| For immediate publication,
contact Dr. Joseph Costantino at 212-764-5555
- Sunday, June 21st, 1998:
- LEGALIZATION, NATURALIZATION, AND VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE
On Father's Day, Sunday, June 21st, 1998,
Mr. Edward Juarez Pagliocco, President of the International Immigrants Foundation
will lead one of the largest Naturalization and Voter Registration Drive
that New York City has ever seen.
The Drive is being made possible through the
cooperation of several prominent cultural and community-based organizations, as well as
hundreds of volunteers, who aim to educate the public about the need to assume an active
role in finding practical solutions to major social issues. Among the leading
organization supporting this event are the National Organization of Latino Elected
and Appointed Officials (NALEO), the Polish American Immigration Task
Force, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and
many more.
The Naturalization and Voter Registration
Drive will be supplemented by a national Legalization Drive for
Undocumented Immigrants who entered the United States prior to September 30th,
1996. The objective of this campaign, initiated by the International
Immigrants Foundation in September 1997, is to raise public awareness about the
harshness of the current Immigration Act of 1996 and the adverse impact of the Act's
provisions on the social, economic, cultural and political structures of the US
society. The campaign, now progressing rapidly toward its target of 10,000
new naturalized voters per state drive (prior to December 31) and one
million petitions, also aims to eliminate the general public's ignorance of the
new Act's implications and to change negative perceptions about our immigrant population.
The Naturalization Voter Registration, and
Legalization Drive will be inaugurated during the 13th Annual
International Cultures Expo-Fest scheduled to take place on Sunday, June
21st, 1998, on Madison Avenue, between 43rd and 57th Streets, from 10AM
to 6PM. This year's Expo-Fest will feature 15 New York
City's international cultures that offer an exceptional opportunity for a "Cultural
Journey Around the World". The event, with an anticipated attendance
of over one million spectators from all cultural backgrounds and the
participation of over 100 nations and cultural communities, will celebrate the
contributions of the multi-cultural communities that make up the people of New York and
provide an unforgettable testimony to the continuous flow of talents, ideals, and creative
abilities that enrich the fabric of American society and its tradition of unity through
diversity.
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