Immigration Justice Work Is Happening!
The issues of immigration, immigration enforcement, and immigration justice are colliding in new ways, causing more significant confusion, fear, and violence. It is a complex issue that involves the intersectionality of law, morality, economics, politics, culture, and religious faith. If your starting point is any single one of these arenas, you are likely to face challenges from the other perspectives. Add to this simplistic, singular starting point layers of misinformation, fear, xenophobia, and racism, you have the trainwreck of human experience we have today. I want to provide a map through this wilderness and start at a singular starting point, knowing the risks.
My starting point is religious faith, and it is not a bad place to start for a pastor addressing the congregation.
The Judeo-Christian tradition has a lot of text telling us that we should honor the foreigner in our land with justice and hospitality. Some people who give divine authority to scripture overlook this. Sometimes, we pick and choose which verses are authoritative and which are not. I am not thumping the Bible, but I can see the reasoning when the verses are put into context. The people of Israel are often encouraged to honor the stranger among them with a reminder that once they were strangers in a strange land. There is a stratification to this ethic. All human beings are children of God and created in God’s image. Every human being has dignity, and their dignity should be honored. The migrants' story is our story because all of us and our ancestors have been wanderers at some time in history. When we are migrants, we are vulnerable and dependent on the kindness and generosity of people who are not displaced at their particular time in history. Remembering our history of wandering, displacement, and vulnerability can move us to have empathy and compassion. Finally, when we find a home, it is a gift not to be hoarded but to be shared. Unfortunately, as a nation, we forget. As people of faith and conscience, we forget. We forget our journeys, history, shared human story, and the depth of our faith.
Let us remember. Let us be mindful of the families in our care. The rule of law and due process have been abandoned, and our families are anxious and worried. We are doing our best to understand and respond to the unique immigration challenges of each family. For example, one of our families is in this country under "humanitarian parole". Under this status, they are at risk. They are supposed to have an added layer of protection because they have submitted an application for asylum. However, immigration attorneys are divided as to whether or not the current administration will honor the law and due process.
Given these uncertainties and the risks our families face if deported, should we offer sanctuary? Look at the survey below.
At this point, we are offering the following ministries:
- Legal Clinics for Know Your Rights
- Financial Assistance for Legal Fees and Living Expenses
- Support Group Meetings
- Accompaniment
- Safe Zone Launch Pad
At this point, we are NOT offering the following ministries:
- Sanctuary
- Asylum Hospitality
- Refugee Resettlement
Our next support meeting and legal clinic is May 4th at 1 PM in the Multipurpose Room. All are invited. Contact Pastor Ken if you have questions.
Feel free to ask Pastor Ken about our important and quiet work.
| 
