Washington D.C. – This June 19 marked the second year that Juneteenth has been celebrated as an official federal holiday in the United States. Juneteenth National Independence Day commemorates the day in 1865 when the news of the end of slavery reached enslaved Black people in the South—over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
As people of faith, the member organizations of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) remember this day not just as a celebration of Black liberation, but as a sobering reminder of justice long delayed for our Black and Brown siblings—U.S. citizens and immigrants alike.
Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) Interim Chair, Katie Adams, Domestic Policy Advocate, United Church of Christ, issued the following statement:
“Juneteenth reminds us that the white supremacy and anti-Blackness entangled in U.S. immigration policies are not only in the unjust policies themselves, but in the delay to enact just policies. We’ve watched this administration drag its feet on protecting vulnerable Black migrants—particularly Haitians. We’ve repeatedly called for an end to asylum-blocking policies just to be met with more excuses and empty policy proposals. This administration has repeatedly promised to rebuild and strengthen the refugee admissions program but we have yet to see the results. Immigration advocates and faith communities have demanded for decades a fix to our inherently racist and outdated immigration system that disproportionately detains, separates, and deports Black and Brown immigrants, but Congress keeps kicking the can down the road to devastating results.
As Scripture reminds us, ‘As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead’ (James 2:26). We know that offering words unaccompanied by substantive policy change are meaningless, and yet, that is what we see far too often. We are tired of waiting for racial justice. Congress and President Biden—you must recognize the injustice in delayed justice and act today to immediately create and implement policies of welcome and safety for Black and Brown immigrants, and all people of color in the United States—with no further delay.”
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