ULAA National President Anthony Kesselly says the Liberian umbrella Organization will remain firmly engaged in the quest for immigration relief for Liberians currently on the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) which expires this March.  The ULAA Leader gave the assurance during a tripartite delegation meeting with U.S. Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed in Cranston, Rhode Island, on Friday, December 5.

The meeting with the pro-Liberian U.S. Legislator involved leaders of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches (RISCC), the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA), and the Providence-based Liberians United Community Association of Rhode Island-US for the Advancement of the New Liberia (LUCARI) FO.Inc.

The delegation urged Senator Reed to adopt a two-prong approach to the immigration effort by utilizing his influence to draw the attention of incoming President Barrack Obama to the matter while at the same time re-introducing the Liberian Immigration Bill in the Senate.  The delegation hoped that the new U.S

President will extend the DED as moves in the Legislature are intensified to push the Bill which seeks a permanent resolution of the problem.  Senator Reed is said to be highly regarded among advisors to President-Elect Obama.

Responding, Senator Reed reaffirmed his continued commitment to pushing the Liberian immigration cause.  He expressed his delight at once again meeting the leadership of the Liberian community in the U.S. , and urged ULAA to continue its ongoing campaign to mobilize support for the Liberian immigration cause.  He assured Liberians that, while he will be engaged in pulling all the strings for the U.S. Administration to extend the DED, he has plans to re-introduce the Bill in the Legislature.

The RISCC Team in the tripartite delegation included the Council’s President, Reverend Matthew Kai, Council Executive Director, Reverend Dr. Donald Anderson, and the President of the Rhode Island Liberian Ministerial Fellowship, Reverend Alex Kollie.   ULAA’s 3-man Team in the delegation included National President Anthony Kesselly, prospective Presidential Chief of Staff Sam Togba Slewion, and FoLiCAM (Massachusetts) President Sam Tiah.  Mrs. Nelle Sirleaf Francis Savice represented her Organization, LUCARI FO.Inc.  

The meeting featured some critical exchanges on strategies to approach the immigration issue with respect to effectively flooding the offices of U.S. policy makers with relevant information that will earn their attention to the subject matter.  Also earlier during the meeting, the ULAA National President seized the opportunity to physically hand-deliver to Senator Reed a photo copy of the letter electronically sent to the Senator last month by the then ULAA National President, Mr. Emmanuel S. Wettee.  The letter was the customary introductory letter which outgoing ULAA National Presidents usually send to ULAA partners, introducing the incoming National President.

The interaction between the Senator and members of the tripartite delegation was as lively as it was purposeful.  RISCC President Kai stressed the need to ensure that the Liberian immigration issue be specifically tackled and not be allowed to get lost in the overall fight for comprehensive immigration reform. The Senator requested that the ULAA Leader provides his legislative aides with all the key ULAA contact persons on the immigration struggle.

This was Mr. Kesselly’s third time meeting with Senator Reed since he entered ULAA leadership circles.  Mr. Kesselly and the Senator met before in Rhode Island during the ULAA Immigration workshop and also at the Senator’s Office in Washington, DC during a visit there.