway billboard. The billboard is on I-10 West near Bassett Place.

]]> http://las-americas.org/?feed=rss2&p=551 0