Report provided by Rev. Dr. Kalesita Tu’ifua

Omaha, NE  on Apr 22 – 24, 2025

A group of us joined our Cal-Pac Conference Immigration Coordinator Monalisa Tu’itahi at the GCORR Immigration Summit in Omaha, Nebraska for three days to learn, engage, and strategize on immigration issues under the new Trump administration. The Immigration Summit helped us understand the immigration policy changes affecting immigrants, refugees, and newcomers. These developments include increasingly indiscriminate ICE enforcement, reduced humanitarian pathways, defunding of programs, and new bans. Although over 100 lawsuits have been filed to challenge these actions, we must take action and be strong advocates so we remain a welcoming nation and extend Christlike hospitality to strangers and all, regardless of background or status.

A training session by the Immigration Law & Justice Network on “Know your Rights” to equip the community when ICE appears at your home, church, or in the community. We also learn valuable steps on how to reduce vulnerability and digital security risks from experts in migration and homeland-digital security surveillance for immigration. Handouts were provided, and additional resources are available online to faith community.

On the final day, we broke into the Jurisdictional and Racial/Ethnic Caucuses to strategize how to implement what we have learned in our own contexts, including planning future trainings on how to implement this vital work in the faith community.

Cal-Pac was well represented there with the attendance of Josh Lopez-Reyes and Pastor Toña Rios as representatives from Cal-Pac, Rev. Dr. Kalesita Tu’ifua representing the Pacific Islander National Caucus, and Rev. Jackie Vives attended as representative of MARCHA.