Immigrant Rights
Archive from 2008-2009

A friend of Witherspoon, Tony de la Rosa, has suggested that we share here a notice about a new film in the works, which promises a helpful look at the plight of undocumented immigrants, and the positive role the church can play for them. Mason Funk, one of the film-makers and an elder at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, has provided this note.

SANCTUARY’S DAUGHTER is a documentary short film, which tells the story of two women – an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, and Anabella, her American-born teenaged daughter. Threatened with separation by U.S. immigration policy, Yolanda and Anabella made a radical decision to seek both physical and spiritual protection inside the walls of their Los Angeles church, Immanuel Presbyterian. Two years later, the two women are still living inside the massive stone building. Both they, and their entire Immanuel congregation, are on a quietly amazing journey to discover the meaning of justice, in the face of laws that threaten to tear families apart.

SANCTUARY’S DAUGHTER is being produced by two Immanuel elders (also professional filmmakers), Mason Funk and Leanna Creel. The vast majority of the film has already been shot. The filmmakers are seeking approximately $40,000 to complete the film, which has non-profit status. They would be very grateful to hear from individuals interested in the project, and/or with connections to possible funding sources. To learn more about SANCTUARY’S DAUGHTER and to contact the filmmakers, visit www.sanctuarysdaughter.com. Thank you.

Mason Funk
Executive Producer
Channel Road Films
814 North Seward Street
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Phone:
Work – 323.468.8080
Fax – 323.468.8866
Cell – 310.710.9084

WWW.CHANNELROADFILMS.COM

For more information, we encourage you to contact the film-makers at info@channelroadfilms.com

This note comes from the Rev. Jose Luis Casal, General Missioner of Tres Rios Presbytery   [10-20-09]

Tres Rios Presbytery 86th Stated Meeting of the Presbyterian Church (USA) was celebrated with an opening Worship Service and Communion dedicated to Immigration as part of our celebrations on the 500 Anniversary of John Calvin.

Community organizations across America condemn the expansion of 287 (g)
[7-21-09]

The Rev. Trina Zelle, formerly a co-moderator of the Witherspoon Society and now working in Phoenix with Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona, recommends this “excellent and comprehensive article” in La Frontera Times, for an understanding of what is going on through government action against migrant workers, both in Arizona and around the country.

We received this note (slightly edited here) on June 21 from Dr. Grania Marcus of New York City. We believe it offers material for reflection – and stimulus for action – about the U.S. government’s continuing anti-immigrant policies, and their often anti-family consequences.

All for security??

I am a member of First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York and Co-chair of FPC's New Sanctuary Committee. I also served for 3 years as a Volunteer-in-Mission and staff member at Frontera de Cristo Presbyterian Border Ministry.

I would like you to post the following article, published by New American Media: "Deporting Fathers in the Name of Homeland Security."

The article was written by Joseph Nevins, a Professor at Vassar College and author of the book Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid (City Lights Books).

Our congregation has been a member of the New York New Sanctuary Coalition since December 2007, which is part of the national New Sanctuary Movement. There are two other New York City Presbyterian churches that have also joined, and others are considering joining. The New Sanctuary family with whom we are partnering is that of Roxroy Salmon, who is a father and grandfather facing deportation after living in the US for 32 years. [Mr. Salmon is the main subject of the Nevins article.] Our congregation and other New Sanctuary congregations are supporting him in his fight to stay in the US with his wife, 4 children and grandchild, all of whom are US citizens.

This article is very timely, since Mr. Salmon's hearing in his immigration case is July 7, 2009, and the Obama administration is currently working on immigration legislation.

In Christ,

Dr. Grania Marcus
Co-Chair, New Sanctuary Committee
First Presbyterian Church NYC

MSNBC reports, based on a report from the East Valley Tribune, that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff's Department over allegations of discriminatory practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures.

In a letter dated Tuesday to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the department's Civil Rights Division said investigators will focus on alleged patterns of discriminatory police practices and on allegations of discrimination based on a person's national origin.

We recently reported on the abusive and humiliating treatment of undocumented immigrants by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, of Arizona's Maricopa County. The Wall Street Journal (yes, really) reports on anti-immigrant campaign as an outgrowth of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that trains local police to arrest illegal immigrants suspected of committing serious crimes. According to the Journal, this so-called 287g program, which has been seen as a symbol of the Bush administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, “has expanded without appropriate oversight, leading to the arrest of thousands for minor infractions, according to a study scheduled to be released Wednesday.”

Their message:

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. We commend President Obama's choice of Ms. Solis, a Congresswoman from Los Angeles who is the daughter of immigrant workers and is a longtime fighter for the rights of workers. Well done, Mr. President!

Yesterday there was also the first workplace immigration raid under the Obama administration at a factory in Bellingham, Washington, that rebuilds Japanese car engines and transmissions. Immigration authorities arrested and chained 28 workers, including three mothers.

Workplace raids hurt our communities, businesses, and all workers. With the economic crisis, this is a terrible time for raids.

Call the White House today: 202-456-1414

Or e-mail the White House here http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Or fax a letter to 202-456-2461

Tell President Obama 

•           Thanks for the wonderful appointment of Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor

•           Thanks for your leadership in facing the economic crisis, passing the stimulus and working to create jobs in our communities.

•           Stop all workplace raids and pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Please e-mail me at tsmukler@iwj.org to let us know that you called or wrote a letter.

In Peace and Justice,

At public vigil in Presbyterian church, community asks lawmakers to 'have courage to do something'     [2-23-09]

Roughly 100 people gathered at various locations Thursday night in Postville, a small town still reeling in the aftermath of an unprecedented May 2008 immigration raid, to pray for reform. Many of those gathered at Community Presbyterian Church, shown above, were detainees in the raid and were released back into the community with ankle tracking devices. At least 24 individuals in Postville with such devices continue to exist by charity while they await their day in court.

Read the report in the Iowa Independent >>

Thanks to PresbyWeb for alerting us to this report.

The National Council of Le Raza (NCLR) begins its report:

[On Wednesday, Feb. 4,] at 1:00 p.m. Sheriff Joe Arpaio paraded hundreds of detained immigrants in shackles through the streets of Phoenix, Arizona to a "tent city" where they will be held indefinitely. In true Arpaio form, his office sent a press release to the media inviting them to this event, proving that he's more interested in drawing attention to himself than actually doing his job. In reference to the electric fencing around the tent city, Arpaio said, "This is a population of criminals more adept perhaps at escape. But this is a fence they won't want to scale because they risk receiving quite a shock-literally."

The rest of the article >>

Another report from La Frontera Times >>

A comment from the Rev. Trina Zelle, also in La Frontera Times, calling this pornography – “the ritual humiliation of vulnerable human beings carried out under bright media lights by public officials whose salaries we pay.” Zelle now works in Phoenix with Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona, and is a former co-moderator of the Witherspoon Society. She was present to witness the “parade,” with two other clergy. She reports that “we were threatened with arrest if we did not leave.”  Her article >>

La Raza suggests actions to resist the Sheriff’s abuse of power:

1. Request that the Department of Justice investigate Arpaio's abuses.

Julia Thorne, who is Manager for Immigration Issues in the Office of the General Assembly, also participates in an Interfaith Immigration Group in Washington, which met with President Obama’s transition team in December. The group has prepared a document expressing their call for “humane immigration reform,” to be presented to the new Administration.

They are encouraging pastors and other people of faith who share these concerns to sign on to the statement. If you are interested in signing on please send Julia your name and the church where you are a pastor. If you are working in a validated ministry, or are honorably retired, feel free to sign on as well. Elders can also sign if they can also state that they are Moderator of Session, Chair of Peacemaking Committee, or some such thing to show religious leadership.

You can send your name and the name of your congregation to Julia Thorne, at julia.thorne@pcusa.org. She will be happy to add your name to the list.  If you have questions, Julia invites you contact her.

The group already has around 500 signatures, and is hoping to add many more by the middle of February.

Click here for the full text of the Platform (in html)

[1-21-09]

As our diverse faith traditions teach us to welcome our brothers and sisters with love and compassion— regardless of their place of birth—we call on the new Administration and 111th Congress to enact humane and equitable immigration reform in 2009.

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.

The Hebrew Bible tells us: "The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 19:33-34). In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to welcome the stranger, for "what you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me" (Matthew 25:40). The Qur'an tells us that we should "do good to…those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer that you meet" (4:36). The Hindu Taitiriya Upanishad tells us: "The guest is a representative of God" (1.11.2).

Therefore, 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 earn their legal status and eventual citizenship

We urge the Administration and Congress to 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. The workability of such a program should not be hindered by overly punitive criteria, such as mandating that immigrants leave the country or pay exorbitant fees, or by making the process conditional upon the implementation of enforcement measures. 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. As currently structured, electronic employment verification programs have proven detrimental to both employers and employees due to increased discrimination and unfair hiring and firing practices. All workers benefit, however, from the enforcement of health, safety, wage, and hour laws, as well as the right to peacefully organize.

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. Moreover, the processing of application backlogs and security checks should be streamlined to reduce waiting times. Counterproductive laws prohibiting immigrants from accessing social services and mandating that local police act as immigration officials should be revoked. These barriers to integration decrease community safety and discourage immigrants from pursuing education and community involvement. 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. Many faith organizations administer services to those impacted by raids, as well as to immigrants in detention facilities. Witnessing the toll of incarceration on detainees, their families and our communities, 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. Furthermore, the government should expedite the release of individuals who pose no risk to the community and expand the use of community-based alternatives to detention, which are more humane and cost effective.

Align the enforcement of immigration laws with humanitarian values

For the past twenty 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. To truly decrease undocumented immigration, the United States should improve access to the legal immigration system by increasing the number of ports of entry, expanding visa availability, and eliminating application backlogs to increase processing efficiency. Border policies must be consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect, while allowing the United States to implement its immigration laws and identify and prevent the entry of persons who commit dangerous crimes. 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

The Rev. Eriberto (Eddie) Soto, Associate for Latin American Ministries in Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery, has recommended Strangers in the Land, a study guide from the editors of Sojourners magazine.

A six-week guide on immigration, the church, and the bible, it is based on Old Testament scholar M. Daniel Carroll R.’s transformative 2008 book Christians at the Border. This six-week devotional and study guide provides the reader a daily excerpt from Christians at the Border, a scripture on the same theme, a provocative question, and a prayer. Every seventh day is arranged for use with a small group, including a story-based group organizing model, worship suggestion, stimulating discussion questions, and action suggestions. Price is $9.95.

A special report from the Oakland Institute   [10-9-08]

"The borders between our countries should be common grounds to unite us, not lines that divide us."

Since NAFTA’s passage in 1993, the U.S. Congress has debated and passed several new trade agreements – with Peru, Jordan, Chile, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. At the same time it has debated immigration policy as though those trade agreements bore no relationship to the waves of displaced people migrating to the U.S., looking for work.

Meanwhile, a rising tide of anti-immigrant hysteria has increasingly demonized those migrants, leading to measures that deny them jobs, rights, or any pretense of equality with people living in the communities around them. To resolve any of these dilemmas, from adopting rational and humane immigration policies to reducing the fear and hostility towards migrants, the starting point has to be an examination of the way U.S. policies have both produced migration and criminalized migrants.

The New York Times condemns the action as " 'The Jungle,' again."  The editorial concludes:

By treating illegal low-wage workers as a de facto criminal class, the government is trying to inflate the menace they pose to a level that justifies its rabid efforts to capture and punish them. That is a fraudulent exercise, and a national disgrace.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association elaborates on the violations of judicial process, calling the whole action "a travesty of justice."

Ruben Navarrette Jr. Reports in the Fort Myers [FL] News-Press :

SAN DIEGO – April 3, 2008 – More and more states are doing the job that Congress failed to do by trying to formulate immigration policy – either by scaring off immigrants or bringing in more of them.

According to The Associated Press, about 350 immigration-related bills were introduced in state legislatures in the first two months of this year. Legislators in states across the country are doing everything they can to make illegal immigrants feel unwelcome – by denying them driver's licenses, college admission, medical care, etc.

The irony is that, in many of these states, it is illegal immigrants who helped fuel growth, construction, development and economic prosperity. Show me a state where people feel overrun by illegal immigrants, and I'll show you one where individuals, businesses and municipalities have, in recent years, lined their pockets thanks to illegal labor.

The Road to Dystopia    [3-17-08]

In an editorial on March 13, the New York Times blasted the current crusade against “illegal immigration” as a threat not just to immigrants legal or otherwise, but to the US society as a whole.

It begins:

The search for a silver bullet to slay illegal immigration continues. Hard-liners are turning the country upside down looking for it.

They are looking in Washington, where Senate Republicans last week offered more than a dozen bills to further enshrine mass deportation as the national immigration strategy. It is a grab bag of enforcement measures that will be useful for tough-talking campaign commercials, but will not actually solve anything.

Republicans and some Democrats in the House are trying to force a vote on a bad bill called the SAVE Act, which among other things would force all workers, including citizens, to prove they have a right to earn a living — a bad idea compounded by the notoriously bad state of federal government records.

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PVJ's Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, PVJ's Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

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