Tell the White House & Congress that you OPPOSE Trump’s Decision to Detain Families, Turn Away Asylum Seekers, and Force Local Police to Serve as Immigration Agents
President Donald Trump has announced that the U.S. government will force local police to serve as federal immigration agents or risk losing federal funding for vital community-based safety programs. This decision will not make communities any safer and serves only to local police for prioritizing community safety over racial profiling and targeting undocumented immigrants. Local police departments know that when all individuals can report dangerous situations and seek protection from violence without the fear of being deported and separated from their families, safety increases for everyone. This announcement reverses years of intentional, community-based policing efforts that are vital to public safety in neighborhoods across the nation. Faith communities have demonstrated unwavering commitment to our immigrant neighbors, opposing prior attacks on policies that foster trust between immigrants and police.
Trump also announced that the U.S. government will build a wall across the U.S. southern border and detain families and children as soon as they cross the U.S. border, keeping them from seeking safety. This announcement would increase racial profiling of individuals living along the border, and runs counter to our moral duty to ensure that apprehended individuals are properly screened to determine if they qualify as trafficking victims, asylum seekers or others in need of protection. Central American families – men, women and children – are fleeing safety wherever they can, which must be treated as a humanitarian crisis and refugee situation – rather than an as an immigration enforcement issue.
The U.S. immigration system has been broken for far too long and these announcements are giant steps backwards. Walling off America, reducing community safety, and failing to protect those in need are affronts to our country’s values of family unity, fairness, and equality. We draw from the scriptural call to love thy neighbor and welcome the sojourner by assisting displaced persons around the globe and by standing with our brothers and sisters to stop harmful deportations that tear families apart.
CALL THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS TODAY!
President Trump: (866) 961-4293
Your Senators and Representatives: (202) 224-3121*
*Please call this line 3 times to be connected with your 1 Representative and 2 Senators
Sample Script: “I’m your constituent from [City, State]. I am opposed to Donald Trump’s recent executive orders that would build a wall, prevent asylum seekers from seeking safety, and force local police to serve as federal immigration agents. Walling off America is an affront to our country’s values of family unity, fairness, and equality. These announcements are morally reprehensible, run counter to who we are as a nation, and do not reflect the welcome for immigrants I see every day in my community. I urge you to do everything in your power to see these announcements reversed, and to stand in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters.”
Please also share a personal story about how immigrants benefit and are welcomed into your community.
You can also tweet @realDonaldTrump and your Senators/Representatives: “.@[HANDLE], my community stands with immigrants! Support sanctuary cities, protect asylum seekers, reject border wall!”
Follow @InterfaithImm on Twitter and “like” the Interfaith Immigration Coalition on Facebook to receive up-to-date alerts.