"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt." (Leviticus 19:33-34)

COPA leaders have launched a campaign to address our shared concerns about the changing landscape of immigration policy. The Know Your Rights... Know Your Neighbors campaign will have 3 key components:

• Workshops in immigrant parishes combining "toolkits" of resources, updates on policy changes and house meetings about current concerns.
• Civic Academies in congregations to teach about the issue of immigration, listen to stories from immigrant leaders, and build broader support.
• Research actions with public officials and people who have the power to craft policy, both locally and federally, that supports our undocumented brothers and sisters.

COPA believes that meaningful action is possible after building power through relationships, and our base of relationships expands by bringing more community-based institutions into the conversation. We want to build enough relational power to do business at a level that can reverse the current attack on the immigrant community. To do so, we need participation from all of our member institutions, and we need to bring new institutions into relationship with COPA. We also need to raise money to fund the work and expand our organizing.