Asylum & Appropriations Alert

December 2, 2018

Asylum and Appropriations Alert Dec218FINAL2

Tell Congress to Protect Families & Stop Fueling Excessive Detention, Deportation, and Border Militarization:

National Faith Call-in Week Dec. 3-7

Images of parents seeking asylum protections, sent running with their shoeless children to escape from teargas at the Tijuana border, shocked our sensibilities over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  The parents were among thousands of other Central Americans—particularly from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador–who made the grueling choice to walk together over 2,000 miles to escape dangers of gang violence and extortion.  Traveling as a group has provided greater security along pathways too often filled with human trafficking and ongoing extortion. 

As migrants have approached the border to claim their national and international right to asylum, they have encountered a new administrative policy which, on Nov. 9th, banned asylum seekers who enter between ports of entry.  They have also encountered extreme limits to how many asylum seekers are being allowed to enter at official ports daily.

Amid this backdrop, Congress also is approaching its next “appropriations” vote deadline, as they must decide by December 7, 2018 how to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the rest of fiscal year 2019. Right now is a critical time for people of faith and conscience to make our voices heard and say all people deserve to be treated humanely.  

  • Every additional dollar for immigration detention and enforcement allows the administration to carry out policies that erode the rights and safety of immigrants, refugees, and migrants.
  • Families seeking protection are being separated and incarcerated, and persons are being held in immigrant detention centers in abusive conditions. The civil and human rights of border communities are being infringed upon, and—in this Advent season—asylum seekers are being told “there is no room” for them to be granted a safe place in the U.S. to call home.
  • At the same time, border walls and fences continue to be constructed. See here for faith reflections on the negative impacts that walls and fences have on border communities.

Please, take action today, and each day this week, to ensure your Members of Congress protect families and uphold our moral and legal obligations!

Call (866) 940-2439

Tell Our National Leaders to Protect Families and Reduce Funding

for Detention, Deportations, and Border Militarization

Call three times to be connected to your 2 Senators and 1 Representative

Sample Script: “I am your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and I urge my Senator/Representative [NAME] to reject any increases in funding for immigration enforcement and to ensure we uphold our moral and legal obligations to protect people from harm. As a person of faith, I think Congress spends too much money on deportation agents, detention beds, wall construction, and militarization of border communities. We need additional oversight of enforcement and investment in community-based alternatives to detention. I urge you to cut spending that tears families apart, leaves vulnerable populations unprotected, and erodes our nation’s responsibility to welcome the stranger. My faith welcomes and values immigrants, and I urge you to do the same.”

 Three More Ways You Can Engage Your Members of Congress:

Amplify on Social Media: Share the same message with your Senators & Representatives on social media. Click here for sample social media posts and graphics to share. Graphics opposing the asylum ban are available here.

Write a Letter to the Editor or Opinion Editorial: Call on your Member of Congress by name to cut funding and expand oversight over detention, deportation, and border enforcement. Urge them to direct the administration to utilize community-based alternatives to detention for families, asylum seekers, and immigrants. Submit a letter to the editor using this tool.

Join or Organize Local Public Witness and Community Events: Hosting public witness events, like faith and interfaith vigils, provides an opportunity for faith leaders to express how welcoming immigrants is part of all faith traditions.  And, it provides us the opportunity to reflect on the deep scriptural and spiritual roots of our work to support immigrants. Even small events, multiplied across the country, will send a powerful message to the Trump administration and Congress that upholding family unity and welcoming immigrants is a moral issue that is important to people of faith and conscience. Click here for a toolkit to organize a local event and lift up the power of prayer, and go here for more faith resources on immigrant and refugee themes!

For questions and additional information, contact Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries (RIM), Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005, sstanley@dhm.disciples.org, 202-957-7826, @StanleyRea. Find us on Facebook at: http://bit.ly/RIMFacebook

RIM is a Ministry of Disciples Home Missions