Posts Tagged ‘SB 1070’

One Click Away from Compassionate, Family-Based Immigration Reform

No Comments | Share On Facebook| One Click Away from Compassionate, Family-Based Immigration Reform Share/Save/Bookmark Apr 17, 2013

I have been hearing so many amazing stories of Unitarian Universalists making advocacy visits to tell their elected officials that immigration reform must respect the inherent worth and dignity of all people.

In 2010, I marched and later was arrested in Phoenix, AZ, because my faith values taught me that it is wrong to tear apart families and criminalize whole communities. No person is illegal. I stood on the side of love to stop immoral legislation that sadly began spreading from one state to another.

Now finally the moment is here, a once in a generation moment, to pass federal legislation that will create one immigration policy for our nation.

An immigration reform bill was introduced this morning, so now is the time to tell Congress that reform must be compassionate.

You can do that right now, by simply sending this message to your local elected official. Tell them that reform must keep families together.

One of the proudest moments of my presidency was when thousands of Unitarian Universalists witnessed at the Tent City detention center in Phoenix at Justice General Assembly last year calling for an end to detentions and deportations and for reform of our immigration laws.

You and I both know how powerful our voices can be when we mobilize and work together to make real change happen. Click here to add your voice today towards compassionate, family-based immigration reform.

Love has no borders, love keeps families together, love respects the inherent worth and dignity of all people.

In faith,

Rev. Peter Morales
President
Unitarian Universalist Association

The message above went out on Wednesday, April 16, 2013 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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Richmond Congregation Responds to SB 1070 Ruling

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Richmond Congregation Responds to SB 1070 Ruling Share/Save/Bookmark Jun 26, 2012

The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, VA held an event yesterday afternoon to witness to the mixed emotions present in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on SB 1070.

richmond

“We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Arizona who continue to have their full humanity denied by this and other similar laws,” said Aija Simpson.

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An Update From Arizona on SB1070

No Comments | Share On Facebook| An Update From Arizona on SB1070 Share/Save/Bookmark Jun 25, 2012

The message below went out on Monday, June 25, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

On Saturday night, thousands of us showed up at tent city in our Love shirts to speak out against the inhumane treatment of immigrants in our country, especially in Arizona.

All over the world, media has taken notice of our message of justice, human rights, and love. You can read about our presence in the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/several-thousand-protesters-rally-outside-arizona-sheriffs-tent-city-jail-complex/2012/06/24/gJQA3MwkyV_story.html

Today, as you might have heard, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on the constitutionality of Arizona’s SB1070. The court struck down several provisions of the law as unconstitutional. However, for now, the “show me papers” provision of the law, which will invariably lead to racial profiling and egregious civil right violations, remains in place.

“We never had faith in the Depart of Justice Supreme Court case,” says Puente, Arizona. “We have faith in our people. WE WILL NOT COMPLY!” Please watch this video:

While many of us who came to Phoenix will return to our daily lives, many of remain in Arizona in the struggle, and thousands of us have renewed our resolve to serve as moral voices and advocates for those who suffer under our nation’s broken immigration system. At a press conference in Phoenix today, UUA President Rev. Peter Morales joins our partners Puente Arizona NDLON and others in speaking out against the injustice that SB1070 represents. “Unitarian Universalists hold among our principles the affirmation of the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” says Rev. Morales. “People of faith cannot rest easy as long as any part of SB1070 continues to strip the worth and dignity from migrants and their families.”

No matter what the courts decide on SB1070, it is the people of Arizona who will have the last word. And our voices will be heard in support of dignity and fundamental fairness.

“I didn’t know what it would look like, but last night seeing you with all the candles, in the heat, all together… that’s what love looks like,” said Carlos Garcia, Director of Puente Arizona, referring to Saturday’s tent city vigil. “The people from our community couldn’t believe, as people just kept coming and coming.”

As we all know, this fundamental struggle for human rights continues. As people of faith and conscience, we must continue our acts of solidarity, our local advocacy, and our steadfast service as voices for justice.

In faith,

Dan Furmansky
Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love

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Rev. Rod Richards: Meditation on the Border

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Meditation on the Border

Saturday, June 23, 2012 / General Assembly / Phoenix, AZ

By Rev. Rod Richards

We humans are the line-drawers. We are the border-makers. We are the boundary-testers. We are the census-takers. We draw a line to separate this from that, so that we can see clearly what each is. We create a border to define our place, so we can take care of what’s there. We test boundaries to find if they are real; if they are necessary; if they are just. We congregate within those boundaries in families and tribes and cities and countries that we call “us.” And we call people on the other side “them.”

But our minds seek boundaries that our hearts know not. The lines we draw disappear when viewed with eyes of compassion. The recognition of human kinship does not end at any border we have created. A wiser part of us knows that the other is us, and we are the other.

Let justice flow like water and peace like a never-ending stream. Let compassion glow like sunlight and love like an ever-shining beam. The rain—the blessed rain when it comes—the sunshine; the breeze; the life-giving air we breathe; they know no boundaries. Neither do our compassion; our good will; our concern for one another. God has no borders. Love has no borders. Let us lift up the awareness of our unity as we celebrate the awesome patterns of our diversity on this beautiful day.

Rev. Rod Richards is presently serving the UU Church of Southeastern Arizona in Sierra Vista; beginning August 1 at the UU Fellowship of San Luis Obispo County.

Rev. Rod Richards is presently serving the UU Church of Southeastern Arizona in Sierra Vista; beginning August 1, he will be serving at the UU Fellowship of San Luis Obispo County.

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Powerful Insights from Puente’s Carlos Garcia

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Powerful Insights from Puente’s Carlos Garcia Share/Save/Bookmark Jun 20, 2012
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Carlos Garcia (Photo credit: Univision)

AltnerNet has interviewed Puente’s Executive Director, Carlos Garcia, on a range of issues, and his insights are a must-read.  Hear what Carlos thinks about what it means to be an ally, why the Justice Dept.’s legal opposition to SB1070 misses the point, and why the situation on the ground in Arizona is much worse than many imagine, and where “ski masked check points that take away parents and leave children with police-issued stuffed animals in their place is tolerated.”

Here is just one quote from the interview about how allies can best serve the movement:

Allies are key in two ways. The first is in working from a place of true solidarity. That means letting undocumented people and migrants lead their own movement and taking cues from the ground-up as opposed to trying to manage the movement through intermediaries. The second is in finding ways to take as brave a stand possible as exemplified by the youth who have come out as undocumented and unafraid.

Click here to read to full interview.

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