Posts Tagged ‘undocumented immigrants’

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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Not One More!

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| Not One More! Share/Save/Bookmark Apr 10, 2013

As the debate over immigration reform continues in Washington, so too do the deportations that rip families apart. In response, our partners at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) have launched #Not1More, a collaborative project to expose, confront, and overcome unjust immigration enforcement policies through organizing, art, legislation, and action.

Click here to watch the video and learn how you can take action to ensure that there is #Not1More deportation.

This is a monumental time in the movement for immigrant justice. Over the past two weeks, UUs went on 60+ advocacy visits to tell their elected officials that immigration reform must respect the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Today, thousands of folks will gather together in Washington, DC and at echo events across the country to raise their voices for compassionate immigration reform, and there will be a sea of Yellow Shirts there. An immigration reform bill is likely to be introduced any day now, and it is imperative that legislators continue to hear from you to ensure that reform is compassionate.

In recent years, deportations, incarceration, and criminalization of immigrant communities have escalated at an unprecedented rate. But at the same time, record numbers of people are refusing to be victims and instead are taking a stand for themselves, for their families, for our communities, and for all of us.

#Not1More weaves together all of our voices in a central location so that local efforts to stop deportation and build community are strengthened and accompanied by cultural creations that illustrate the ugliness of criminalization and the beauty of our communities.

Together we say: not one more family destroyed, not one more day without equality, not one more indifferent reaction to suffering, not one more deportation.

Click here to add your voice and say #Not1More. 

In faith,

Jennifer Toth
Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love

PS: Learn more about what you can do to advocate for compassionate immigration reform here: http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/cir.

The message above went out on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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Marching Next Week for Compassionate Immigration Reform

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| Marching Next Week for Compassionate Immigration Reform Share/Save/Bookmark Apr 02, 2013

I work for immigrant rights because there need to be people who are willing to use the political, financial, and social power that they have in this country to support those who face discrimination. This is not charity work, it is solidarity work. We must be there to say that the demands for just and humane treatment, for compassionate inclusion and loving acceptance, must be heard and honored. I stand with immigrants so that they remain empowered to assert their right to be granted equality and opportunity.

That is why I will be marching for compassionate immigration reform next week in Philadelphia. This rally is one of the ‘echo events’ being held all around the country in concert with the huge rally for immigration reform in Washington, DC on April 10th. Our partners in the immigrant community have asked for the “Love People” to join them—we must heed their call!

Will you join us? Click here to join the Love People in DC or click here to find an echo event wherever you are!

If there isn’t an event in your area, you can still make your voice heard! Click here to ask your members of Congress to support compassionate immigration reform.

As a seminarian, my faith calls me to be with those who are denied the recognition of their full humanity. My evolving call to ministry is one of affirmation, one that moves me to recognize the value of every being and to advocate for the rights that all people deserve regardless of class, creed, gender, ethnicity, or citizenship. For me, to stand on the side of love is to stand on the side of just immigration reform. To stand on the side of love is to celebrate the fact that we are one human family, that we are all miracles created out of and built for love. To stand on the side of love is to stand on the side of change when any members of our human family are mistreated or abused. It is to stand with those who have been otherized and oppressed, to move outside of our comfort zone and into the beautiful messiness of justice-making. When I stand alongside individuals whose lives depend on immigration reform, I stand for the justice and love that I know we as a society are capable of enacting.

I urge people to listen to stories. As you hear the stories of the DREAMers, of the families being split apart, as you meet more immigrants fighting for their human rights, you get to know them not as immigrants but as people. You realize that we are all working towards similar goals. We all want to lead happy and fulfilling lives, we all want to feel at home, to make sure our loved ones are safe and healthy. We all want to thrive.

Help us create this community where all can thrive. Find an echo event near you and write to your members of Congress today!

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

In faith,

Ranwa Hammamy

Ranwa is a seminarian at  Union Theological Seminary, Vice President of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia Board, and serves on the Immigration Task Force of the Unitarian Universalist Pennsylvania Legislative Advocacy Network.

PS: Don’t forget to send us your photos from the event!

The message above went out on Tuesday, April 2, 2013 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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Living Our Love Out Loud

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Living Our Love Out Loud Share/Save/Bookmark Mar 28, 2013

SSL Campaign Manager Jennifer Toth with post author Jessica Halperin at the Supreme Court.

“What do we want?”
“EQUALITY!”

“When do we want it?”
“NOW!”

I’m sure the walls of the Supreme Court’s building were built to withstand the roar of a crowd. I’m also fairly confident that, unfortunately, the nine justices inside couldn’t hear our dance party, our chants for justice, and the noisy conflicts between those for and against marriage equality. Nonetheless, the steps of the Supreme Court felt like a very important place to be. As the Court heard oral arguments on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, hundreds gathered on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings to send a message to the world: Marriage is a right that should be available to all people who love each other.

With two full-size Standing on the Side of Love banners and prime real estate on either side of the road in front of the Supreme Court, Unitarian Universalists showed up in numbers. I had a great time chatting with UUs from around the region about why they had taken the morning off work, why they decided to take their kids out of school for a few hours, and why marriage equality is important to them.

Prime real estate in front of the Court. (Credit: Jessica Halperin)

As a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Witness Ministries team, one serious perk of my job is the opportunity to live our faith – live our love – out loud. I was proud in ways I can’t fully express to know that our entire faith community was behind us. We arrived in numbers because of our faith, not just in spite of it, because we know that love and sexuality and diversity are sacred gifts that draw us together into more full humanity. My day-to-day work on reproductive justice gives ample opportunity to live into this call of ours, but it was truly a special few days at the Supreme Court, to publically offer Unitarian Universalism and religious and spiritual affirmation to the movement for justice and liberation for all people who love each other.

I was also very proud to be holding up a corner of the Standing on the Side of Love banner, especially during the tense moments that the National Organization for Marriage rally paraded down the street between the pro-equality crowds.

“2, 4, 6, 8! Kids do better with love, not hate!”

They had a permit for the street, and we were crowded onto the sidewalks and the public space in front of the Court. The SSL banners had front-row seats as the NOM supporters marched by – one of our banners even got in front of the NOM rally! – and it was unnerving to look into their faces and signs. We were literally standing on the side of love. We were also standing on the side of justice and the right side of history. As much as I feared their bigotry, I felt sorry for the NOM marchers. It must be so much less fun to be fighting a losing battle for discrimination than propelling forward a movement all about love.

Calling for LGBTQ-inclusive immigration reform. (Credit: Jessica Halperin)

Speaking of love, this post would be incomplete if I didn’t give a shout out to the folks near us who were witnessing at the intersection of immigration reform and LGBTQ advocacy. We were lucky enough to stand right next to them at the Supreme Court and offer our support and cheers, as the Standing on the Side of Love campaign has before. Their presence was a great reminder that justice is interconnected, intersectional, intertwined.

This post was written by Jessica Halperin, a lifelong Unitarian Universalist from Pittsburgh and the UUA’s Witness Ministries Program Associate. Jess holds the environmental justice and reproductive justice portfolios for the UUA.

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March 13 Webinar: Taking Love to Congress for Compassionate Immigration Reform

No Comments | Share On Facebook| March 13 Webinar: Taking Love to Congress for Compassionate Immigration Reform Share/Save/Bookmark Mar 06, 2013

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass compassionate, comprehensive immigration reform. Our plan is for a massive mobilization of our community and partners to hold visits with members of Congress during the in-state district work period from March 25-April 5.

Join the Standing on the Side of Love webinar on Wednesday, March 13 at 8pm ET for an informative presentation on meeting with your federal representatives.

Congress will likely pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) legislation this year and whether it is compassionate in addition to comprehensive depends on how much we and other faith communities influence the outcome.

We asked you to commit to doing an in-district advocacy visit, i.e. neighbor-to-neighbor meeting, with your members of Congress. In-district visits are one of the most effective ways to ensure that your voice is heard.

More than 30 congregations have already signed up to conduct visits and several UU State Advocacy Networks are making plans for these as well. We’ve also heard from UU leaders of congregations participating in interfaith community organizations that are visiting their Members of Congress. Please call now and make an appointment to meet with yours ASAP. It’s easy to make an appointment to speak with your legislators, and a small group from your community can have a real impact.

Never done a lobby visit before? No worries! We can help walk you through the process. This call will also be informative for folks who are comfortable with advocacy, but want a refresher, along with some up to the minute details on where we currently stand with compassionate immigration reform.

Join the Standing on the Side of Love webinar on Wednesday, March 13 at 8pm ET and you’ll learn everything you need to set up and conduct and effective advocacy visit.  

Speakers: Unitarian Universalist Association Witness Ministries and Standing on the Side of Love staff and leaders from UU congregations, UU state networks, and districts.

RSVP here!

See our step by step guide on how to set up a district advocacy visit, talking points, and more at www.standingonthesideoflove.org/CIR.

With your help, people of faith will play a key role in ensuring that immigration reform is compassionate, and reflects the worth and dignity of all people. Commit to doing an in-district lobby visit today!

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

In faith,

Susan Leslie
Lead Organizer
Standing on the Side of Love

PS: The first 50 congregations to sign-up will receive a packet of Standing on the Side of Love goodies to support their work–click here to register your in-district visit today!

The message above went out on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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