Organizing for Immigrants, Refugees, Black Lives – True Justice for All
Washington, DC – It was another brutal August in the United States–both due to heat and the general state of things–but people of faith continued to show up and organize for justice for all. Black lives, immigrants, refugees. Everyone.
This summer, we followed our call to accompany and bear witness, as well as expose and demand action to correct injustice. We demonstrated our values of unity and solidarity. We took “Welcoming the Stranger” and “Love Thy Neighbor” from word into deed. And we launched non-partisan civic engagement campaigns to ensure every voice is counted. We want our elected leaders to reflect the values we live, as people of faith and morality.
Following are examples of how we lived out our faith-based values in the August heat.
Multiple religions promoted the responsibility of “accompanying” or walking with people in times of struggle, bearing witness, and calling out injustice.
Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, took on the responsibility of telling the world about Edwin Rodrigo’s life and death. Edwin drowned in the Rio Grande River while trying to save a pregnant woman who was struggling. His death is a direct result of the cruel “Remain in Mexico” policy. Bearing powerful witness, Sister Pimentel wrote: “All there is, is silence & tears. El rio bravo se convierte en el rio de sangre! muchas vidas ya a tomado. Que triste que trágicamente inocente víctimas que buscan la vida encuentran la muerte. [The Rio Grande has become the river of blood! So many lives it has taken already. How sad that, tragically, innocent victims who are searching for life meet death].”
In Nogales, migrants, faith leaders, and community members accompanied an asylum seeker and her son to the port of entry as they requested refuge in the United States. The Kino Border Initiative (KBI) wrote: “This action is in response to Trump’s suspension of the processing of asylum claims that has been in effect since March. While the U.S. government does not accept, recognize, nor receive claims to asylum at the border, we come together to support asylum seekers in exercising their legal right under international and U.S. law to claim asylum.” Tragically Elena, her son, and another family seeking asylum were turned away by officials “who continue to refuse to recognize that seeking asylum is essential travel,” wrote KBI.
In addition to accompaniment, “bearing witness” is about spreading the message across congregations and communities, and compelling action. Jesuit Scholastics shared their experiences at a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children, to encourage others to advocate on the children’s behalf. The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns hosted a webinar to educate their community about the latest changes in U.S. immigration policy, the Catholic Church’s position on welcoming immigrants, and how U.S. voters can engage in advocacy.
Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries and other Disciples justice ministries developed these Power of Advocacy Toolkit resources and a video about engaging in virtual advocacy to support refugees, immigrants, and others in need of COVID and employment support. The Christian Community Development Association created an August Recess Toolkit to help their network set up meetings with congressional offices and advocate for justice.
This is putting faith into action.
Unity and solidarity are also core values in our many religions.
People of faith and faith-based institutions marched and prayed, joining the Movement for Black Lives to demand dignity and justice for people of color. Walk the Walk, a pilgrimage of racial reckoning, resolve, and love, was organized by Faith in Action, Red Letter Christians, Vote Common Good, Greater Things, and the Truth and Conciliation Commission. They walked from Charlotte, NC to the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC, in time for the March on Washington 2020. The event “emerge[d] from a declaration that white clergy and faith leaders developed in June to take responsibility for [their] role in uprooting white supremacy and anti-blackness in our lives, faith institutions, and our nation.” Read their calls to faith and demands to the government here.
At an interfaith vigil in Akron, Ohio protesting police violence against Black people, Dr. Lydia Rose of the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent said: “We need to keep this movement alive. We need to see changes in a system that stops the ongoing killing of our black and brown brothers and sisters. … We will work until the dignity of all people are secured.”
When Muslim Advocates and Americans for Immigrant Justice exposed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practice of serving pork to Muslim immigrants in detention, leaders of diverse faiths joined them in outrage. In The Forward, Eliezer Brand explained: “While most people should be outraged at such detestable behavior, Orthodox Jews in particular should be reeling upon hearing about this. Just like eating halal is not a choice for our Muslim brothers and sisters, for us, eating kosher is not voluntary; it’s who we are and as necessary as the oxygen we need for sustenance.”
More than 350 people attended a #FreeThemAll virtual vigil and action for Tisha B’Av 2020, a Jewish holiday of atonement. T’ruah, HIAS, J Street, the National Council of Jewish Women, Torah Trumps Hate, Bend the Arc, Union of Reform Judaism, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and other institutions learned Torah and channeled their collective grief into action by calling congressional representatives and urging them to tell ICE to release children with their families from immigration jail.
We took “Welcoming the Stranger” and “Love Thy Neighbor” from word to deed.
Our faith traditions call on us to “welcome the stranger” and “love thy neighbor,” treating others like we would our God. To this end, we advocated for a renewed commitment to resettling refugees in the United States, and assisted immigrants unfairly denied COVID-19 relief by the federal government.
On “Immigration Nation,” the Netflix docu-series, Ugandan refugee Deborah Jane revealed the pain of being separated from her children due to the Trump administration’s cut to refugee admissions. Deborah Jane was finally reunited with her children after more than five years, with support from her local Church World Service (CWS) resettlement office and a Disciples/United Church of Christ local congregation. But the separation was devastating during their crucial childhood years, and many families still remain divided by this administration’s xenophobic policies.
Over 600 religious leaders and faith-based organizations sent a letter to the Trump administration calling for the U.S. to once again occupy a leadership position in the resettlement of UNHCR-designated refugees. “We urge the administration to restore the refugee resettlement program to historic norms and commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in FY21 (the historic average).” Refugee Council USA and faith-based organizations will be bringing this message to Congress in September with Refugee Advocacy Days.
During this year’s 40th anniversary of the US Refugee Act for 1980, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries shared daily #40for40 social media posts to raise awareness of refugee contributions and historical faith commitments to refugees, honor refugee essential workers, and provide refugee-related worship resources and advocacy opportunities.
Faith-based leaders and organizations also expressed deep dismay at Congress’ exclusion of immigrants and their families from COVID-19 economic relief. They are advocating for Congress to pass more inclusive legislation in September, as in this letter from the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ Committee on Migration.
IIC members also engaged in direct disaster relief. UNITED SIKHS assisted communities in California, Washington, Texas, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, Utah, and Maryland, and served 30,000 meals to New Yorkers during the pandemic. The United Church of Christ’s COVID-19 Refugee and Asylum Fund helps local churches and community organizations assist individuals and families in need, including immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers left out of federal aid packages. These are two of so many examples within our coalition.
Finally, we launched non-partisan civic engagement campaigns to ensure every voice is counted. Our elected leaders should reflect the values we live, as people of faith and morality.
The United Church of Christ created “Our Faith Our Vote” to help congregations participate in the electoral process through faithful, nonpartisan engagement, and assist voters with creating their voting plans. Every Voice, Every Vote, the Reform Jewish Movement’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign, is focused on 100% voter participation among their networks, combatting voter suppression, and engaging student voters. The Mennonite Central Committee issued a voting issues fact sheet, and other coalition members are gearing up for engagement this fall.
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.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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