1,000 signatures reached
To: Movement Family
Sign to Support Moral Monday at the Borderlands
We have delivered the letter below, signed by faith leaders to the leadership in Congress of both parties demanding immediate changes to U.S. immigration policies. We are inviting them and other members of Congress to join us in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday-Monday, July 28-29 for "Moral Monday at the Borderlands." Help us make sure they see our demands by signing on and sharing this letter in your circles:
From our holy scriptures to the foundational values in our religious traditions, it is clear: God mandates we protect children and shelter strangers. The 14th Amendment, born in the ashes of a bloody civil war, declares “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Equal Protection Clause explicitly extends protections to “any person,” not “any citizen.” Yet, refugees seeking asylum are living in abysmal conditions that shame our nation. Children are in cages, wailing in their own filth, while mothers and fathers drink from toilets.
We the undersigned, representing thousands of clergy and people of faith across the nation, write today to call on Congress and the President to take immediate action to address the human rights violations at the border. We know that long-term solutions to the US immigration system, steeped as it is in racist policies, will take even greater interventions and political work. Nevertheless, we believe these demands must be met in light of the current suffering of refugees at the border, even as they are but initial steps in fulfilling our constitutional, moral and religious mandates to God’s people:
• We demand an end to child detention.
• We demand that all refugees seeking asylum be granted the due process to do so.
• We demand equal protection under the law.
• We demand the preservation of human rights.
• We demand a termination of the “Remain in Mexico” program, which is putting migrants at high risk for kidnapping, theft, extortion, and abuse.
• We demand an end to family separation.
• We demand an end to the militarization of the border and the criminalization of immigrants and refugees.
Why is this important?
Leviticus 19:33-34 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not wrong them. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love the stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Eternal your God.”
Matthew 25:35 “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
Qur’an 4:99-100 “... as for the helpless men, women and children who have neither the strength nor the means to escape, God will pardon them. Surely God pardons and forgives. Those who migrate for the sake of God shall find many places for refuge in the land in great abundance”
Some political extremists in power today believe they can brutalize brown and black people at the border with political immunity. They have been clear in casting their lot with the same old racist Southern Strategy, wagering that any moral outcry will be drowned at the polls by racist motivated fears.
We are asking you to join us in making sure this nation and the world cannot ignore the cries of refugee children and families at the border. We invite you to join us and cry out in lamentation and bitter weeping like Rachel, weeping for our children, and we must refuse to be comforted until they are free (Jeremiah 31:15).
As people of conscience and leaders from faith traditions proclaiming the inherent worth and dignity of every person, we cannot stand for this desecration in the name of our country and in violation of our Constitution. This is not a matter of Republican or Democrat, left or right. This is about the deep moral center and the very soul of our nation. Our sacred texts are clear. Our traditions speak loudly. The ancestors are about our shoulders.
Our demands are grounded in the most basic religious teachings and guaranteed by the Constitution. If they are not met by July 27th 2019, we will act in accordance with our conscience.
With steadfast faith in the Spirit of Love and Justice,
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
Moral Monday Architect
President and Senior Lecturer, Repairers of the Breach
Imam Omar Suleiman
Founder and President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
Professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University
Rev. Teresa Hord Owens
General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rabbi Rick Jacobs
President, Union for Reform Judaism
Fernando Garcia
Founder and Executive Director, Border Network for Human Rights
Rev. Arturo J. Banuelas, STD
St. Mark Catholic Church, Pastor
Chair, Hope Border Institute
El Paso, Texas
Rabbi Ben Zeidman
El Paso, Texas
Rev. Dr. Robin Tanner
Minister, Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation Summit NJ
Rev. Leslie Dalstra
Senior Pastor, First Christian Church El Paso
Rev. Linda Mervine
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) retired clergy
Alyce K. Miller
President, Unitarian Universalist Community of El Paso
Rev. Justin Gibson
St. Francis on the Hill Episcopal Church
El Paso, TX
Rev. Deborah Clugy-Soto
Chair, InterFaith Alliance of the Southwest, and Minister, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) El Paso, Texas
Cemelli de Aztlan, MDiv
Network Weaver, El Paso Equal Voice Network
Please sign this petition to add your name!