The administration has announced plans to terrorize our immigrant neighbors with threatened raids starting this Sunday morning (July 14) and continuing during the week. The effect of these capricious and callus attacks on families and children is dire and the raids stand as another example of the administration cruelly separating families. Instead of working on compassionate immigration policies with a focus on dignity and humanity the administration continues to double down on their punitive and often violent tactics that create chaos. These raids come from a place of fear, suspicion, and hate; living in that kind of hate is antithetical to the gospel that teaches love for humanity.
As people of faith and as the United Church of Christ we are called to love our neighbor and right now our immigrant neighbors need our love. Here are resources to provide information, sanctuary, and advocacy for our siblings who are being targeted and threatened by these raids.
· Informed Immigrant: Know Your Rights
· CLASP Immigration Raid Resources
· National Immigration Law Center How to Be Prepared for an Immigration Raid
· American Immigration Lawyers Association Local Raids Response Hotlines and Contact Information Including Atlanta | Baltimore/Washington, D.C. | Chicago | Denver | Houston | Los Angeles and San Diego | Miami |New Orleans | New York City | San Francisco
· Fair Immigration Reform Movement Community Raid Preparedness Checklist
· National Immigrant Justice Center Community Resources
· Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. Rapid Response Toolkit
· Immigrant Defense Project Know Your Rights Flyers in English or Spanish
· United We Dream Know Your Power, Know Your Rights
· Center for American Progress tweet thread with resources including info-graphics on your rights, legal assistance numbers by location
· American Immigration Lawyers Association Know Your Rights Handouts in English or Spanish
Sanctuary Resources:
· Find a Sanctuary Coalition Near You
· Rapid Response Toolkit for Faith Allies
· #SacredResistancePledge to open your house of worship in case of raids
· Resources on how to become a Sanctuary congregation, build a coalition, etc.
· For step-by-step instructions on how to accompany families targeted by raids and put pressure on the administration to stop them, visit: http://bit.ly/FaithfulRapidResponse.