Greetings!
"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps-we must step up the stairs."  -- Vance Havner

Vance Havner was once called the "Dean of America's Revival Preachers." Born in 1901, the fiery Baptist minister preached until his death in 1986. In the above quote, he hits on a salient point: venture must follow our vision.

In this issue, we will read about Primera Iglesia de Plano. This church and its leaders are moving toward federal recognition and the establishment of an immigration center in Plano, Texas. ISAAC is proud to walk with them in this journey. We also are happy to announce that we are providing you with new ways to stay abreast of immigration issues. Additionally this month, there is new feature about Social Security Numbers, timely immigration news and an expanded prayer list. Please read further.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to others or ask them to sign up at www.isaacproject.org. Also, if you have immigration news you would like to share, please contact richard.munoz@bgct.org.

A small church with big projects

Primera Iglesia Bautista is the host and sponsor of several community ministries including ESL classes, computer laboratories, and benevolence ministries. These ministries coupled with pastoral duties take up a good portion of the time of Pastor Moises Rios. Nevertheless, the Lord moved his heart to start a new immigration ministry and he is leading Primera Iglesia toward federal "recognition."

Federal recognition will allow Primera Iglesia to legally counsel and assist immigrants with their various immigration needs.

For assistance, Pastor Rios called upon fellow church member, Priscilla Alvarenga. Despite working full-time for a local school district, she has dedicated herself to this new work.  She has taken immigration training courses along with Pastor Rios and they have learned much about immigration law and procedure.  ISAAC has been able to help Pastor Rios and Ms. Alvarenga with their training and is currently assisting the preparation and completion of Primera Iglesia's federal recognition and accreditation application. 

Primera Iglesias's application could be filed with government officials as early as mid-November 2008. If approved, they could receive federal recognition early next year. In the meantime, please keep this new work in your prayers.

If your church needs assistance in starting an ESL class or an immigration ministry, please contact richard.munoz@bgct.org.

ISAAC EDUCATION:

New Decision from BIA on Recognition/Accreditation
This new decision provides additional guidance for non-profit organizations regarding the expectations of the Board of Immigration Appeals.

New educational features with our Newsletter and Web site:
Here at ISAAC, we know that staying on top of immigration issues can be time consuming. In response, we are providing you with different ways to stay informed. We will continue to write informational articles in the newsletter but we will also link to more in-depth articles on our Web site. Additionally, we are developing short videos (no more than two or three minutes) to summarize the issues. Look for the videos on our Web site and in our newsletter soon!  Please feel free to visit our updated Web site here.

Facts about Immigration: Separating the wheat from chaff (Luke 3:17).

The Undocumented and Social Security Numbers
A Social Security Number (SSN) was never intended to serve as a form of personal identification. However, it has become a de facto national identifier. Only U.S. citizens and authorized non-citizens can legally obtain a social security number. Immigrants that work with false, fraudulent or stolen SSNs will still have taxes withheld from their earnings. In the vast majority of cases, however, they will never be able to collect a benefit from the Social Security System. For a more detailed article on Social Security Numbers, click here.

National News

New Regulations for Texas ID Cards and Driver's Licenses

Immigration Raid in S. Carolina leads to detention of 300 people

ICE Raids U.S. Citizen's home

Human smugglers arrested in Arizona

CLINIC
"Bars and Waivers"
Oct. 16-17, 2008
Miami, FL
For more information click here.

"Introduction to Immigration Law"
Oct. 21-22, 2008
Seattle, WA.
For more information click here.

UT CLE
"2008 Conference on Immigration and Nationality Law"
San Antonio
Oct. 22-24, 2008
For information click here.

State Bar of Texas
"Nuts & Bolts of Immigration Law 2009"
Houston - Feb. 25, 2009
Hotel and registration details available in December 2008

"Immigration Law 2009"
Houston - Feb. 26-27, 2009
Hotel and registration details available in December 2008

Never stop praying, especially for others"  Ephesians 6:18a (CEV). 

We get many calls from individuals who need prayer regarding their immigration situation. Please pray for these people and that the Lord's will be done. Additionally, if you have a prayer request and would like it included on this prayer list, please send it to us. Our current prayer list is:

• Bryan -- New Mexico -- Appealing an immigration court decision that denied his spouse and child entry into the United States

• Virgilio -- Texas -- Pastor in appeals process to re-enter the United States

• William -- Texas -- In immigration detention

• Luis -- Texas -- Pastor in Texas, wife and daughter seeking to come to the United States

• Ericka -- Texas -- Seeking to establish citizenship

• Jose -- Texas -- Appealing denial decision on R-1 visa

• Charles -- Texas -- Appealing an immigration decision that denied his spouse and child entry into the United States

• Abel -- Texas -- Needs prayer for his family's immigration status

If you have had a prayer answered regarding an immigration matter, please let us know as well! Also, if you would like to include a picture of the person in your prayer request, please email me at richard.munoz@bgct.org.

That's it for this month.  Feel free to forward this newsletter to others or ask them to sign up at www.isaacproject.org. Also, if you have immigration news you would like to share, please contact ISAAC Director Richard Muñoz at richard.munoz@bgct.org.