An Update on Policy Reform, Issues in Immigrant Communities, and a Celebration of Heritage.

Speakers will present on the status of Immigration Reform nationally, what is happening locally, and how you can be involved. There will also be a presentation on issues facing Muslim communities.

The evening will celebrate the diverse traditions and ethnicities that make up the Marin Interfaith Council  and  our community.  There will be food, music and fun!

Speakers: 

Zahra Billoo - Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA).
As the Executive Director for the CAIR San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA) chapter, Zahra Billoo strives to promote justice and understanding at local and national levels. In 2009, Zahra joined CAIR-SFBA and immediately embraced her roles as community organizer and civil rights advocate. She frequently provides trainings at local mosques and universities as part of CAIR’s efforts to empower the community, while building bridges with allies on key civil rights issues. Zahra also represents victims of discrimination and advocates for positive policy changes that uphold civil rights for all. In March 2011, at her direction, CAIR-SFBA filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice challenging their warrantless use of GPS tracking devices to target American Muslims. Her work with CAIR-SFBA has been highlighted in local and national media outlets including KTVU, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, the Christian Science Monitor, and NPR. Most notably, she made waves when she appeared on FOX News’ O'Reilly Factor in Fall 2010 to discuss invasive TSA practices. A 2010 recipient of the San Francisco Minority Bar Coalition's Unity Award and a 2011 recipient of the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California's Public Interest Attorney of the Year Award, Zahra has been a devoted labor rights advocate for several years. While in college, she worked with the California Faculty Association on issues including faculty salaries and the defunding of public higher education. While in law school, Zahra was awarded the Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship to work with the National Employment Law Project. Zahra graduated Cum Laude from California State University, Long Beach with degrees in Human Resources Management and Political Science. She earned her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, and was admitted to the California Bar in 2009.

Grisel Ruiz - Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC).
Grisel Ruiz joined the ILRC in 2012 through a fellowship focused on the intersection between immigration law and criminal law.  Prior to joining the ILRC, Grisel was a litigation association at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.  Before Pillsbury, Grisel received the Stimson Fellowship to head a project jointly housed at the Immigration Law Clinic at UC Davis School of Law and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, through which she co-founded “Know Your Rights” programs at two local ICE-contracted facilities.  These projects provided individual representation, pro bono referrals, pro se materials, and case consultations to hundreds of detained immigrants in removal proceedings.  Grisel also provided community presentations regarding constitutional rights when confronted by law enforcement and supervised law students in removal defense cases before the Executive Office for Immigration Review.  Grisel is fluent in Spanish and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School where she received the Tony Patiño Fellowship.  Prior to law school she worked as a paralegal and coordinator at the National Immigrant Justice Center.  She attended the University of Notre Dame for her B.A.

Videos on the Topic:

Religious Profiling and Immigration Reform

Profiling and Boarder Questioning of Muslims