Harold Koh, Sheila Jackson Lee, Bob Borton Receive Immigration Awards
Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Annual Phillip Burton Immigration Awards
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: During a pivotal time for immigration reform, the rights ofAmerica’s immigrants, and this country’s future as a nation of immigrants, theImmigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is pleased to announce the honorees forthe 2006 Phillip Burton Immigration & Civil Rights Awards. This year’s award winners are: RepresentativeSheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) for Policy; Harold Hongju Koh, Dean of Yale LawSchool, for Advocacy; and Robert E. Borton, of Heller Ehrman LLC, forLawyering.
Presented annuallysince 1989 to individuals whose work has significantly impacted and advancedthe civil rights and well-being of immigrants and refugees, the Phillip BurtonImmigration & Civil Rights Awards are named for Phillip Burton (1926-1983). Former Representative Burton was a forcefuland effective advocate for labor, farmworkers, coal miners, the elderly andother low-income and marginalized people while serving terms in the CaliforniaState Assembly and the United States House of Representatives.
“It is a particularlyapt moment to be presenting this year’s awards” said Judith Golub, the ExecutiveDirector of the ILRC. “With the debateon comprehensive immigration reform intensifying, we are so pleased to beawarding an outstanding legislator, a renowned advocate, and a frontline andcommitted defender of the rights of immigrants and refugees. Representative Jackson Lee, Dean Koh, and Mr.Borton deserve our applause and gratitude for jobs well done. They are ourleaders in the important fight on behalf of the civil rights of immigrants.”
The 2006 PhillipBurton Immigration & Civil Rights Awards will be held on Friday, July 21,2006 at San Francisco’s Marines Memorial Club. Tickets are available for the reception and dinner and can be purchasedby contacting the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. www.ilrc.org
PRESS AVAILABILITY: Representative Jackson Lee, Dean Koh, andRobert Borton will be available to speak with the press. Please contact Claire Van Zevern at (415) 255-9499 x 826 or cell phone (415) 702-5355.
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The ILRC is a national resourcecenter that provides trainings, materials and advocacy to advance immigrantrights. As a legal services organization, we train lawyers and paralegals onever-changing and complex immigration law. We develop leadership by encouragingimmigrants to play leading roles in confronting and reshaping the laws andpolicies that perpetuate racial, economic and social injustice. And we educateand empower those in the immigrant community so that they may organize andadvocate for the rights and privileges that best define our democratictraditions.
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