Washington, DC – Religious organizations are providers of spiritual guidance, education, health care, child care, and low-cost legal services in communities across the United States. Through this service, they know first-hand what ending DACA would mean for so many American families.
Religious groups also count DACA recipients among their leadership and staff. By serving their religious and moral calling, these men and women are living into the values so many of us profess, but many fail to act on.
In Missouri, DACA recipient Reverend Orlando Gallardo serves as pastor of Drexel United Methodist Church. Reverend Juan Rios is the Director of Relational Ministries at the Lake Highlands United Methodist Church in Dallas.
Rev. Gallardo said: “DACA allowed me to become ordained in the United Methodist Church. Today, I am using my gifts as a minister. I am married to a U.S. citizen but the process to get documents through marriage has become more convoluted with the current administration. My wife and I are new homeowners. I wouldn’t have been able to be where I am today without DACA.”
The example of Father Rey Pineda, Chaplain at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, is featured in an amicus brief filed by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), Catholic Health Association (CHA), Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and World Relief:
While Fr. Pineda was initially told that he could not be ordained due to his unlawful status in the country, creation of the DACA program provided him with both protection and a path to fulfill his calling. Termination would harm Fr. Pineda and other DACA recipients serving our Church and faith. It would also mean parishes and communities across the country would be at risk of losing their trusted spiritual leaders.
Amicus Brief filed by Catholic and Christian organizations with the U.S. Supreme Court
Within the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, DACA recipients are also playing key roles. Giovana Oaxaca is a Government Relations Associate at NETWORK in Washington, DC and José Arnulfo Cabrera is Director of Education and Advocacy for Migration at the Ignatian Solidarity Network. Jose is based in Ohio, working for a national organization. Both are helping to lead the coalition’s plans around the November 12 oral argument.
Valeria Bejar is the Immigration Response Specialist for Disciples of Christ, also a member of the IIC. “Imagine being tied to a chain of fear, uncertainty, and injustice your whole life, and suddenly that chain starts to loosen and a sense of freedom fills your whole being,” she said. “That’s what having DACA feels like, it’s the loosening of chain that is still there yet it’s not as tight around your life as it used to be.”
Giovana A. Oaxaca Najera said: “My undocumented status loomed over me all my life, making it impossible to imagine myself leading a normal life. DACA allowed me to live a life out of the shadows, with achievements and dreams. Happily, I was able to go to college, and I look forward to getting married in the near future. I want to make a difference with the opportunity DACA has afforded me and fight for social and economic justice.”
“As DACA recipients, we were educated here, trained here, and have planted firm roots here in the U.S. Taking away DACA will cause great hardship to not just DACA recipients and their loved ones but to our country,” said José Arnulfo Cabrera. “The Ignatian Solidarity Network’s support for DACA recipients is unyielding, as we work to uphold the inherent dignity of all those who migrate. As a network, we call on the Supreme Court to sustain DACA and Congress to create a pathway to citizenship that eliminates the limitations on our ability to share our gifts, talents, and ambitions in the country we call home.”
In a new blog post, DACA recipient and American Friends Service Committee organizer Itzel Hernandez, of New Jersey, writes about how she did not know she was undocumented until her senior year of high school. “My parents let me dream beyond my wildest dreams by not letting me know my limitations,” she writes. “Every person should have the same opportunity.”
To interview DACA beneficiaries working for faith-based institutions, contact Lynn Tramonte at media@interfaithimmigration.org.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 53 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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