Posts Tagged ‘UU Mass Action’

After the Boston Bombings: We Are the Next Responders

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Apr 25, 2013

Sr. Simone addresses the crowd at the vigil. (Christopher L. Walton/UU World)

In response to the recent Boston Marathon bombings, the UU Mass Action state advocacy network quickly organized a vigil for Love Not Fear in Massachusetts as part of their seventh annual Advocacy Day on Tuesday, April 23rd. Over 100 Unitarian Universalists gathered outside of the Massachusetts State House as a faithful presence, calling for love and compassion for all our communities and especially for immigrants and Muslims. They were joined by Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK and organizer of the “Nuns on the Bus” tour, who was the keynote speaker for Advocacy Day. Sr. Simone spoke of the need for us all “to touch the pain and from that pain talk with each other and our legislators.” She described how she does that in her role on Capitol Hill and announced that the nuns are going on the bus again for federal immigration reform. She also talked about the importance of not demonizing any faith tradition and applauded the message of Standing on the Side of Love. When she was finished, Jesse Jaeger, Executive Director of UU Mass Action, presented her with a Love t-shirt.

Rev. Fred Small, Senior Minister of First Parish in Cambridge UU, led the group in song and then addressed the gathering, saying :

“If we respond to this tragedy with hatred, with fear, with racial profiling, with religious bigotry, with attacks upon immigrants, with a fortress mentality that demonizes and excludes—they win. If we respond with courage, with compassion, with generosity, with inclusiveness—we win. Everyone wins. We honor the first responders who risk their own lives to save the lives of others. And we—we are the next responders.”

Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh, Director of Congregational Development for the Massachusetts Bay and Clara Barton Districts, spoke on behalf of the District and the Unitarian Universalist Association. He said:

“Already in the town of Malden, a town I drive through each week, a white male has assaulted a hijab-wearing woman of Middle Eastern heritage out with her baby stroller. He punched her for two minutes, shouting obscenities and saying ‘Muslims, you are terrorists.’ It’s inexcusable and morally abhorrent. And yet, people whose sacred space has been violated naturally desperately want someone to blame. I shudder to think what we might add to the desecration.

“We need courage, compassion, and commitment. Courage to grieve what we have lost. Compassion for one another, for all people, all of us. Even for a nineteen-year-old boy in serious condition and in custody. And commitment to not only call on our highest values, but also to call them forth. We can respond to the actions of these two individuals by calling on our highest values, and calling them forth. Together, we can make new life out of tragedy.”

Rev. Millspaugh invited the crowd to share some of their highest values aloud and various voices called out—love, compassion, justice, dignity, respect, solidarity, courage, and more.

Patricia Montes, Executive Director of Centro Presente, spoke in support of solidarity and the need to get the Trust Act passed—legislation that would bar local and state police officers from federal immigration enforcement. She said:

“In 2012 more than 61% of the people deported by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] in Massachusetts had no criminal convictions. The ICE [Secure Communities (S-Comm)] program has failed to increase community safety, has shattered thousands of innocent, hardworking families through deportations with no due process rights, and causes distrust between local police and crime victims which ultimately decreases community safety.”

She also thanked UU Mass Action for their solidarity and partnership and said Centro is also standing on the side of love.

Jesse presents Sr. Simone with a Love t-shirt. (Christopher L. Walton/UU World)

During the vigil, a group of high school students who had been touring the State House joined the sing-along and asked for Standing on the Side of Love placards and pins, and then placed the placards on the windows of the bus as they drove away. The message resonated with those observing: one man jumped out of his car to take a photo while stopped in traffic; Duck Boat tours waved along with other supportive passersby.

Following the vigil, UUs visited state representatives to advocate for immigration reform, gun violence prevention, and teenage homelessness. A meeting with Governor Deval Patrick was held with Jesse Jaeger, Sister Simone, Susan Leslie (UUA Congregational Advocacy & Witness Director), and several UU ministers and lay leaders, including members of First Parish in Cambridge’s youth group.

Sister Simone spoke eloquently and warmly to Gov. Patrick’s Director of Constituent Services, Thomas Reece. “The TRUST Act is really an important step to deal with the issue of Secure Communities and making sure people feel comfortable reporting crime to law enforcement and protecting them from the consequences of that, the real need is for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level. Compassionate state legislation can help move us in that direction.” She conveyed thanks for Governor Patrick’s support and asked that he continue to exert his influence saying, “What we need is leadership.”

Thomas Reece, Jesse Jaeger, Sr. Simone Campbell, Susan Leslie (Credit: Audra Friend)

Mr. Reece was receptive to the comments, and asked in return: “What I need to say to all of you is, don’t stop here at this office or at this State House. Keep pushing and putting a face to the story so our congressional leaders understand how important this is to all of you. “

Jesse delivered a letter that was also passed along to all Massachusetts legislators, signed by UUA President Rev. Peter Morales, UU Service Committee President Rev. William Schulz, UU Urban Ministry Director Rev. Catherine Senghas, UUA Clara Barton & Mass Bay UUA District Executives Rev. Sue Phillips and Rev. William Zelazney, the UU Mass Action Board, and 300 UU clergy and congregational leaders from across the state, calling for Massachusetts legislators to let compassion not fear guide public dialogue and public policy, and to continue progress on immigration reform, gun control, and respect for all faiths and peoples.

This post was written by Audra Friend & Susan Leslie of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Congregational Advocacy & Witness Office. They are also Bostonians and members of our Standing on the Side of Love Team.

Tags: Audra Friend, bombing, Boston, Boston Marathon, Centro Presente, compassion, compassionate immigration reform, comprehensive immigration reform, First Parish Cambridge UU, Gov. Deval Patrick, gun violence prevention, homelessness, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), interfaith solidarity, Jesse Jaeger, Massachusetts, NETWORK, Nuns on the Bus, Patricia Montes, Rev. Fred Small, Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh, S-COMM, Secure Communities, Sister Simone Campbell, Susan Leslie, TRUST Act, UU Mass Action, vigil

Stop the Deportations Now!

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Mar 21, 2013

Irasema Zapata speaks at the rally in front of the Massachusetts State House. (Credit: Eve Harris)

“I have a deportation order, and I don’t want to be separated from my family. That is why I’m here,” said Irasema Zapata, a wife and mother of three U.S. citizen children from Guatemala. Irasema was speaking at a rally and press conference on March 20th to launch the Massachusetts Trust Act.

I first met Irasema just a few days after she and her husband were pulled over by the police. Her husband was arrested for driving without a license, even though he has a valid Washington State license, and they were both put into deportation proceedings. We met when she was speaking at a UU Mass Action event about the Massachusetts Trust Act, telling her story for the first time.

Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) says that their so-called Secure Communities program is about deporting hardened criminals. However, their own statistics tell a very different story. In Massachusetts, 60% of those who are deported are like Irasema and her husband. They have committed no crime and are getting deported for things like minor traffic violations.

We must help stop these deportations! Thirty people, including 15 members of North Parish in North Andover, went with Irasema to a deportation hearing and slowed the process down. North Parish then collected over 100 post cards and brought them to the March 20th rally and press conference at the Massachusetts State House to deliver a message to their legislators. The message? We need to stop deporting hard working immigrants and breaking up their families by passing the Massachusetts Trust Act.

MA Trust Act advocates, including post author Jesse Jaeger of UU Mass Action (center with SSL sign). (Credit: Eve Harris)

UU Mass Action is playing a leading role in organizing the interfaith community around the Massachusetts Trust Act. Throughout April and May, we are organizing a series of actions statewide along with our partners in the labor and immigrant rights community. These actions include our annual Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Day where we will bring over 100 UUs to the State House to demand passage of the Trust Act. We will gain inspiration from our featured speaker, Sister Simone Campbell of Network, who organized the Nuns on the Bus tour in opposition to Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget.

If you live in Massachusetts, please join us in the Massachusetts Trust Act Campaign. Trust Act campaigns are gaining momentum in states across the country, including California and Connecticut. You can also learn how to bring the Restoring Trust Campaign to your local community at the Interfaith Immigration Coalition website.

Together, we can stand on the side of love with immigrant families to help stop the deportation of community members like Irasema.

This post was written by Jesse Jaeger, Executive Director of UU Mass Action.

Tags: California, Connecticut, Irasema Zapata, Jesse Jaeger, Massachusetts, Restoring Trust, TRUST Act, UU Legislative Ministry of California, UU Mass Action

Restoring Trust in Massachusetts

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Feb 13, 2013

This post was written by Jesse C. Jaeger, Executive Director of UU Mass Action.

On Wednesday, January 23rd, UU Mass Action participated in the Thirty Days of Love by helping our local immigrant rights partners organize a lobby day in support of the Massachusetts Trust Act. The Trust Act will end Immigration Custom and Enforcement’s co-opting of local law enforcement, which breaks down relationships in all of our communities.

In May 2012, Immigration Custom and Enforcement (ICE) implemented the Secure Communities (S-Comm) program statewide in Massachusetts despite the objections of immigrant rights groups, faith groups, many local law enforcement official,s and even Governor Patrick. ICE tells us that S-Comm makes our communities safer by deporting criminals who are undocumented. However, ICE’s own statistics show that this in not the case. Since its implementation, nearly 200 individuals have been deported through the S-Comm program–60% of those people have committed no crime at all (aside from their immigration violation) and another 10% have only committed minor infractions such as traffic violations or minor misdemeanors. Only 3 in 10 of those deported have committed the types of crimes that ICE touts as the reason for S-Comm. The national statistics, while not as bad, are still pretty grim: 83,000 people were deported using the S-Comm program in 2012 and 50% of had committed no crime or a minor traffic violation or misdemeanor.

The truth is that S-Comm does the exact opposite of its intended purpose. S-Comm makes our communities less safe. Nationwide thousands of families have been torn apart–taking parents away from U.S. citizen children, removing bread winners from homes, and throwing many into the hands of already strained local social service providers. S-Comm has also driven a wedge between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, making those communities much less likely to report crimes such as domestic violence, theft, and assault. S-Comm tears at the bonds of love and trust that hold our communities together, calling for a response from the faith community.

That is why UU Mass Action is working to engage Massachusetts Unitarian Universalists in the national Restoring Trust campaign and have played a leading role in getting the Massachusetts Trust Act filed. The Trust Act breaks the bond between ICE and local law enforcement, allowing a trusting relationship to form between police and immigrant communities and making it much harder for ICE to break up law abiding immigrant families.

Massachusetts Trust Act Team

We met directly with state legislators to ask them to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill. Together, we also mapped out a strategy for the next six months of the campaign. Over the coming weeks, UU Mass Action will continue to build the interfaith coalition in support of the Trust Act by asking congregations and religious leaders to sign on to the letter of support and leading a series of workshops across the state.

There are other active statewide Trust Act campaigns in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oregon, and California, and many more local campaigns. Visit the Interfaith Immigration Coalition website today to see if there is a Trust Act campaign near you and learn more about how you could help start a campaign in your community.

Tags: deportation, immigrant families, immigrant justice, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Interfaith Immigration Coalition, Jesse Jaeger, Massachusetts, migrant rights, Restoring Trust, S-COMM, Secure Communities, TRUST Act, undocumented immigrants, UU Mass Action

Black Friday Solidarity with Walmart Workers

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Nov 28, 2012

In conjunction with Black Friday strikes at a over a hundred Walmart stores, Unitarian Universalists around the country answered the call to show Walmart workers some love.

As people of faith, UUs joined Interfaith Worker Justice in urging Walmart to:

provide a living wage and affordable healthcare to its employees;
establish a global responsible contractor policy requiring contractors to provide living wages, worker safety, and labor rights; and
sign a national community benefits agreement that ensures Walmart strengthens communities, protects the environment, and is responsible for the well-being of its employees in its retail stores and U.S. supply and distribution chain.

VUU member Rob Smith tries to deliver their letter to the local Walmart.

In Phoenix, members of the “Standing on the Side of Love Team” at Valley Unitarian Universalist (VUU) joined a numbers of partners in showing their solidarity and support for Walmart workers on Black Friday. Rev. Andy Burnette, VUU Senior Minister, signed the IWJ’s “Call for Jubilee at Walmart on Black Friday” letter, and the congregations board endorsed it as a formal statement from the congregation. Rob Smith and other congregation members brought the letter to their witness, though they were refused entrance into the store.

In his invitation to VUU Standing on the Side of Love committee members, Smith wrote:

“For me, spending a few hours away from my family on this day is a powerful reminder that many folks working at Walmart and elsewhere will not have the privilege of spending this long weekend with their loved ones as I do.”

For more on the Black Friday Walmart actions in Arizona, check out this video from the demonstrations in Buckeye and Tempe:

Across the country, UUs also participated in other Black Friday witness events:

First Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Terre Haute, Indiana, delivered a letter to their local Walmart manager.
Ministers at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and Foothills Unitarian Universalist Church in Eastern Tennessee organized with Interfaith Worker Justice of East Tennessee to send an interfaith letter to Walmart store managers in Knoxville, Alcoa, Oak Ridge, Maryville, and Clinton, Tennessee, and to Walmart’s corporate office in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Rev. Jim VanderWeele of Community Church Unitarian Universalist of New Orleans addressed a witness outside of a Tchoupitoulas, Louisiana, Walmart before leading the group to present a letter to the store manager.
Unity Church-Unitarian in St. Paul, Minnesota, held a Black Friday worship service.
Members of Unitarian Universalist Church of Yakima, Washington, witnessed at their local Walmart.
The Universalist Unitarian Church of Joliet, Illinois, continued their support of Walmart workers with Black Friday events.
VUU members witness at a local Walmart on Black Friday.
The Geneva, Illinois, Unitarian Church also organized with local partners for Black Friday events.
Rev. Marti Keller of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, Geogria, offered a sermon on Black Friday.
UUs joined a witness at a Walmart in Quincy, Massachusetts.
UU Mass Action promoted state-wide action on Black Friday.

Did you or your congregation participate? Tell us! See Interfaith Worker Justice’s roundup on their blog–they report organizing over 100 actions of the 1,000 that were held around the country!

This round-up was compiled by Audra Friend, Program Coordinator, Unitarian Universalist Association Multicultural Growth & Witness.

Tags: Black Friday, Interfaith Worker Justice, Jubilee at Walmart, living wage, Rev. Andy Burnette, Rob Smith, UU Mass Action, Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Walmart, workers' rights

Opposing ICE Secure Communities Mass Detention & Deportation Program in MA

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May 15, 2012

UU Mass Action and the Unitarian Universalist Association have been working with our immigrant partners to stop the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “Secure Communities” from coming to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for more than a year. There is strong opposition to Secure Communities in the Commonwealth, including objections from the Governor. In spite of this, the federal government will implement Secure Communities starting today, May 15, 2012.

The federal government gave very short notice of this implementation date, giving grassroots organizations little time to plan and coordinate actions of opposition and protest. Nevertheless, grassroots organizations are finding a way to speak up for justice.

Centro Presente asked UU Mass Action and other concerned organizations and people to join them for a series of actions denouncing the implementation of this policy. The first of these was a rally and press conference on Friday, May 11, In front of the ICE offices at the JFK building in Boston, MA, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

A crowd of approximately 150 people came together Friday morning to voice our opposition to Secure Communities. There was a wonderful diversity at the rally. In addition to Centro Presente and UU Mass Action, groups such as the Boston Chinatown Resident Association, the Brazilian Immigrant Center, the Chinese Progressive Association, Massachusetts ACLU, the Student Immigrant Movement, Boston New Sanctuary Movement, and representatives from Occupy Boston and Veterans For Peace were there to voice strong concern. Some of the signs visible said, “1 Million Deportations, 1 Million Families Separated”; “Say No to Secure Communities – it will increase the number of unreported incidents of domestic violence”; “no human being is illegal”; “S-Comm Hurts Communities”; “End S-Comm, Don’t Mend It”; and “I Pledge to Break ICE’s Hold on My Community and Country”.

The rally included several moving talks from those in the immigrant community who will be directly impacted. There was a skit depicting a “forced marriage” between ICE and local law enforcement. One of the speakers, in fact, was a retired police officer who expressed his serious concerns about Secure Communities, particularly the impact it would have on destroying trust between local police and local communities.

My heart swelled to see this gathering, coming together on a weekday morning to speak up for justice, community, and love. As Susan Leslie, Director, Office for Congregational Advocacy & Witness at the UUA, said to me, “This is what the ‘Beloved Community’ looks like.” I could not agree more.

I had the honor of giving the benediction at the rally. Not only was it the first time I ever delivered a prayer with a megaphone, but it was also the most humbling experience I have ever had of trying to find sacred words that would be worthy of such a beautiful and powerful gathering of people committed to justice. Together, we prayed that we would remember our highest aspirations and strive to be our best selves as we worked to bend the arc of the moral universe ever closer toward justice.

See Boston Globe video coverage of the event.

UU Mass Action is organizing with the UUA, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and others asking congregations and individuals to join the campaign to Restore Trust to Our Communities by Breaking Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) Hold.