SUPPORT IMMIGRANTS
How You Can Help
Witnessing God’s love for all people, we stand with and advocate for immigrants through partnership, direct action, education, and support for local immigrants, as well as related organizations.
As part of our advocacy program, the Immigrant Welcoming Work Group compiles actions and local events held in support of immigrants and immigration issues. We urge you to perform some of these actions and/or attend some of the events! Content is updated monthly.
If you take any action listed in this summary, please notify Tom Haigh, jthaigh45 (at) gmail.com, for tracking purposes. If you have content for future updates, please submit to Janine Sieja, janinesieja (at) gmail.com.
I Have Ten Minutes
- NEW Sign the petition to tell President Biden that asylum is a legal right. The Biden administration has implemented a policy that will unlawfully deny asylum to people seeking protection at the southern border who don’t first wait to apply for asylum in Mexico or other countries they passed through — despite the fact that many of these countries don’t have working asylum systems. SPONSOR: ACLU
- Sign a petition to insist that migrant children not be forced into exploitative labor and instead be treated with dignity and grace. SPONSOR: National Immigration Forum
- Unlike in our criminal legal system, there is no public defender system for people currently facing the threat of deportation. The Fairness to Freedom campaignis a national movement dedicated to changing this cruel system. SPONSOR: Vera Institute of Justice
- Sign up to get news and take action to make Minnesota a sanctuary state. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFb70QWgLp0W0QexKgKUDRmZxU-FuY70ouv0n1eSrhFkYzcA/viewform SPONSOR: Minnesota Sanctuary State Coalition.
- Tell the Department of Homeland Security to reunite immigrant families. During the Trump administration, the government systematically separated 5,500 families arriving in the United States. Not all have been reunited—the parents of hundreds of children have still not been found—and the trauma inflicted on these families is everlasting. Submit your comment telling the Biden administration to make reunification an urgent priority. SPONSOR: ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
- Ask Congress to support Afghan refugees’ path to permanent residency. Tens of thousands of Afghans have been welcomed into the United States via “humanitarian parole.” Congress is negotiating legislation to fund an Afghan Adjustment Act within the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to ensure these refugees have a path to becoming lawful permanent residents beyond their temporary immigration status. Contact members of Congress to ensure safety for Afghan refugees. SPONSOR: Church World Service.
I Have One Hour
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- Join a monthly vigilto stand in support of immigrants and detainees, and in opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practices that dehumanize and terrorize. The next vigil will be held at 7:30am Tuesday, September 12, at the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, the regional ICE headquarters for the five-state area and the site of both immigrant detention facilities and an immigration court. People of any faith and no particular faith are invited to join in an hour of prayer and song, hosted by a rotating cast of faith communities and social justice groups. Guest speakers provide attendees with concrete opportunities to show solidarity with detainees and to oppose inhumane detention practices.
Every Second Tuesday of the Month
7:30 to 8:30 am
Bishop Henry Whipple Building, 1 Federal Drive, Saint Paul, MN 55111
The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook. Contact Jerry Davis ( fandjontheroad@gmail.com ) if you wish to attend with someone or to arrange transportation.
SPONSOR: Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM).
I Have One Day
- ICOM needs a volunteer to coordinate vigilson an alternating basis (i.e.
every other month) with Joy Nelson. ICOM provides a vigil template (when needed), the network of faith communities and organizational partners who can host, and the resources to publicize, broadcast, and record the event. The commitment is three to five hours every other month (depending on the intricacy of the vigil and resources of the host organization). Contact Joy Nelson at joynelson92@yahoo.com if you’re able to volunteer and / or want to know more. SPONSOR: Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM).
- ICOM AID is looking for volunteers to help in many different ways: driving, shopping, accompaniment to medical or legal proceedings, …. People can contact Sara Adams,adamssara430@gmail.com, for more information.
- People can become active supporting MIRAC,https://www.miracmn.com/, particularly their Immigrant Power Now Campaign in Minneapolis, https://www.miracmn.com/current-campaigns.
- The Decriminalizing Communities Campaign is led by Jewish Community Action, https://www.jewishcommunityaction.org/decriminalizing-communities. They are pushing for separation ordinances in both Hennepin and Ramsey Counties.
I Can Contribute Financially
- Help Keep Tucson Togetherbond members of the immigrant community out of immigration detention – no one should be separated from their family simply for seeking safety in the U.S. or for overstaying a visa. Keep Tucson Together has helped bond out 194 members of the immigrant community in the past three years. SPONSOR: Green Valley – Sahuarita Samaritans.
Upcoming
2023 Immigration Trip to Mexico/Arizona Border
There will be an information session Sunday, May 1, 12:30-1:30 in Jackman to discuss a February 2023 immersion/volunteer opportunity. We’ll share highlights from our 2020 trip and tentative plans for our next trip. Contact Nancy Siska at npsiska@gmail.com or Maureen Tanis at Tanis.maureen@gmail.com with questions.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
- View/listen to slideshow/sermon. Jes Ahlemeier went on the 2023 Plymouth border trip to Arizona. She gathered photos from many of the attendees and created a slide show synced to the audio of Seth Patterson’s sermon “Presente!” based on his attendance and participation in that trip. Here is the *PresentePhotoVideo to watch or share! *Watch it on a computer — the audio doesn’t seem to work on a cell phone…
- View/listen to podcasts from Plymouth’s 2023 Arizona trip. Hosts Laurie Beth Fitz and Rick Bernardo join Reverend Doctor Delle McCormick along with Plymouth Congregational Church’s Nancy Lee and John Humphrey for part 1 of: “Love Thy Neighbor: Forging connections in our disconnected Americas.”
www.facebook.com/AM950Radio/videos/1230231327860572
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu_2-PB0ff8
Part 2 with Rick, Betsy Cussler, Seth Patterson, and Randy Mayer:
www.facebook.com/AM950Radio/videos/746446037268598
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPrDB_5Mjns
- Listen to a podcast from Dora Rodriguez who was once an asylum seeker.She escaped the death squads in El Salvador in the 1980s during the U.S.-backed civil war. On her journey to the United States, her group was abandoned in the Sonoran Desert south of Tucson, Arizona. Thirteen people traveling with her died, and Rodriguez barely survived.
Since then, she’s devoted her life to social work and to helping migrants in the Sonoran Desert, where she nearly perished. In this podcast, Rodriguez talks about the migrant resource center called Casa de la Esperanza which she helped open last year in the Mexican border community of Sásabe, Sonora MX. She talks about her own history, her nonprofit Salvavision, and the current situation at the border with Title 42 and other policies endangering asylum seekers’ lives. And she talks about how humanitarian work, which can take a physical and emotional toll, sustains her year after year. “There are some days that are painful,” she said. “There are tears. What keeps me going is to see the people behind me doing this work, and I know I’m not alone.” SPONSOR: The Border Chronicles
- Watch any or all of four videos from the Legal Studies trip from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The Arizona border trip was in June of 2021. They are all good and professionally done including drone shots. They include trips with Humane Borders and Alvaro Enciso and a visit to the Casa de Esperanza in Sasabe. We have been asked NOT to post these or use them publicly. We are welcome to view them and share them privately since they are making the film festival circuit and in various competitions. SPONSOR: Green Valley Sahuarita Samaritans.
http://Vimeo.com/cdlvideo/crosses1
https://vimeo.com/cdlvideo/crosses2
https://vimeo.com/cdlvideo/crosses3
https://vimeo.com/cdlvideo/crosses4
- Read a short but well-thought-out and thoughtful articulationof faith-based principles for immigration reform: https://nomoredeaths.org/about-no-more-deaths/faith-based-principles-for-immigration-reform/SPONSOR: No More Deaths
- Immigration is a complicated issue. It’s helpful to have some background, and a great start is to watch the video “U.S. Immigration – The Basics”by Alyson Ball. She is a Samaritan, working with asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants in Arizona and Virginia. Ball keeps up-to-date on immigration issues and gives presentations throughout the United States. This 53-minute video will get you acquainted with basic immigration history, law and practice. SPONSOR: Green Valley – Sahuarita Samaritans.
If you take any action listed in this summary, please notify Tom Haigh for tracking purposes. If you have content for future updates, please submit to John Humphrey.