ABLE and Farmworker Liaison Group Hosts Consul of Mexico
APRIL 12, 2010
ABLE and Farmworker Liaison Group Hosts Consul of Mexico
The Migrant Farmworker and Immigration Program of Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) and Farmworker Agencies Liaison Communication and Outreach Network (FALCON) are hosting a reception for Vicente Sanchez Ventura, Consul of Mexico (Detroit office) on Friday, April 16, 2010 at the Center for Equal Justice in downtown Toledo, Ohio. The reception will follow a joint meeting of ABLE and FALCON where advocacy developments involving the local farmworker community will be discussed. Following the joint meeting, the Consul will discuss services offered to Mexican nationals in Northern Ohio and how his office is planning to recognize this year’s bicentennial celebration of Mexico.
ABLE and Farmworker Liaison Group Hosts Consul of Mexico
The Migrant Farmworker and Immigration Program of Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) and Farmworker Agencies Liaison Communication and Outreach Network (FALCON) are hosting a reception for Vicente Sanchez Ventura, Consul of Mexico (Detroit office) on Friday, April 16, 2010 at the Center for Equal Justice in downtown Toledo, Ohio. The reception will follow a joint meeting of ABLE and FALCON where advocacy developments involving the local farmworker community will be discussed. Following the joint meeting, the Consul will discuss services offered to Mexican nationals in Northern Ohio and how his office is planning to recognize this year’s bicentennial celebration of Mexico.
(Sanchez Ventura’s comments will be at approximately 11:15 a.m.)
"Agricultural workers are a crucial part of our state and local economy," says Eugenio Mollo, Jr., an attorney with ABLE’s Migrant Farmworker and Immigration Program. "ABLE is excited to have Consul Vicente Sanchez Ventura join us to help address the needs of this important population."
In December 2009, ABLE, a non-profit law firm that serves agricultural workers throughout Ohio, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of migrant farmworker clients against the U.S. Border Patrol and three local police departments. The suit, which alleges illegal ethnic profiling, will be a major topic of discussion during the meeting. The Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and the Ohio Immigrant Worker Project (IWP) are also organizational plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
FALCON is a 20-member umbrella organization whose members address the concerns of the approximately 89,000 agricultural workers in Ohio. As a network of collaborating agencies, FALCON serves Ohio’s agricultural workers and employers by encouraging and supporting the dignity of productive work, healthful working and living environments, educational networking, legal assistance, and spiritual outreach.