It’s coming right up.  And I’m trying to remember to pack some Kleenex.

In response to Georgia’s new anti-immigrant law, on September 28 and 29th I will be representing MomsRising on a delegation of women’s organizations traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, to bear witness to the law’s effect on women, children and families.

The National Women’s Domestic Workers Alliance gives a spot-on summary of the law: 

“Like Arizona’s SB1070, Georgia’s new HB 87 law threatens to have devastating effects on women and children, including an increase in racial profiling, the separation of families (children from parents), an increased fear of reporting crimes such as domestic violence and sexual assault; workplace raids; and the denial of services.”

Similar to a 2010 women’s delegation to Arizona, the delegation to Georgia will be listening to women and children who have been hurt by anti-immigrant legislation.

This is where the Kleenex comes in.

MomsRising and its more than one million members across the country are working every day to build a more family-friendly nation. Our nation has always included mothers and fathers who come to our shores seeking better lives for their families.  But right now far too many immigrant families are having their human and civil rights violated in the name of immigration law enforcement.

I am going to Georgia to learn how we can do more to bring about positive changes that will help our country as a whole, and to support raising the voices of countless mothers who have been marginalized and silenced due to current immigration law enforcement practices.

As part of this effort, we will be hosting a blog carnival at the MomsRising blog on September 27th to raise the voices of the delegates going to Georgia.  Representing a wide range of organizations across the country, the delegates share a belief that our country can and must do better in ending human rights violations in the name of immigration enforcement practices.  Remember to come back to this blog next Tuesday, September 27^th, and to look for us tweeting #womentogether.

I’ll probably use up my package of tissues in Atlanta.  And then afterwards we’ll have our hands full working to right the wrongs in Georgia, and overall to ensure that our country is one we can continue to be proud of – one which honors the human rights of mothers, children and families in all circumstances.