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Mexican Consulate in MN Presents Director of ILCM with Ohtli Award
Posted on Sep 16 2014
Thank you to the Mexican Consulate in Minnesota Consulado De Mexico for organizing an amazing event in Saint Paul to celebrate Mexican Independence Day! The Consulate presented John Keller, the director of ILCM, with the prestigious Ohtli Award. It is the highest honor given to an individual who has shown remarkable dedication towards the empowerment and development of Mexican and Mexican-American communities. Take a moment to read John’s thoughts about receiving this incredible award:
Thank you!
Parents – my mom, 91 and my father who we lost 19 years ago. You taught me to love and to care…lessons that I’ve fortunately never forgotten.
My wife Maria, Gabriel, Johanna, Ana – my Peruvian American family, for being my rocks, my support, and my sanity through so many years. I truly would not be here without you.
My strong extended family both in MN, Ann and Jane, and my large adopted family in Latin America.
I thank my brilliant and so very dedicated co-workers, both those who’ve been there 26 years or 26 days, for putting up with me and for making ILCM a place full of hope, value and inspiration. I thank our board of directors who do the hard work to keep our office running, growing, serving, and treating everyone who enters our office with respect and dignity…day after day.
I also thank all that came before me at ILCM – SMRLS, Karen Ellingson our founder, countless attorneys, legal assistants, interns, volunteers, directors, and board members who first dreamt Oficina Legal and stood by it all these years.
I also give thanks to the wonderful community and the many great leaders in so many definitions of that word who are in the room tonight: leaders who are elected, faith, labor, family, community, federal, state and local government – even at ICE, leaders in the workplace, in the foundation and philanthropic community, and all throughout the levels of education and social services. So many of you are my dear friends and colleagues who have made this journey for the last 16 years a true labor of love that has blessed me more than I can say and more than I would have ever imagined.
Finally I thank Consul Alberto Fierro Garza and all in the Mexican Consulate and the Government of Mexico, I thank former consul Ana Luisa Fajer for also being wonderful – to all of you – your beautiful award tonight recognizing the work of ILCM over these many years is a true honor – I, WE, are very grateful for it and humbled by it.
THE AWARD-
The Ohtli award recognizes those who help to open a path to others. I can’t think of a better description for what ILCM and everyone who works there is all about. We open paths to progress…
To give you an example – through the support of the Mexican Consulate and others we have been able to help over 1,400 young people, the majority Mexicans, from all over the state get immigration status for the first time through DACA. Each and every one of those young people’s lives is a validation of their value, their long-overdue recognition by our federal and state government of their place in our community. We are not done but so much promise comes from DACA.
Thanks also to the Mexican Consulate – we can help women and children who are victims of domestic or sexual violence not only get out of danger but get immigration status and get on a path to a greencard and citizenship.
Finally – with support from the Mexican Consulate, we at ILCM can keep families together. One of the most compelling cases we have seen at ILCM was a husband and wife who were working hard to provide adequate medical attention to their young daughter who was struggling with multiple disabilities. All three members of the family were undocumented, living quiet and hardworking lives in the shadows. One day, the father was suddenly arrested and detained by ICE, threatening the future and the health of his daughter who required expensive health care. Upon learning about the case, the Consulate asked ILCM to represent the entire family. ILCM took the case and was able to not only work with our counterparts at ICE to get the father out of deportation proceedings but to eventually help the entire family get deferred action and legal work authorization cards for the first time ever. OPENING UP A PATH –
One of the reasons I am so honored by this award and the life’s work that ILCM has allowed me to do these last 16 years is because my personal values and those of ILCM are in such close alignment. WE believe in the following:
• Fairness and equality for all people regardless of national origin, immigration status, your economic or political background, your choice in who you love, your gender, politics, or religion,
• We believe in being excellent public servants — especially in providing the highest quality legal immigration, education, and advocacy services to as many people as possible to help them find their own paths build their own dreams in Minnesota and America,
• We believe in families – pure and simple. We believe that our broken immigration system must return to the core principal of keeping families together so they can thrive and continue to build strong neighborhoods, schools, communities, businesses and leaders.
• Finally, we believe in community. We believe we all have different gifts, that no one has all the answers, that together – when we talk and work and trust one another – we are all deeply enriched.
• Lastly, we believe that Justice needs champions who will enter and use all of their wits and resources to work to defend and empower those who have been intentionally or unintentionally left without voice or power.
There is so much left to do to truly build these beliefs into reality.
• We must never cease our efforts to reform our immigration system to make it a thriving, healthy, welcoming system deserving of the ideals and accomplishments of the world’s people who are already here and who will come through a more humane process in the future.
• We must demilitarize our border, our detention system, we must dedicate ourselves to no more deaths in the desert or the use of deadly force on our border or on sacrificing border communities in immigration legislation. Further, we must hold every use of force to the strictest standard – just like we demand from any law enforcement agency – beginning with justice for 16 year old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol in Nogales in 2012 after allegedly throwing rocks.
• We must honor all of our obligations to provide due process and human rights protections to children fleeing some of the most unspeakable violence of the 21st Century. ( HIPGive Campaign !!: www.hipgive.org/campaign/detail/3415 ),
• We must reform our federal and state health care systems to provide equal access to healthcare to all regardless of status,
• Finally, we must double our efforts to work with and demand from our public servants and public services respect for immigrants and refugees as full members of our communities in the Metro and Greater MN as well as the U.S. No better way to get about doing this than to start promoting more candidates and leaders who understand and come from immigrant and refugee experiences.
These beliefs turned to new, more sustainable policies will open paths, they will protect paths, they will shed light on paths that have gone dark or have rarely seen light, and they will hold us accountable to you all; our brothers and sisters. For truly we are not on some singular journey of the individual or the ego…We are part of building a more perfect community in every sense of that word.
Alberto – and all, muchismas gracias!
Parents – my mom, 91 and my father who we lost 19 years ago. You taught me to love and to care…lessons that I’ve fortunately never forgotten.
My wife Maria, Gabriel, Johanna, Ana – my Peruvian American family, for being my rocks, my support, and my sanity through so many years. I truly would not be here without you.
My strong extended family both in MN, Ann and Jane, and my large adopted family in Latin America.
I thank my brilliant and so very dedicated co-workers, both those who’ve been there 26 years or 26 days, for putting up with me and for making ILCM a place full of hope, value and inspiration. I thank our board of directors who do the hard work to keep our office running, growing, serving, and treating everyone who enters our office with respect and dignity…day after day.
I also thank all that came before me at ILCM – SMRLS, Karen Ellingson our founder, countless attorneys, legal assistants, interns, volunteers, directors, and board members who first dreamt Oficina Legal and stood by it all these years.
I also give thanks to the wonderful community and the many great leaders in so many definitions of that word who are in the room tonight: leaders who are elected, faith, labor, family, community, federal, state and local government – even at ICE, leaders in the workplace, in the foundation and philanthropic community, and all throughout the levels of education and social services. So many of you are my dear friends and colleagues who have made this journey for the last 16 years a true labor of love that has blessed me more than I can say and more than I would have ever imagined.
Finally I thank Consul Alberto Fierro Garza and all in the Mexican Consulate and the Government of Mexico, I thank former consul Ana Luisa Fajer for also being wonderful – to all of you – your beautiful award tonight recognizing the work of ILCM over these many years is a true honor – I, WE, are very grateful for it and humbled by it.
THE AWARD-
The Ohtli award recognizes those who help to open a path to others. I can’t think of a better description for what ILCM and everyone who works there is all about. We open paths to progress…
To give you an example – through the support of the Mexican Consulate and others we have been able to help over 1,400 young people, the majority Mexicans, from all over the state get immigration status for the first time through DACA. Each and every one of those young people’s lives is a validation of their value, their long-overdue recognition by our federal and state government of their place in our community. We are not done but so much promise comes from DACA.
Thanks also to the Mexican Consulate – we can help women and children who are victims of domestic or sexual violence not only get out of danger but get immigration status and get on a path to a greencard and citizenship.
Finally – with support from the Mexican Consulate, we at ILCM can keep families together. One of the most compelling cases we have seen at ILCM was a husband and wife who were working hard to provide adequate medical attention to their young daughter who was struggling with multiple disabilities. All three members of the family were undocumented, living quiet and hardworking lives in the shadows. One day, the father was suddenly arrested and detained by ICE, threatening the future and the health of his daughter who required expensive health care. Upon learning about the case, the Consulate asked ILCM to represent the entire family. ILCM took the case and was able to not only work with our counterparts at ICE to get the father out of deportation proceedings but to eventually help the entire family get deferred action and legal work authorization cards for the first time ever. OPENING UP A PATH –
One of the reasons I am so honored by this award and the life’s work that ILCM has allowed me to do these last 16 years is because my personal values and those of ILCM are in such close alignment. WE believe in the following:
• Fairness and equality for all people regardless of national origin, immigration status, your economic or political background, your choice in who you love, your gender, politics, or religion,
• We believe in being excellent public servants — especially in providing the highest quality legal immigration, education, and advocacy services to as many people as possible to help them find their own paths build their own dreams in Minnesota and America,
• We believe in families – pure and simple. We believe that our broken immigration system must return to the core principal of keeping families together so they can thrive and continue to build strong neighborhoods, schools, communities, businesses and leaders.
• Finally, we believe in community. We believe we all have different gifts, that no one has all the answers, that together – when we talk and work and trust one another – we are all deeply enriched.
• Lastly, we believe that Justice needs champions who will enter and use all of their wits and resources to work to defend and empower those who have been intentionally or unintentionally left without voice or power.
There is so much left to do to truly build these beliefs into reality.
• We must never cease our efforts to reform our immigration system to make it a thriving, healthy, welcoming system deserving of the ideals and accomplishments of the world’s people who are already here and who will come through a more humane process in the future.
• We must demilitarize our border, our detention system, we must dedicate ourselves to no more deaths in the desert or the use of deadly force on our border or on sacrificing border communities in immigration legislation. Further, we must hold every use of force to the strictest standard – just like we demand from any law enforcement agency – beginning with justice for 16 year old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol in Nogales in 2012 after allegedly throwing rocks.
• We must honor all of our obligations to provide due process and human rights protections to children fleeing some of the most unspeakable violence of the 21st Century. ( HIPGive Campaign !!: www.hipgive.org/campaign/detail/3415 ),
• We must reform our federal and state health care systems to provide equal access to healthcare to all regardless of status,
• Finally, we must double our efforts to work with and demand from our public servants and public services respect for immigrants and refugees as full members of our communities in the Metro and Greater MN as well as the U.S. No better way to get about doing this than to start promoting more candidates and leaders who understand and come from immigrant and refugee experiences.
These beliefs turned to new, more sustainable policies will open paths, they will protect paths, they will shed light on paths that have gone dark or have rarely seen light, and they will hold us accountable to you all; our brothers and sisters. For truly we are not on some singular journey of the individual or the ego…We are part of building a more perfect community in every sense of that word.
Alberto – and all, muchismas gracias!