All tagged Immigrant Justice
Sometimes we must raise our voices
In the story “”Facing the Dragon,” SSL Campaign Director Caitlin Breedlove writes: ”Our faith wakes us up in the morning, reminding us that we are called to act in this time. “
Five days after the “United Against Hate” protest of a political event in Fountain Hills, AZ, a large coalition led by Puente Arizona rallied again at the State Capitol in Phoenix to protest the introduction of several new anti-immigration bills in Arizona. Many Unitarian Universalists standing on the side of love were in the coalition.
Puente is a grassroots migrant justice organization based in Phoenix. They write on puenteaz.org: “We develop, educate, and empower migrant communities to protect and defend our families and ourselves in order to enhance the quality of life of our community members.”
Facing the Dragon
If we awaken a Dragon, we need courage to face a Dragon.
Two terms of a Black President. Gay Marriage. Deeply humanizing gains in the struggle for Immigrant Rights. A new force in our country bravely declaring (in word and deed) that Black Lives Matter. In so many ways, communities experiencing identity-based violence have been speaking out, pushing back, and loving ourselves out loud.
This is causing a Dragon of cultural backlash in the United States against these communities. The ‘Trump Effect’ is not about Donald Trump or this election alone anymore. From those of us who are having our sacred Black Lives Matter banners desecrated at our churches to those of us engaging in non-violent civil disobedience who are having our lives threatened: we see rage, resentment and suffering shaped into actions that could make us very afraid.
Building Sanctuary: A Duty to Each Other
We’re excited to share as part of the 30 Days of Love because our collaborations with the UUs have taught us so much about love in action. De-escalating through song when armed minutemen came to our joint rally outside of Sheriff Arpaio’s jail in Arizona in 2011. Opening your doors to house and feed us as we drove cross country for the undocubus in 2012. Continuing to show up in yellow shirts over and over, a constant accompaniment that doesn’t go unnoticed. Rehanging #BlackLivesMatter banners after they’ve been desecrated. And in some cases, opening your physical institutions as sanctuary for those hunted by our own government.
Welcome to 30 Days of Love: Towards Racial Justice
We are thrilled to welcome you to 30 Days of Love: Towards Racial Justice. Over the next thirty days, we’ll be sharing content- here, on Facebook and Twitter - about urgent organizing for racial justice happening around the country. We are thrilled to have Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen, Leadership Development Associate for Youth and Young Adults of Color at the UUA, and Carey McDonald, Outreach Director at the UUA, acting as our inaugural 30 Days of Love hosts.
In their role, Elizabeth and Carey will provide a short video reflection for each of our weekly messages. Centered around the themes of gratitude and wonder, it is our hope that the content of 30 Days of Love feeds and inspires you. Beginning next Tuesday, you’ll receive weekly messages from partners at the frontlines of organizing for racial justice in the country.
Below, hear or read a little more directly from Elizabeth and Carey. To see additional resources for your observance of 30 Days of Love, click here.
Showing Up to End Trans Detention
Today, organizations around the country are participating in the End Trans Detention National Day of Action. The Day is part of the #Not1More Deportation Week of Action. The targeted criminalization and violence trans people face is only exacerbated when they are detained. Transgender detainees make up 1 in 500 of the detention population but 1 in 5 of those who experience sexual abuse.
On this day of action, we ask you to take a moment to support Christina Lopez, a 35 year-old trans woman in urgent need of medical care. She has been in immigration detention for over a year and a half and has Hepatitis C, but the Santa Ana City Detention Center refuses to get her medical attention. Add your name here to demand that ICE use prosecutorial discretion to immediately release Christina from detention. Christina’s story is an example of how ICE cannot guarantee the human rights, safety and dignity for immigrants in detention, in particular of a transgender immigrant with specific health care needs.
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Join #Not1More Week of Action
I have just returned from a Border Witness for Clergy and Seminarians with the UU College of Social Justice and Standing on the Side of Love. Together we heard the stories of migrants fleeing crushing poverty and violence to make the treacherous journey across the desert in search of safety and economic relief. We visited the makeshift graves of some of those who did not make it, including the site where a 16 year old was killed by border patrol in Mexico for allegedly throwing rocks that could never reach his murderers. We witnessed the demeaning mass processing of Operation Streamline in a federal court as people chained together were brought before an immigration judge and sentenced to detention or dropped off on the other side of the border with no provisions or human support.
Deaths in ICE Custody: Say Their Names, Again and Again
“Ramiro Gutierrez,…Maria Solis-Perez.” The names of persons who had died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody rang out at the “Tent City” candlelight vigil, a witness event at the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Justice General Assembly 2012 in Phoenix.
“Jose de Jesus Deniz-Sahagun, …. Juan Salazar Gomez.” On August 20th, 2015 members of the Puente Human Rights Movement said the names of 152 persons who have died in ICE custody since 2003—at least 30 of the names new, not on the list in 2012. The Eloy Detention Center in Arizona has been the deadliest ICE facility, claiming 14 lives.
Weaving the Threads of Justice
Ten years ago I went to Baton Rouge and other Katrina-affected areas in a response to calls to assist people who had made it out of New Orleans alive. I went to help; I could not help but see and listen and be changed by the experience.
A few years ago I went to Arizona to help, to bear witness to the conditions faced by people who cross into the U.S. through the desert hills. I went and saw for myself what people go through trying to get here without “papers”, how they are treated in the courts, how they are discarded/repatriated to their native countries, how they escape.
A few weeks ago I joined in the one-year anniversary Commemoration of the Ferguson Uprising in St Louis County, Missouri. I hoped, as I believe so many others did, to move the change process forward, to effect change in the culture that tolerates, even promotes police violence, especially against young Black and Brown men.
Growing our leadership and advocacy for immigrant justice
Our borders have become militarized zones, and violence has increased as our government forces migrants to turn back no matter what their age, identity or circumstances. Unitarian Universalists have a rich history of bearing witness at borders and finding our voice as allies and advocates for immigrant justice, and we cannot stand idly by as these grave injustices continue. We know that US policies are connected to the economic, political and social systems in other countries that create displacement and forced migration.
We are hosting our second annual Border Witness for UU Clergy, Seminarians and State Advocacy Leaders. If you identify as a UU leader, please join this trip, from November 2-7, 2015 as we continue to bear witness to human rights abuses on the U.S./Mexico Border. I’m excited to join the UUA President Peter Morales, UUMA Executive Director Don Southworth, and Director of the UU College of Social Justice Kathleen McTigue, who will lead this delegation. Will you join us this November? (And if you aren’t clergy, a seminarian or state leader, check out some of these other upcoming College of Social Justice programs!)