Seeking asylum is an internationally-recognized human right.
#Faith4Asylum is a project of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC). This campaign is about ending Remain in Mexico/MPP and other cruel asylum policies of the U.S. government, as well as restoring the promise and protection of asylum in the United States. Our diverse faith traditions believe that “welcoming the traveler” and treating newcomers as we would God are part of our human social contract.
Toolkits and Religious Resources
Black Africans Confront the U.S. Asylum System (Recording)
October 5, 2020
Washington, DC – On September 30, the last day of National African Immigrant Heritage Month, hundreds of people joined a Zoom meeting to learn about the journey many Black Africans make to the U.S. to escape persecution–and the journey some are forced to make back via deportation. A recording is available here. Sylvie Bello of the ...The Cry to #FreeBinsar Grows Louder
October 1, 2020Over 1,000 Faith Leaders from 43 States Ask DHS, ICE, and Congress to Allow Binsar Siahaan to Continue His Case in Sanctuary (photo: Susan Saudek) Washington, DC – This week, 1,038 faith leaders from forty-three states, including WI, MI, PA, NC, AZ and the District of Columbia sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad ...Leaders of Diverse Faiths Write #FreeBinsar
October 1, 2020Today, 1,038 faith leaders sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Senior Official Tony Pham, and the U.S. Congress calling for ICE to “release Binsar from detention immediately and allow him to proceed with his asylum case.” They also demand a statement from ICE “clarifying and assuring that it will adhere ...Another Historically Low Commitment to Refugees
October 1, 2020Faith Community Outraged by the Administration’s Devastation of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program Diaz: “Trump administration is playing the role of persecutor, not protector” Washington, DC – The Trump administration is proposing another historic low refugee admissions goal of 15,000 for FY 2021, according to the administration’s report to Congress. The administration violated U.S. law by not ...From Africa to Deportation
September 28, 2020Black Africans Confront the U.S. Asylum System Washington, DC – On September 30, the last day of National African Immigrant Heritage Month, learn about the journey many Black Africans make to the U.S. to escape persecution–and the journey some are forced to make back via deportation. WHO: Gladness, whose sister Josephine is facing deportation to Cameroon and ...After ICE Arrests Church Member on Church Property – “We Will Stand Together”
September 21, 2020Listen to a recording of the press call here Silver Spring, MD – Last Thursday, ICE agents knowingly violated the agency’s Sensitive Locations policy and lied to Binsar Siahaan, an Indonesian asylum-seeker and six-year member of the Glenmont United Methodist Church, in order to arrest him and carry out his deportation. In a clear violation of the ...August’s Powerful Moments from People of Faith
September 8, 2020Organizing 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 ...Call Now! #SavePastorSteven
September 3, 2020ICE needs to hear from the faith community! Don’t let them deport Pastor Steven to Uganda. Steven Tendo is a pastor and human rights activist from Uganda facing imminent deportation. Ugandan government forces killed many of his family members, and amputated two of his fingers in retaliation for his human rights work. Should he be deported, ...Work Permit Ban for Asylum-Seekers is “Cruelty in the Extreme”
August 25, 2020Washington, DC – The Trump administration’s latest attack on asylum-seekers takes effect today: a one year ban on work permits. Elissa Diaz, Policy Associate at Church World Service and Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, said: Asylum seekers have already fled so much. Abused and persecuted in their native countries, often for years, they come to ...Mourning the Deaths of Edwin Rodrigo and Roberto Primero Luis
August 19, 2020People Continue to Die Because of U.S. Border Militarization Washington, DC – Yesterday, as many of us read The New York Times Magazine feature, “How U.S. Policy Turned the Sonoran Desert into a Graveyard for Migrants,” Edwin Rodrigo was dying. According to Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, Edwin drowned ...
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