Interfaith Unity Platform on Immigration

More than 500 faith-based organizations and leaders have recently signed a letter calling on the White House and the U.S. Congress to take action on humane immigration reform. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is one of the signers of the letter. A summarized version of the letter follows:

"We call for immigration reform because each day in our congregations, service programs, health-care facilities, and schools we witness the human consequences of a broken and outdated system. We see the exploitation of undocumented workers and the plight of separated families, as well as the escalation of community fear due to indiscriminate raids and local police acting as federal immigration agents. Humane immigration reform would help put an end to this suffering, which offends the dignity of all human beings. We call on the new Administration and 111th Congress to commit to:

Uphold family unity as a priority of all immigration policies - Recognizing the importance of families to the creation of healthy individuals and strong communities, we call on the new Administration and Congress to 1) expeditiously reunite immigrant families separated due to lengthy visa backlogs; 2) revise family preference categories and per-country caps to prioritize family unity; and 3) remove bars to reentry and adjustment of status for individuals seeking to reunite with their family members. Attempts to devalue the family, such as denying birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants or placing family-based and employment-based visa applicants in competition with each other on a point-based or other system, must be rejected in order to maintain and promote family unity.

Create a process for undocumented immigrants to adjust their immigration status and allow for eventual citizenship - Enact immigration reform that allows undocumented immigrants and their families to earn lawful permanent residency upon the satisfaction of reasonable criteria, with a pathway to citizenship. Communities and congregations around the country are prepared to provide legal services to those eligible, as people of faith are committed to an effective and humane system that keeps families together and values the dignity of our friends and neighbors.

Protect workers and provide efficient channels of entry for new migrant workers - We call for an expansion of legal avenues for workers who seek to migrate to the United States to work in a safe, legal, and orderly manner. Their rights must be fully protected, including the ability to bring their families with them, travel as needed, change their place of employment, and apply for lawful permanent residency and eventually citizenship.

Facilitate immigrant integration - Many immigrants desire to naturalize but lack the necessary tools. The U.S. immigration system should empower them to this end by providing financial support to state and local governments and community organizations that offer language and civics education, outreach, and naturalization application assistance. Citizenship should be made more affordable by reducing naturalization fees and making fee waivers more easily accessible.

Faith based organizations and congregations around the country will continue to assist in integration efforts by providing social services and helping immigrants learn English, find jobs, and thrive in the United States.

Restore due process protections and reform detention policies - Immigration policies should respect human rights and ensure due process for all persons. We have witnessed how indiscriminate immigration raids have caused trauma and hardship for thousands of individuals. Such raids separate families, destroy communities, and threaten the basic rights of immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. The suffering caused by the increase and severity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in homes and workplaces underscores the problems with current U.S. immigration policies and the urgent need for reform.

We urge the new Administration and Congress to reduce the use of detention for immigrants and improve detention conditions by enacting clear, enforceable reforms that include rigorous medical treatment standards and increased access to pastoral care, legal counsel and legal orientation programs.

Align the enforcement of immigration laws with humanitarian values - For the past 20 years, the federal government has dramatically increased fence construction, border patrol presence, and the deportation of immigrants, which have proven ineffective at decreasing undocumented immigration. During this time, we have witnessed the desecration of sacred sites and the violation of environmental and religious freedom laws, as well as the unnecessary suffering of community members whose loved ones have suffered or died seeking entry into the United States. Currently, vast resources are being used for fence construction and the mass arrests, detention, and deportation of immigrants who contribute to the U.S. economy and culture.

All immigration laws must respect the dignity of all persons, prioritize the cohesiveness of families and communities, recognize the economic contributions of immigrants, and uphold our moral obligations to provide refuge and welcome the stranger.

Immigration: A matter of human rights - As people of faith, we call attention to the moral dimensions of public policy and recommend reforms that uphold the God-given dignity and rights of every person, each of whom are made in the image of God. We are dedicated to immigration reform because we value family unity, justice, equity, compassion, love, and the humane treatment of all persons. It is our collective prayer that the new Administration and 111th Congress enact just immigration reform based on these tenets."

Join Your Voice to the thousands calling for humane action:

Join local efforts to support humane immigration reform. Visit AFSC's website for program sites, background information and materials you can share with your congregation or community. Visit: www. http://www.afsc.org/ImmigrantsRights/

Contact Pesident Obama and urge him to exert leadership on this pressing issue. Write him at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

For a complete copy of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition's letter, visit: http://www.interfaithimmigration.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/interfaith-immigration-platform-009.pdffsc.org

Calls for Community Understanding after Beating and Death of Local Resident

July 12 started out as a 'normal' day in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. By the end of the day, however, Luis Ramirez (25), father of two and an undocumented immigrant had been brutally beaten and sustained head and body injuries that two days later led to his death. Ramirez worked in a local factory and also picked crops.

Shenandoah, a small hamlet of an estimated 5,600 residents is located 105 miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Shenandoah was once a thriving mining town.Today, however, it is a shadow of what it once was, as the mines closed and the population decreased.

Shenandoah's residents still reflect the earlier patterns of migration to the town; Greeks, Irish, Italians and Lithuanians are visible participants in the town's cultural, political and social fabric. Over the last two decades Latinos have also settled in the town.

The death of Luis Ramirez has brought to the surface some of the fear and unspoken tensions in a once-thriving town now grappling with limited economic opportunities, changing demographics, and little communication between its diverse communities.(New York Times).

Local officials have filed charges against four teenagers that include homicide, ethnic intimidation, aggravated assault and several other offenses. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that they will also conduct investigations into this matter.

In the meantime, several actions have been taken to begin the healing process in Shenandoah. Recent actions included a press conference and a peaceful candlelight vigil. City leaders including the mayor attended the vigil as did many of Shenandoah's non-Latino and Latino residents. A service for healing and connecting community was held at the First United Methodist Church on August 10th. Additional actions to promote dialogue and community are also being considered.

Reflections on My Trip to Postville

Guest post by Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman of Madison, Wisconsin

I was standing next to a long table full of neatly arranged trays of cookies when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a woman with white hair smiling kindly at me. Noticing my kippah she offered, "The kosher cookies are over here." After finishing our march through the tiny town of Postville, Iowa, the hospitality committee of St. Bridget's Catholic Church was waiting for us, eager to show their appreciation that we had come. (Photo Credits: Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman)

Interfaith March Joins Over 1,000 People

It was an extraordinary experience to march through Postville, a town of 2,200 people. The afternoon began with an interfaith service with hundreds of people packed into the tiny church. We read liturgy of courage, hope, and love together both in English and Spanish, and we sang a beautiful rendition of Hinei mah tov in unison - indeed, how great it was that we were all sitting there together.

We were quite a diverse group of over 1,000 people. The march, organized by Jewish Community Action of Minneapolis, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs of Chicago, and our host, St. Bridget's Catholic Church, drew a fascinating crowd. As we walked through the neighborhoods, Postville residents sat on porch stoops or lawn chairs watching us as we marched by. They seemed to be fascinated by us - after all, such a march had never happened in this town.

When we arrived at Agriprocessors, a rabbi, speaking through the loud-speaker, explained a piece of Talmud which prohibits employers from oppressing their workers. We passed a park where we heard more speeches and a poem by children. We then walked into the center of town where we were confronted by a small, angry group of counter-protestors who did not seem to be from Postville. One sign read, "Pack their sack and send them back." A line of police officers separated us.

Community Reflects on "Disaster" of Raids

I walked for some time with an older couple who lived ten miles outside of Postville. They kept repeating the word disaster - the raid was a disaster, the working conditions at the plant were a disaster, the plight of the children separated from their parents was a disaster, the deportations were a disaster. They were members of St. Bridget's. I asked what people in the church thought of all of this. They answered, "The church just doesn't like to see families separated. It's just not right."

Iowan Hospitality

A downpour interrupted the last of the speeches outside of St. Bridget's. We all piled into the church - with a spread of cookies waiting for us. Throughout the day I had wondered what the folks at St. Bridget's thought of so many Jews converging on their town. Did they understand that we also shared so many things in common? The kosher cookies seemed to say it all. I thanked one of the women on the hospitality committee. She responded, "We are so happy to have you." "But serving 1,000 people cookies?" I asked. "We're Iowans. This is what we do."

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For information on the May 12 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Postville and AFSC's involvement, click here and find out how you can help.

• To read "Interpreting after the Largest ICE Raid in US History: A Personal Account," by Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D., click here (PDF, 104Kb).
  
• To read an article by Sandra Sanchez of AFSC Des Moines about the ICE raid on immigrant workers in Postville, click here.