** Congress passed a short term spending bill until Dec. 7 and will have to decide again how much money to allocate for immigration enforcement for the rest of the fiscal year. Please stay tuned for another alert for a national call in day on Dec. 3. Do not hesitate to reach out to your members’ of Congress before then to reiterate this call. ** Join the National Call-in Day on Wednesday, September 26th to call on Congress to protect families and stop fueling unjust detention, deportation, and border policies. While the national crisis of family separation and harmful immigration enforcement persists, Congress has an important role to play. Right now, Congress is determining how to fund the government. They are debating pouring billions more dollars into immigration detention and enforcement, and considering legislation that could allow for the indefinite detention of children with their parents. People of faith and conscience must make our voices heard that all families deserve to be treated humanely. Here are the top 4 ways to take action on Wednesday, September 26th:
- Call your Members of Congress. Call (866) 940-2439 three times to be connected to your 2 Senators and 1 Representative. Here is a sample script:
“I am your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and [as a person of faith] I urge my Senator/Representative to reduce funding for immigration detention, deportation, and border militarization. Enforcement alone without underlying reform is causing harm in my community and tearing families apart. “I also urge my Senator/Representative to reject family detention. Incarcerating children with their parents is not a solution to family separation. Rather than detention, Congress and the administration should use and invest in community-based alternatives to detention such as the Family Case Management Program. The administration must end ‘zero-tolerance’ criminal prosecution of families and asylum seekers for crossing the border, and immediately reunify families already separated. My community welcomes and values immigrants, and we urge you to do the same.”
- Share on Social Media: Share the same message with your Senators & Representatives on social media. Click here for sample social media posts and graphics to share.
- Write a Letter to the Editor or Opinion Editorial. Call on your Member of Congress by name in your local newspaper to expand oversight. Urge them to direct the administration to utilize community-based alternatives to detention for families, asylum seekers, and immigrants navigating the immigration system. You can easily submit a letter to the editor using this tool.
- Join or Organize Local Public Witness and Community Events. Hosting public witness events like interfaith vigils provide the opportunity for faith leaders to express how welcoming immigrants is part of all faith traditions, reflecting on the deep scriptural and spiritual roots of our work to support immigrants. Even small events, multiplied across the country, will send a powerful message to the Trump administration and Congress that upholding family unity and welcoming immigrants is a moral issue that is important to people of faith and conscience. Click here for a toolkit to organize a local event and lift up the power in prayer.
For more information and resources, see this interfaith toolkit: bit.ly/EndFamilySeparationToolkit
]]>