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Breaking Bread and Barriers

DECORAH (KWWL) – "Breaking Bread and Barriers" was a community potluck and town hall meeting that aimed to provide information on immigration reform.

The event was organized by the Decorah Area Faith Coalition and the Decorah Human Rights Commission.

Speakers talked about how previous immigration policies that allowed their ancestors to settle here.  They reflected on immigration spurts from Norwegian settlers, Vietnamese refugees, and Mexicans.

"The demographic curve is down unless we open our arms and our hearts and our communities, our businesses to new people who will make and spend money who will bring their cultures and their faith and make us a stronger state," Rev. Mike Blevins said.

The interfaith group wants immigration reform that will "uphold family unity as a priority of all immigration policies,  create a process for undocumented immigrants to earn their legal status and eventual citizenship, protect workers and provide efficient channels of entry for new migrant workers, facilitate immigrant integration, restore due process protections and reform detention policies and align the enforcement of immigration laws with humanitarian value."

The dialogue was recorded and sent to representatives.

ONLINE PRODUCER: Jackie Manternach