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God calls us, in all times, to love all our neighbors!  But, how can we particularly support immigrant communities during this critical time of a COVID-19 pandemic?  Go here for important actions and sign ons you can take for immigrants in our communities, and for detained immigrants, to protect the health of us all!

Advocate to Your Senators to Include Immigrants in COVID Relief!

Please call your two senators immediately in Washington, DC and tell them that we need COVID-19 relief for all workers, including immigrants!

Call the Capitol Switchboard (202-225-3121), and ask to speak to your state’s senators. Each state has two. When you are transferred to the Senate office, leave this message with the person who answers or the voice mail system:

 As a person of faith, I believe in protecting the God-given dignity of every human being and pursuing the common good during this global health emergency.   Our faith teachings call us in this time of global pandemic to care in a special way for persons who are most at risk; including immigrants and refugees.       That is why I urge the Senate to approve a COVID-19 relief package that includes:

1)  Automatic extensions of work permits and visa renewals for refugees, DACA recipients, and TPS holders;                                                                                       

2)  No-cost COVID-19 testing and treatment for all, regardless of immigration status; and                                                                                                                         

3)  Ensuring immigrants and refugees, including those in mixed status families, are eligible for stimulus payments.  Thank you!

DHS Raids Other Agencies’ Budgets to Fund More Immigrant Detention: Religious Leaders React

Washington, DC (August 27, 2019) – The Trump administration has alerted Congress that it is raiding the budgets of other federal programs, to dedicate even more money toward the mass incarceration of immigrants.

“The administration has made its immigration priorities very clear – more children, families, and refugees behind bars at whatever fiscal or moral cost. We condemn this, and call on Congress to end this pattern and invest in solutions that truly protect our communities,” said Katie Adams, Domestic Policy Advocate for the United Church of Christ and Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) Co-Chair.

Immigration detention has soared in the last two decades. Congress has only authorized funding for the detention of 40,520 immigrants–which is far too much already. Many immigrants are held in remote jails far from lawyers and their families, in a deliberate strategy to make it harder for them to fight their cases in court. The lack of medical care in immigration jail has led to preventable deaths of children and adults, among other human tragedies. (Sources: ICE ‘Detention Management’ Statistics; Buzzfeed News; The Marshall Project; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Public Radio; ACLU; Detention Watch Network, Freedom For Immigrants).

Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister & President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada, reacted: “The faith tradition I claim is inspired by Jesus who, from the start, announced his ministry as one which came ‘to proclaim liberty to the captives…(and) to set at liberty those who are oppressed’ (Luke 4:18). Such a calling is one we must likewise take up today–by pushing back against the ever-ballooning numbers of detained immigrants which have grown from 7,000 in 1994 to nearly 55,000, from over 50 countries of origin, now held in nearly 200 detention centers that span every state across the country.” Read more.

Religious Leaders Denounce Trump Administration’s Latest Attack on Immigrant Children

Washington, DC (August 21, 2019) – The Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister & President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada was among Religious organizations and leaders of diverse faiths who are universally outraged at the Trump administration’s latest attempt to harm immigrant children: gutting the Flores settlement agreement, a legal framework that has been in place to protect migrant children for decades. Go here to read Rev. Owens’ and other faith leaders comments.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

See and share state by state Fact Sheets about Immigrant communities here:

 americanimmigrationcouncil.org/topics/state-by-state

Go to http://bit.ly/FamilyDetentionFloresProtections for our Flores Comments resources & info

Go to http://bit.ly/RIMPublicCharge for our Public Charge Resources resources and info

HELP REUNITE REMAINING SEPARATED FAMILIES AND KEEP THEM FROM BEING PLACED INTO FAMILY DETENTION OR DEPORTATION!

Please see here our recent statement from RIM’s Director, noted following the administration’s missing of the deadline date for reunification of separated children with their parents.

In partnership with The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) this video and toolkit has been developed. The video urges viewers to take action while their members of Congress are home. This August, let your elected officials know that people of faith stand firmly against family detention and separation.

Help Week of Compassion and our partners continue to reach out to offer emergency assistance to children and families, by donating to Week of Compassion with the designation “Keep Families and Children Together.”

SEE & SHARE WITH LEGISLATORS AND OTHER LEADERS OUR SIGNED DISCIPLES FAMILY SEPARATION LETTER.   AND, JOIN REV. TERRI HORD OWENS IN SIGNING ON IF YOU HAVE NOT YET DONE SO!

On July 31st, our letter was provided to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as a part of the group’s “Hearing on Oversight of Family Separation”.

LISTEN to this recording of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) WEBINAR on “Family Separation and the August Recess” and Use this  GUIDANCE to CALL & VISIT YOUR LEGISLATORS OVER AUGUST RECESS to urge an end to family separation & detention!

Please see here many options for advocacy and action in our INTERFAITH TOOLKIT to END FAMILY SEPARATION & DETENTION!   (Note:  Check back often for action updates!)

Apply for Disciples mini grants to assist families separated from children here.

Photos above are from the gathering on June 30th in Washington, D.C. held before the rally.

LEARN AND PRAY ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING

  • Read these reflections here from Rev. Terri Hord Owens on the Biblical emphasis on love in Romans 13.
  • Listen to Hearts of Moms Separated from their Children in this video clip.
  • See a Timeline of Rollbacks of Protections of Children in Recent Months.
  • Consider Some Impacts of New Zero Tolerance Policies on Children and Parents.
  • See here this infographic on “6 things everyone who cares about stopping separation of children must know about Trump’s Executive Order.”
  • Read a “Frequently Asked Questions” backgrounder from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the current situation of family separation and the reported situation of lost children here.  Also, our faith partners in ELCA Advocacy put together a blog trying to explaining recent policies that separate children and families.
  • See these Resources with Stories about Fathers and Mothers who are immigrants, Showing the Challenges They Face, and Courage They Demonstrate.
  • Watch and share this video from We Belong Together.
  • Read here the letter that thousands of medical experts, mental health professionals, and researchers sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Attorney General Jess Sessions, calling for an end to forced family separation.
  • Learn here and here how the Flores Agreement relates to family detention and family separation throughout U.S. Immigration history, and is not a loophole!
  • Hear the voices of medical professionals in opposition to family separation at the border.

 HEAR HOW DISCIPLES & FAITH PARTNERS ARE RESPONDING

Your faith voice is needed to help stop family separation! Continue to return here for additional opportunities for action, as they develop, for faith communities to support children and parents in detention.

  • Join Terri Hord Owens and other Disciples in expressing our support for children and families being separated, and to urge an end to this family separation policy and family detention ASAP.
  • Go to this googledoc to find information about actions around the U.S. to help End Family Separations!
  • Note that Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries is donating space at their Bayview Campus and helping with coordination for church groups coming down to be part of peaceful protests, accompanying immigrants requesting asylum, and seeking access to detention centers — including the June 28th Protest in Brownsville, Texas.
  • Please see here the new Interfaith Toolkit to End Family Separation and Detention!
  • Sign as Women of Faith, Clergy and Lay Persons:  Click here to call upon DHS Secretary Nielsen to stop separating children from their parents at the border.
  • Sign as ALL Community Members: Click here to sign this petition to ask the administration, through the DHS (Department of Homeland Security), ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) to keep families together.
  • Call Members of Congress:  Dial 1-866-940-2439 to connect to your 2 Senators and 1 Representative to let your legislators know you value the ability for families to stay together.  Ask them to work for solutions that help the root causes of violence that are causing parents and children to need to escape, especially from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.  Ask them to request the administration to stop separating families, and share scriptures that influence your values. Find your officials here.
  • Plan an Action with local clergy and layleaders at your U.S. Senators’ and Representative’s area offices!  See this article for inspiration:  Clergy Hit the Hill to Support Children Being Separated from their Parents. Consider delivering bears, with your message about the importance for parents to be able to comfort and protect their children.
  • Raise your concerns on Social Media: Use images like the ones on this page and click here for sample social media posts.  Make your own posts, and be sure to tweet to RIM at @StanleyRea, and to like and send to our Facebook at: Refugee and Immigration Ministries Disciples Home Missions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These images can be downloaded and use as posters.