(Plaintalker is publishing this news release from El Centro. The anniversary event will be at Spain Inn and tickets are $40. Call (908) 753-8730 for reservations.)
El Centro Hispanoamericano, a nonprofit 501c3 organization
located in Plainfield, NJ, will mark the 30th anniversary of its founding at a
dinner on October 24, 2014.
Created in 1984, El Centro provides legal and humanitarian
assistance to needy immigrant families and individuals. While El Centro’s
clients come from throughout New Jersey as well as Eastern Pennsylvania and New
York City, the majority of those served reside in Union, Somerset and Middlesex
Counties.
In the past year, nearly 1,800 recent immigrants came to El
Centro seeking legal assistance in securing immigration status and relief for
which they are eligible under USCIS policies resulting in 1460 cases before
federal immigration authorities. Of these cases, more than 40 involved domestic
violence and 30 represented individuals seeking asylum.
El Centro was created to provide relief to those fleeing the
violence and human rights abuses taking place in Central America in the 1980s.
“Civilians were caught in the middle of the killing waged by governments
against their own civilians,” recalls Ivan Flores, a student in El Salvador at
the time. “The worst case was the killing of Bishop Oscar Romero, while he was
saying mass.” Flores, after arriving in the Plainfield area, was one of the
original founders of El Centro.” Flores adds, “It was terrible. Parents were
terrified about their kids being killed or disappeared.
Founded in 1984 originally as the Plainfield Area Committee
on El Salvador and Central America, the organization was created as an alliance
of local church leaders, community activists, and refugees. A number of these
founders will be in attendance at the October 24th celebration. The group
opened its doors as the Center for Central American Refugees, moving to its
current location on Front Street in 1988. The name was changed to El Centro
Hispanoamericano in 1998.
“Hundreds, then thousands of people were fleeing the Central
American wars in the early eighties and coming to the Plainfield area,”
explains Rev. Brooks Smith, an El Centro founder and, at the time, pastor at
the Watchung Avenue Presbyterian Church.
“Families were showing up on our doorstep. A humane and
compassionate welcome was our only considered response to the plight of those
seeking our help,” Smith adds.
EL Centro Hispanoamericano has been an organization
recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) of the United States Department
of Justice since 1993. BIA accreditation of its staff enables El Centro to
represent aliens in immigration proceedings before the immigration courts of
the US Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) or its appellate
component, the Board of Immigration Appeals.
“The efforts of El Centro Hispanoamericano and the other
fine organizations assisting immigrants in Plainfield, are very important to
the quality of life here in our community” stated Adrian O. Mapp, Mayor of the
City Plainfield. “In Plainfield we celebrate our diversity and extend a hand to
those in need who seek opportunity for themselves and their families.” The
Mayor will be attending the October 24th celebration and offering welcoming
remarks.
El Centro also provides an educational program including
English as a Second Language, Adult Spanish Literacy, and Citizenship classes.
Needy individuals and families are also able to receive food assistance through
the organization’s Emergency Food Pantry and used clothing though its boutique.
El Centro is a member of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.
“Violence, extreme poverty, out of control gangs, violence
against women, dispossession of small farmers at the hands of multinational
corporate agra-businesses, and many other factors still drive emigration
north,” explains Silvia Hernandez, El Centro’s executive director. “Every day,”
she adds, “we receive new people at our door who simply want the opportunity to
provide for their families.”
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