Posts Tagged ‘DACA’

Day 11: Breaking Bread & Building Bridges

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Today is Day 11 of the Thirty Days of Love. Today’s action is to prepare to participate in the “Breaking Bread and Building Bridges” campaign. Click here for more resources, family actions, and more! Click here to sign up for the daily Thirty Days of Love emails.


My name is Ivone and as a recent Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, I write this piece on behalf of the millions of undocumented immigrants residing in this country. We all wish to have similar opportunities like the one that I was given through DACA, based on our character and not our places of origin.

I cannot forget that I am part of a larger group of individuals who reside in your communities, provide you with customer service at stores and restaurants, and are part of the same congregations that many of you attend. We are people who have established longstanding roots and relationships and have the same kind of dreams, beliefs, and desires as you. We are asking for your support and participation with a new initiative that the interfaith community has launched called Breaking Bread and Building Bridges.

The Breaking Bread and Building Bridges campaign consists of a series of events designed to create and strengthen relationships of solidarity between faith communities and immigrants’ rights groups. Groups are encouraged to hold local events such as potlucks, vigils, and detention visitations as a way to effectively educate, organize, and advocate for just immigration policies.

Click here for more info on Breaking Bread and Building Bridges!

At a time when there’s been a meaningful shift in public opinion on such a polarized issue, our efforts are part of a larger strategy to lift up the voices of the faith community at the local level. We are the ones helping to turn the tide for immigrants’ rights in the U.S.

Our campaign is important because it provides an opportunity for communities across the country to become involved in advocating for just and humane immigration reform this year. We are creatively engaging in a number of activities that will allow people’s voices to be heard all the way to Washington, D.C., where decision makers need to hear from us. As public witnesses, you have a unique opportunity to help frame the issue going forward. The need for comprehensive immigration reform in this country is more pressing than ever and by becoming involved, you are helping to amplify the local voices of those who are directly affected to create the change we need!

If you are ready to join this life-changing movement, I strongly encourage you to help make a difference by participating in the Breaking Bread and Building Bridges events. Click here for useful resources that can help guide you every step of the way.

It’s amazing the ripple effect that is created when people come together around a cause for the common good of our nation. Help us magnify this effect across the country today by holding a Breaking Bread and Building Bridges event!

With much gratitude for your support,

Ivone Guillen

Ivone serves as the Co-Chair for the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a partnership of faith-based organizations committed to enacting fair and humane immigration reform.

Witnessing for Justice in the Great Lakes State

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Randy Block, MUUSJN Director, at the public meeting in Bloomfield. Credit: Natasha Dado/TAAN

The Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network (MUUSJN) has been hard at work witnessing for love justice in the Great Lakes State this summer.

On Tuesday evening, August 14th, a public meeting was held in Bloomfield Township to consider a proposal for a local Muslim Cultural Center. Though many attendees were opposed to the plan, MUUSJN mobilized activists from four Unitarian Universalist congregations to demonstrate on behalf of religious tolerance. They were part of an interfaith coalition that submitted testimony urging a local Planning Commission to make decisions based on respect for religious diveristy rather than Islamophobia.

Their witness received coverage in several newspapers, including this article in the Arab American News that showed real appreciation for the interfaith witness.

Wednesday, August 15th marked the first day that young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children could apply for deferred action. That day, Unitarian Universalists in Detroit and Lansing displayed solidarity with young Dreamers and their allies by holding Standing on the Side of Love signs at press conferences held in each city. Several UUs also volunteered at special workshops to assist dreamers to determine their eligibility for deferred action status. The program allows young, undocumented immigrants to apply for work permits and gives them two years immunity from deportation.

Lansing Banner Dreamer Press Conf. 2012-08-15

Standing on the Side of Love with Dreamers outside Lansing's Cristo Rey congregation. Credit: Randy Block

MUUSJN Director Randy Block says of the event, “I was touched that Cindy Estrada, UAW International Vice President, asked if she could hold up my Standing on the Side of Love sign that said ‘Dreamers Deserve A Chance for the American Dream.’ Of course, I said yes.”