• #PardonRicky to Prevent a Lifelong New Yorker's Banishment to a Country He Doesn't Know
    Deporting a lifelong New Yorker for struggling with addiction is cruel, and Governor Hochul could easily stop it by granting him a pardon!
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    Created by nathan yaffe
  • Release Angel Argueta Anariba from ICE detention and reunite him with his son and community!
    Angel Argueta Anariba fled Honduras in 1998 in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch to support his family. While in the United States, Mr. Argueta celebrated the birth of his son, worked in construction, and sent money back to Honduras to take care of loved ones. Unfortunately, Mr. Argueta has been in ICE detention since 2014, after serving several years at Otisville Prison in New York State for a prior conviction. He has now been in ICE detention longer than the original prison sentence he served. In Mr. Argueta’s own words, “In the past seven years, ICE has transferred me 14 times to different jails across six different states, including New York, New Jersey, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.  At many of these detention centers, I have been physically abused, threatened with deportation, and told to my face that I will only leave here on a plane to my country or dead.” Mr. Argueta spends 23 hours of his day in his cell. He faces routine discrimination and neglect of his needs–from his most basic needs for food, water and sanitary living conditions to his health care needs and more. He also faces ongoing retaliation for demanding his rights be respected. He has filed countless complaints against the facility due to the violations of his human rights which have gone entirely unaddressed. In the midst of a global public health crisis, he is at high risk of contracting COVID-19, including long-COVID health complications due to his asthma and other health issues. Mr. Argueta has participated in multiple hunger strikes to demand that his basic rights be met. His longest hunger strike lasted for 34 days. Mr. Argueta recently won a decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that will allow him to continue fighting to stay in this country permanently based on his fear of persecution in Honduras. He needs to be released so he can fight his case in the community. While in detention he learned English, obtained his G.E.D., worked as the teacher’s assistant to assist others in math, and helped many others pass their G.E.D. tests. He has goals of working to support his family and being an advocate for other immigrants. No one deserves to be isolated from their families for this long. Grant Mr. Argueta bond on Tuesday, April 5th. Learn more about the horrible ICE conditions Mr. Argueta has faced here: https://theintercept.com/2022/03/31/ice-detention-climate-crisis-migrants/ https://theintercept.com/2021/02/19/ice-detention-cold-freezing-texas-louisiana/
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    Created by Kate Johnson Powers
  • Pardon Assia Serrano and End Her Family Separation
    Assia Serrano is a Panamanian immigrant survivor of manipulation and abuse. After spending 15 years incarcerated for actions she took as a young person under the coercive influence of her abuser — her then-partner, a man 20 years older than her — Assia’s sentence was shortened under the Domestic Violence Survivors’ Justice Act. But instead of being released to reunite with her family in the U.S. (including her two children), New York State handed her directly over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE then moved quickly to deport Assia before she had a fair hearing on her right to remain in the United States. Now, she has almost no pathway back to the US to reunite with her family without a full and unconditional pardon. But if the Governor pardons Assia, she has numerous pathways to come back and secure permanent status here with her family and loved ones. Assia belongs at home with her community and loved ones, not in Panama where she hasn’t been since she was 15. ICE is intent on making Assia’s already prolonged family separation permanent and destroying Assia’s dreams for her family and future. Indeed, while Assia was incarcerated, she has worked as: a translator; a caregiver in the Children’s Center caring for people during pregnancy (an issue she is especially passionate about because she was pregnant when she was arrested), as well as for their children; and as a teacher in classes focused on prenatal care and sex. She remains actively involved in her own children’s life, despite her abusive ex-partner’s attempt to withhold access to their children, and despite the fact that she has now been deported. You can read more about Assia and other detained immigrant domestic violence survivors here: https://prismreports.org/2021/07/16/immigrant-domestic-violence-survivors-are-re-victimized-by-the-state/ You can also read more about how ex-Governor Cuomo's gender based violence includes his failure to free imprisoned survivors, a legacy that Governor Hochul now has the chance to undo: https://truthout.org/articles/cuomos-gender-based-violence-includes-his-failure-to-free-imprisoned-survivors/ Please take action by demanding that Governor Hochul use her discretionary power as Governor to grant Assia's pardon application and end ICE transfers in NY.
    3,272 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by Samah Sisay
  • We Stand With Rev. Warnock and For Moral Leadership In Our Politics
    We know all too well that it’s not enough for our political leaders to identify as people of faith if they actively fight against economic and racial justice. Many congressional leaders have done that over the years. Instead, we need to see faith in action. Faith without works is dead! We stand by leaders like Senators Warnock and Ossoff, who have committed to infuse new moral leadership into our national politics. As Warnock said in an MSNBC interview after his election, “I was [inspired] by the ways in which [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.] used his faith to bring people together to solve big problems in the public square.” We the undersigned stand with Rev. Warnock and other political leaders who, grounded in justice and love for all, are committed to doing the same. (photo source: Jon Ossoff [@ossoff] Twitter)
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    Created by Groundswell Movement
  • I Pledge To Register Two Voters In Florida!
    We are calling on people of faith and moral conscience to pledge today to register two voters in Florida, for each formerly incarcerated person the governor is attempting to disenfranchise. By signing below, we’ll send you an email with step-by-step instructions on how you can register people to vote in Florida. Thank you for pledging to stand up for all Floridians and to protect the vote in this critical election! So much as at stake and we need every vote possible to advance true justice and equality for all. Will you take the pledge?
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    Created by Groundswell Movement
  • Reunite Ousman Darboe with his wife, baby daughter, parents, and siblings
    Ousman is a long-time resident of the Fordham Heights neighborhood of the Bronx, who came to the United States from the Gambia in 2001 when he was only 6 years old. The fourth of eight children, Ousman spent much of his teenage years caring for his five younger siblings – doing everything from changing diapers to attending parent-teacher meetings – while his parents worked full-time, low-paying jobs. ICE tore Ousman away from his community when they arrested him in an early morning home raid on July 31, 2017 on the basis of single criminal conviction. Just five days later, Ousman’s partner of three years, Lashalle, learned she was pregnant with their first child. Despite being incarcerated by ICE ever since, Ousman has been supportive and present for his family in anyway he can. This included the hours Lashalle was in labor, when Ousman repeatedly called his wife in the short increments permitted by the jail until the jail cut off phone access for the night just before his daughter was born. His daughter Sanai is now almost two years old, and Ousman has never been able to see his baby girl outside of a jail. During weekly visits, Sanai’s tiny fists hit the glass barrier when she reaches out for her father, and she starts crying and screaming when she is forced to leave her father. With Ousman in detention and without affordable childcare, Lashalle has struggled for now years to maintain full-time employment. As a result, Lashalle and Sanai lived in a homeless shelter for over a year and only recently were moved to permanent public housing in the Bronx. Lashalle is still struggling to survive every day as ICE has forced her to be a young single mother, despite the deep mutual commitment she shares with her husband. If Ousman returned home, Lashalle and Sanai would be able to thrive and be at peace. ICE is determined to treat Ousman as a disposable member of our community based on his contact with New York State’s criminal legal system and has deliberately ignored his tremendous efforts to rehabilitate as a loving husband, father, brother, and son. Since his incarceration by ICE, Ousman has worked and completed his GED. Within immigration jail, he has emerged as a leader entrusted with ensuring other incarcerated people receive food and hygiene products, among other responsibilities. He has the full support of his family, community groups, and social workers in transitioning out of immigration jail. You can also read more about Ousman’s story here: https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/30/20875821/black-immigrants-school-prison-deportation-pipeline HOW YOU CAN HELP You can sign onto this petition that has two goals: 1) We urge Governor Cuomo to use his discretionary power as Governor to grant a pardon that would allow Ousman to be reunited with his wife and young child. 2) We also urge ICE to release Ousman and end this deportation case once and for all, allowing the Darboe family a chance to be whole. We are also raising money to support Lashalle and Sanai as they transition out of the shelter system at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/we-keep-us-safe. OUR VALUES The Trump administration defends its aggressive immigration policies by claiming that these actions make the public safer. But the public needs Ousman home. Lashalle – who has struggled to find stable housing and childcare that will accommodate her work schedule – would be safer with Ousman home. Their daughter – who reaches out for her father but cannot touch him since the jail instituted a no-contact visitation policy, despite failed promises by the Bergen County Jail to change this policy – would be safer with him home. Ousman’s parents and siblings – who look up to him and rely on him —would be safer with Ousman home. Many New York city, state, and federal elected officials support Mr. Darboe’s pardon application and imminent release from ICE custody, including Congress Members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jose Serrano, Assembly Member Yuh-line Niou, State Senator Julia Salazar, Council Member Carlos Menchaca, Former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. If the Trump administration will not defend the safety of all members of our country, we look to each other. We ask you to join us in this petition that will help provide the safety, stability and happiness that Ousman and his family so desperately need.
    817 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Cynthia Lee
  • Sign on to the Pastoral Letter on the El Paso Shootings
    Mr. President, we recognize that you are a symptom of our decaying moral fabric and you have ignited a modern day wildfire. The coals of white nationalism are always smoldering in our common life, and they have fueled the violence of indigenous genocide, slavery, lynching and Jim Crow. Stop stoking the fires of violence with racist words and policies. Mr. President, you must repent in word and deed if your leadership is to bring us together, rather than tearing us apart. To Members of Congress and our elected representatives, we ask you to ensure our domestic tranquility. You can take immediate action to stop the President’s racist attacks on immigrants. You can act to ensure voting rights, pass gun reform to keep weapons of war out of our communities, end federal programs that send military equipment to our local and state police departments, pass immigration reform that allows us all to thrive and build up the country, ensure good jobs and living wages and relief from our debts, and guarantee health care and social programs that meet our needs. The lies of white nationalism have prevented action on all of these issues, and those who have enabled the President or remained silent are culpable. As you return to Washington D.C, we call on Congress to honor the August 28 anniversary of the March the Washington and the murder of Emmett Till by passing an Omnibus Bill that offers a comprehensive response to the systemic racism that connects the issues facing 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this country. To all candidates running for President in 2020, we call on you to address both the violence of racism and the policies of racism and white nationalism in the public debates. We ask you to connect these policies of systemic racism to poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy, militarism and a distorted moral narrative that accepts, justifies and perpetuates systemic violence. To our movements and organizations on the ground, do not go back to your silos; instead we must build a moral fusion movement. We have been organizing in separate streams, often along lines of race, issue area or geography, but we need much more than our own fights can win. This is not the time to become entrenched in those divisions. We need to come together across race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, issue, geography and other lines of division to make a fight for everything we need and make sure we are all in – nobody is out. To those who have embraced the lies of white nationalism and racism, we humbly recognize the power of fear. We live in a time when many people do not know if they will have work today or health care tomorrow. Many families do not know what agency is coming for them or their children. We do not know who to trust and have been left to fend for ourselves and whoever we believe to be on our side. Let us find strength in our pain, mourn our losses, and remember that we are all part of a common human family. Let us reject every attempt by politicians and corporate interests to pit us against one another. Let us confess that white nationalism is a myth that has not served most people, even those it claims to protect. Let us fight for each other and for a world where everyone can thrive. To our religious leaders and people of faith, we call on you to offer moral leadership in the public square. If you have condoned the lies of white nationalism or remained silent, you have failed to keep your sacred vows. We ask you to recall the struggles of our ancestors so we can work together to build up a more perfect union in our common life. We call on all people of faith and conscience to sign on to this letter and share it throughout your networks. Let us prevent this violence from defining who we are as a nation and people. Forward together, not one step back. Rev. Dr. William Barber, II, President, Repairers of the Breach and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Director, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rev. Teresa Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union of Reform Judaism Minister Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Red Letter Christians
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    Created by Repairers of the Breach Picture
  • STOP JAILING CHILDREN AND DEFUND HATE
    As justice-seekers inspired by our faith, we honor the dignity of every person. As Pope Francis said: “These are not mere social or migrant issues… Migrants are first of all human persons.” We affirm the sacred human right of all people to seek asylum. We urge Congress to: --Reduce Funding for Deportation, Detention, and Border Militarization; Support Funding for Refugee Resettlement and Asylum When determining federal appropriations for FY 2020, we urge Congress to reduce funds for CPB and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. Refuse to provide any additional funding for a border wall; instead allocate resources to support refugee resettlement and access to asylum --Keep Families Together and Invest in Alternatives to Detention We call for an end to family detention this year, by December 2019, and urge Congress to increase funding for less costly, more efficient, community-based alternatives to detention. --Exert Robust Oversight over Detention and Uses of Federal Funding We urge Congress to require additional inspections of ICE facilities, ensure ICE publishes public weekly reports, and create a detention ombudsperson to strengthen oversight. Congress should also prohibit federal funds from being used to: enforce Muslim or refugee bans, deport or detain DACA, TPS, or DED holders, and carry out immigration enforcement operations at “sensitive” locations including schools, churches, and hospitals. We call on President Trump, and all who play a part in these cruel acts, to stop terrorizing our immigrant neighbors and stop tearing families apart. We call on our elected officials in Congress to withhold funding from CBP and ICE that enables them to raid communities, separate families, and detain children and families. We call on immigration enforcement officers and agents to turn away from cruelty and choose compassion.
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    Created by NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice Picture
  • Sign to Support Moral Witness Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
    We know God hears the cries of God’s people who are suffering increasingly under the vengeful leadership and harmful policies of our current administration. Policies that ignore the cries of poor and sick people, children, immigrants and refugees, women, and, even yet, the cries of the lands torn open and polluted. We, as a nation, have lost our way. In such moments, God’s call to action is made known through the voice of the prophets: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression.” (Isaiah 58:1) As President Trump and his administration let the nation suffer, we must lead with a unified proactive and creative response that is not confined by “Right” or “Left”, Democrat or Republican, but is rooted in the clear moral Center of right and wrong. It is time to warn the nation and call this administration to repent of their sins. Friends, it is time for us to go together to the palace gates with a clarion call: --Stop the weaponization of judicial appointments! Attend to the 14th Amendment, the bedrock of equal protection under the law. Uphold the constitution. --Stop mandating a census question designed to ensure millions are uncounted! Attend to the 140 million poor and low wealth. --Stop the abuse of executive power to pollute our communities with pipelines and privatizing public resources! Attend to our water and air. --Stop the assault on the Affordable Care Act and on health care for women and children in poverty! Attend to the health of your people. --Stop the brutal treatment of the stranger at the southern border! Stop warehousing children in detention camps! End child detention. Attend to compassionate and humane immigration policies that affirm the divinity within all human beings. Instead of covenantal leadership for justice, compassion, healing and the empowerment of all, these sinful acts of the current administration pursue subjugation: subjugation of racial, religious, ethnic, and gender minorities; of women; of children; of the suffocating middle class, workers, family farmers, the poor, and people who fall sick; of immigrants and refugees; of the free press; of the Constitution; even of Earth, our common home. This hate-filled subjugation violates the Covenant. It must not stand. Just after Ramadan, Shavuot and Pentecost, hundreds of faith leaders will journey to DC. Of those hundreds, some may hear the call upon their spirits to engage in nonviolent moral action. Some may be called there as witnesses. But all are needed to bear witness together in this moment. The Scriptures do not call us to ideological purity tests or to precisely worded positions on each aspect of sensitive topics. Instead, Jeremiah calls to us at the heart of our deepest religious convictions and the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution: love, justice and equal protection under the law. We cannot be divided. We cannot be complacent. We must act so that people are called to a moral awakening. In the wake of the new post- Mueller report reality, we must deliver a moral report. June 12th becomes a bridge between the sacred festivals of the Abrahamic communities. The Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Interbreathing that gives life to ALL traditions, all communities, all life-forms, is speaking through us. We must journey toward freedom and awaken this country once more. It is time. June 12th. Signees: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II Moral Monday Architect President and Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rev. Traci D. Blackmon Associate General Minister United Church of Christ Rabbi Mordechai Liebling Director of Social Justice Organizing Program, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid Ameer/President The Muslim Alliance in North America Mother Dr. Ruby Sales Director and Founder of Spirithouse Project Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis Director, Kairos Center Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rabbi Dr. Arthur Ocean Waskow Director, The Shalom Center Minister Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove Director, School for Conversion Bishop W. Darin Moore, AME Zion Presiding Bishop Mid-Atlantic Episcopal District Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer General Minister and President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association Pastor Michael McBride National Director, FIA’s LIVE FREE Campaign Lead Pastor, The Way Church Rev. William H. Lamar IV Pastor, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Washington, DC Rev. Dr. Jacqueline J. Lewis Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church New York, NY Aisha Hauser, MSW Director of Lifelong Learning, East Shore Unitarian Church Bellevue, WA Rev. Dr. Christopher L. Zacharias Pastor, John Wesley AME Zion Church Washington, DC Rabbi Elyse Wechterman Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association Sahar Alsahlani Executive Council Member, Religions for Peace, USA The Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins Director of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness Rabbi Justus Baird Dean, Auburn Seminary * By signing this petition, you agree to receive emails and updates from Repairers of the Breach.
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  • #FreeAbelandPablo
    Abel and Pablo have been detained by ICE for 17 months while being denied parole. The denial notices from ICE offer no rationale or true reason for denial. Both of their families in the United States are worried about them and stand ready to support them upon release. We can help get them released by drawing attention to the fact that they meet ICE's own standards for release but haven't been because of the York County Field Office's immoral practice of detaining asylum seekers. Help us hold ICE accountable and reunite Abel and Pablo with their families in the United States.
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    Created by Carrie Carranza
  • Sonoma County — United in Kindness
    Communities like ours around the country—and around the world—are gathering in solidarity to denounce acts of violence and hate. An urgency for peace and reason is bubbling up like a geyser ready to burst in a powerful show of force for change. The Interfaith Council of Sonoma County (ICSC) invites you to take part in a campaign titled “Sonoma County—United in Kindness.” The painfully tragic events in Christchurch, New Zealand, the Pittsburgh synagogue shootings and other horrific incidents underscore how compelled we are to take a stand. It is time. Let’s stop the fast-moving fire of hatred with a stream of tangible and sustainable acts in our workplaces and communities. First action: ICSC with your help will gather thousands of signatures on the declaration, Sonoma County—United in Kindness (see below). We’ve done this before with the 2016 campaign rejecting Islamophobia. Please sign the declaration yourself and share it with others on social media. Encourage friends, neighbors and strangers to envision Sonoma County—United in Kindness. Unify our community in a desire to build good will, harmony and kindness. Together, not alone, we can change our world and positively impact our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and how we treat each other every day. Next action: Take sensible actions for a sustained campaign to ensure a Sonoma County—United in Kindness. We will call on county and city officials, school district administrators, faith congregations, business leaders, police agencies, courts, radio and TV stations and other news media to embrace our vision and to come up with a sustainable plan of action. Dozens of local groups are already making progress toward positive change. To succeed, this important campaign needs each one of us. Can you see downtown lamppost banners with “Sonoma County—United in Kindness”? How would a county united in kindness feel to you? As our campaign moves forward, be part of the groundswell. Offer your ideas and work on projects that empower your vision. Keep up with our meetings and activities by reading email updates and announcements. Step forward now to create a safer, more humane and joyful community for ourselves and our children, a Sonoma County united in kindness. Sign the declaration! Pass it on! (Read the declaration text, below.) In hope and faith, Mohammad K. Jabbari Founding member, Interfaith Council of Sonoma County Chair, Sonoma County—United in Kindness Campaign [email protected] _________________________________ A Declaration of Unity by Sonoma County Residents SONOMA COUNTY—UNITED IN KINDNESS We the undersigned believe that freedom from hateful speech, bullying, discrimination, and violence is a human right. We believe all of us benefit from living in a diverse community. Everyone, especially children and youth, requires a place to grow and learn in peace and safety, guided in kindness and caring. We are proud that our half-million Sonoma County neighbors come from so many of humankind’s backgrounds, beliefs, and traditions in pursuit of joyful and healthful living. To sustain these strengths, we affirm trust in a social fabric that does not permit harm to individuals and groups based on distinctions of ability, age, appearance, ethnicity, gender identity, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic position. We call on all Sonoma County residents to find ways to create this pluralistic social fabric. We call on our leaders in education, government, business, health, and faith to build, through education and initiatives in their areas of influence, a county that honors human rights. In recognition of these desires for unity, we jointly declare Sonoma County—United in Kindness. Sponsored by:the Interfaith Council of Sonoma County Endorsed by: Alternatives to Violence Project — North Bay Council • Appleseed Friends Meeting (Quakers) — Sebastopol • B’nai Israel Jewish Center — Petaluma • Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County • Center for Spiritual Living — Santa Rosa • City of Cloverdale, California • City of Cotati, California • City of Petaluma, California • City of Rohnert Park, California • City of Sebastopol, California • Comité VIDA • Commission on Human Rights of Sonoma County • Community Church of Sebastopol, United Church of Christ • Congregation Ner Shalom — Cotati, CA • Congregation Shomrei Torah — Santa Rosa • Elim Lutheran Church — Petaluma, CA • Emmaus Community in Sonoma County • First United Methodist Church of Santa Rosa • Homeless Action! • Indivisible Petaluma • Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative • Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California • Journey Center — Santa Rosa • Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers • LezResist! • Metropolitan Community Church of the Redwood Empire • Movimiento Cultural de la Union Indigena — Sonoma and Napa Counties • North Bay LGBTQI+ Families • North Bay Organizing Project — Santa Rosa • North Bay Organizing Project, Petaluma division • Of One Soul Project • Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County • The Peace Crane Project • Petaluma Community Relations Council • Presbyterian Church of the Roses — Santa Rosa • Racial Justice Allies of Sonoma County • Redwood Forest Friends Meeting (Quakers) — Santa Rosa • Sonoma County Family YMCA • Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League • St. Patrick's Episcopal Church — Kenwood • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church — Sebastopol • Sonoma State University Academic Senate • Team for Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity (TIDE) • Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Rosa • United Church of Christ - Petaluma • Unity Church of Santa Rosa • YWCA Sonoma County
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  • Faith leaders call on Congress to support the No Ban Act
    Religious faith or national origin should never be an obstacle to whether we extend a hand of welcome to the refugee or the immigrant. To close the door to those who are Muslim or of other faiths, is not a faithful expression of the principle that all are created equal. This manner of exclusion weakens what has made our country strong – a commitment to stand with the vulnerable, the oppressed, the suffering, regardless of their religious faith or where they come from. Our faith communities have historically played key roles in assisting refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and other newcomers with housing, language, jobs, and social supports necessary to integrate and thrive. Yet, over the last two years, the administration has undertaken a series of attacks against our refugee, asylum seeking, and Muslim neighbors. Together, the Muslim ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries, asylum ban that wrongfully and illegally blocks people who cross between ports of entry from applying for asylum, and refugee ban that seeks to dismantle the resettlement program deny vulnerable families their fundamental right to safety, condemn them to return to unfathomable danger, and prolong family separation. To restrict thousands of people based on discrimination forsakes our nation’s ideals of compassion, hospitality, and welcome. We cannot condone excluding people based on their nationality or religious background, but instead must work toward inclusivity and justice for all. We are guided by our faith to love God and love our neighbors, whoever they may be. We cannot separate the two, and seek to be welcoming of all people because loving God means loving our fellow human being. We pray that our country reflects principles of both welcome and of religious freedom, and that we remember the value of diversity. At no other time has our moral responsibility to uphold these principles been greater. The NO BAN Act upholds principles of religious freedom and our moral obligation to welcome. It would ensure that no one is banned from our country based on religious or nationality-based discrimination. The bill seeks important changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by outlawing discrimination in the entry of immigrants or nonimmigrants based on religion, in addition to the protections against discrimination based on race, sex, nationality, place of birth, and place of residence already in place. The NO BAN Act also amends the provision of the INA that has granted presidents the authority to suspend or restrict the entry of non-citizens by limiting this authority to align with responsible uses of the power by prior Democratic and Republican administrations, and by putting in place key congressional notification and reporting requirements as important safeguards against any future abuses of this authority. We urge our members of Congress to cosponsor the NO BAN Act and be bold in choosing moral, just policies that welcome, regardless of faith or national origin, and provide refuge for vulnerable individuals seeking protection in accordance with our nation’s highest ideals.
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    Created by Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign