Chicago, IL – November 5, 2018 – On the heels of U.S. Midterm elections and the exodus of thousands of families from Central America, hundreds of migrant leaders from U.S. and Latin America will gather in Washington DC to fortify collective work around a transnational agenda on human rights, justice and dignity for people across the Americas. Opening plenary panels will kickoff the meeting, focusing on the transnational effects of U.S. Midterm elections, along with the growing efforts of grassroots and civil society actors to demand accountability from elected officials across the Americas. Panelists include:

• U.S. Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts 2nd District
• Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Congressional Candidate for Illinois 4th District
• Oscar Chacón, executive director, Alianza Américas
• Oscar Martinez, editor of El Faro digital newspaper in El Salvador
• Leaders from media, advocacy, nonprofit and faith sectors in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America

WHAT: Plenary panels are open to public and serve to kick-off a three-day private conference with Alianza Americas member organizations, representing migrant families across the Americas.

WHERE: Washington Court Hotel, Atrium Room, 525 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. Panels will also be livestreamed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AlianzaAmericas/

WHEN: Friday, November 9, 9am-12pm ET

• Panel 1, 9am-10:20am: Resisting, Connecting and Transforming U.S. Policy Post-Midterms: What now? What next?
• Panel 2, 10:30am-12pm: Pathways to Transformative Change in the Americas: Building Accountability, Representation, and Power from the Ground Up

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Plenary panels are open to the media. Media are invited to pose questions to panelists as part of audience Q&A at the close of each panel. One-on-one interviews are available with bilingual (English/Spanish) Alianza Americas staff throughout the morning.

Alianza Americas is a network of 50 immigrant-led organizations representing more than 100,000 families across the United States. It is the only US-based organization rooted in Latino and Caribbean immigrant communities that works transnationally to create an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable way of life. Learn more at alianzaamericas.org.

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