Washington, DC – This past Monday, #DACABells4Justice rang out in celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the administration’s unjust termination of DACA, in front of the court and all across the nation.
A total of 1,638 faith partners in eighteen states and the District of Columbia signed up to ring bells for DACA in their communities. Bells tolled in KY, NC, IL, CA, TX, MA, IN, PA, KS, WI, OH, NY, CT, NJ, IA, MI, AZ, GA, and Washington, DC.
Disciples of Christ, Franciscan Action Network, Congregation Action Network, and Faith in Public Life rang the bells in front of the Supreme Court, while the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) sounded their celebration in Scranton, PA. School Sisters of Notre Dame, Central Pacific Province in St. Louis, MO and School Sisters of Notre Dame along the border in Douglas, AZ also participated, as well as so many others who posted videos on their Facebook pages and YouTube channels.
Sisters of Charity, Villa De Matel Convent in Houston, TX moved their celebration inside:
While summer thunderstorms in Houston, Texas, kept us indoors this afternoon, it did not prevent us from rejoicing with young immigrants and advocates around the country at noon on June 22, 2020, to commemorate last week’s Supreme Court decision allowing the DACA program to stand, at least a while longer. The Villa de Matel bells pealed from our chapel tower, and we rang bells together to express our joy and endorsement of this decision with many throughout the nation! The work is not done, as we join others in seeking a permanent solution to address their status; so we continue to pray.
Giovana Oaxaca, Government Relations Associate at NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and a DACA recipient, said: “Just like the cacerolazos that have been such powerful tools of protest in the past, the #DACABells4Justice actions rang across the nation, loud and clear. DACA stays! We must continue to call politicians to task and request a permanent legislative solution. We must continue to demand justice for immigrants on every platform and in every way.”
“What a blessing to hear the bells of jubilation that marked the Supreme Court ruling which safeguards the right of 700,000 DACA recipients to live and work in this country that is their home,” said Ann Scholz, SSND, Associate Direct for Social Mission, Leadership Conference of Women Religious. “Catholic sisters across the country rang bells in their convents and in the streets to celebrate the immigrant youth who challenged the Trump Administration’s attempt to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which has protected our colleagues, students, and friends from threat of deportation. Together we call on members of Congress to move expeditiously to pass legislation that will provide a lasting solution, and we look forward to ringing those jubilee bells once more to celebrate a final victory for our immigrant neighbors.”
Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries, and a leader with the Congregation Action Network in Washington, DC said, “Engraved on the U.S. Liberty Bell is the call of sacred scriptures in Leviticus 25:10 to ‘Proclaim liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants.’ Sounding #DACABells4Justice this week in front of the Supreme Court, and from portals and porches of congregations and communities across the country, gave opportunity to celebrate the freedom-for-now offered to over 700,000 DACA recipients through last week’s Supreme Court decision. But we also rang to re-gather our energies, and to publicly proclaim our resounding commitment to continued partnership with DACA leaders to seek legislation from Congress, urgently needed, that would provide permanent freedom for DACA and TPS recipients. The American Dream and Promise Act, awaiting the Senate’s attention now for over a year, offers one such avenue to secure liberty.”
Participating faith communities included members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious: Sisters of Charity; Benedictine Sisters; Felician Sisters; Sisters of St. Anne; Sisters of Providence; Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word; Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul; Dominican Sisters; Sisters of St. Joseph; Sisters of Notre Dame; Sisters of St. Francis Justice; Sisters of St. Francis; Sisters of Mercy; Saint Mary; Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters; Sisters of Charity of the BVM; Urseline Sisters; School Sisters of Notre Dame, Atlantic Midwest Province; and Daylesford Abbey, Norbertine Fathers; Kabbalah; Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Congregation Action Network; Franciscan Action Network; Foundry United Methodist Church; Luther Place, DC; National City Christian Church; and Jane Addams Senior Caucus.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 55 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.
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