Washington D.C. – Following President Trump’s announcement today aiming to curb Sanctuary Cities, turn away asylum seekers, order the construction of a border wall, and increase harmful enforcement policies mark the start of our resistance. The National Sanctuary movement reaffirms its unwavering support for local jurisdictions with limited detainer policies and continued commitment to protect immigrants and refugees by opening their congregations to those being targeted by Trump’s policies.
Rev. Noel Andersen, CWS National Grassroots Coordinator, said: “The Sanctuary Movement is growing stronger everyday, with more than 800 congregations strongly committed to protecting our immigrant brothers and sisters and standing with them during these trying times. The Sanctuary Movement has a long tradition of civil initiative, holding the government accountable to their own asylum laws. This is another case wherein numerous federal courts have found ICE practices to be unconstitutional when using detainer holds. We encourage all cities to hold true to the 4th amendment in our Constitution and keep their sanctuary policies intact–so that we can protect all members of our communities.”
Rabbi Jonathan D. Klein, Executive Director, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice: Creating a Just and Sacred Society (CLUE), said: “As the “America First President” and his xenophobic attempts to dismantle the spirit of our nation’s welcoming message, emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” people of faith throughout California utterly reject the politics of scapegoating any sub-community. Instead, we pledge Sacred Resistance to policies of divisiveness and solidarity with our fellow community members living in fear. Rabbis, ministers, and other religious leaders have pledged to protect all human beings, regardless of immigration status, from the hate-filled Executive Orders that define this President’s first days as one of the least popular in history.”
Rev. Kenneth Heintzelman, Sr. Minister, Shadow Rock UCC, said: “Shadow Rock UCC welcomes immigrants in need of Sanctuary in the spirit of the values that best represent the United States and our faith tradition. The values of hope, freedom, opportunity and justice support the immigrant story which is ultimately the story of all of us. President Trump’s actions, though draped with a thin cloak of patriotism, actually goes against the narrative of what it means to be a proud citizen that knows our history and what it means to be a person of faith who strives to love God and neighbor.”
Pastor Alli Baker, Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ a congregation who helped pass the Sanctuary city ordinance in Chicago is also currently assisting two asylum seekers added this comment: “On Martin Luther King Jr. day, we remembered his Vietnam speech, when he said, now is the time to ‘move past indecision to action.’ Today we must ask ourselves, before the requests come – what are we willing to risk to truly be a Sanctuary city/church/space?”
In this context, we thank you for your signatures supporting the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act (H.R. 5474). They helped CRLN convince 7 out of 10 Democratic Illinois U.S. Representatives to co-sponsor this important legislation introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson. By the end of 2016, the bill, which would suspend U.S. security aid to Honduras pending compliance with international human rights standards, garnered a total of 52 co-sponsors nationwide.
The 200 signatures delivered to Durbin also appeared on letters to Illinois members of the House urging that they support H.R.5474, the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, a bill that would also suspend U.S. security aid to Honduras. At this time, seven out of ten Democrats in the Illinois delegation have decided to cosponsor the legislation, a major win that would not have been possible without grassroots pressure from those who signed.
Despite these ongoing attacks, credible accusations of Honduran state complicity, and an ongoing 95% impunity rate, the U.S. has sent over $200 million in police and military aid since the 2009 coup and, last month, the State Department certified—with little to no evidence—the Honduran government for having met human rights conditions, thus releasing $55,000,000 in security aid.
Escrito por Celeste Larkin, Coordinadora de Política Pública de CRLN, Aug de 2012 – Dic de 2016: Los últimos cuatro años y medio en CRLN me han dado una experiencia profunda y un sentido de humildad mientras aprendía, luchaba, y abogaba al lado de una bella comunidad que imagina un mundo donde los derechos humanos tienen más valor que el beneficio privado—y, por eso, estoy profundamente agradecida. Estaré dejando mi posición en CRLN al final de este mes y tomaré conmigo esta visión y todo lo que aprendí del equipo de CRLN, de nuestra junta directiva, de nuestrxs miembrxs, y—lo más importante—de la personas indocumentadas y organizadores de América Latina luchando por sus derechos, sus vidas y sus tierras.
Date: April 1st, 2017
