(Español abajo) As a new national administration will come into office in January, we are entering into what seems to many of us a very dangerous time in the life of this country. However, the reality is that for our undocumented sisters, brothers, and siblings, this is nothing new. For our partners in Latin America, this struggle is familiar. CRLN is committed to continuing this struggle alongside these directly affected leaders against imperialism, against


xenophobic immigration policies


, against


militarism


and deportations, against


neoliberal free trade agreements


that fail to provide options for working people the world over. We will continue to struggle with our partners


for peace


, human rights, economic justice, migrant rights, and environmental rights.

While we may feel overwhelmed by the political changes that are undoubtedly to come, we also honor, lift up, and take direction from the other side of the story. The side where human rights defenders throughout the hemisphere have been bravely and tirelessly fighting back against escalations in state violence and militarization. The side where immigrants have been fighting for their rights, for a better world for their families and for us all. At CRLN, we’ve spent decades building faithful, community-based support and solidarity for immigrants, for human rights defenders internationally, and for each other. We’ll continue building this support, organizing out of love and solidarity so that we have each other’s backs even when the systems around us fail to do so. ¡La lucha sigue!

Mientras esperamos una nueva administración nacional en enero, entramos en un periódo que para muchxs de nosotrxs parece un periódo muy peligroso para este país. Mientras tanto, la realidad es que para nuestrxs hermanxs indocumentadxs, esto no es nada nuevo. Para nuestrxs compañerxs en América Latina, esta lucha es familiar. CRLN se compromete a seguir en esta lucha al lado de lxs líderes y líderezas afectadxs directamente. Vamos a seguir luchando en contra del imperialismo, en contra de la


política migratoria xenofóbica


, en contra del


militarismo


y las deportaciones, en contra de


los tratados de libre comercio neoliberales


que no ofrecen opciones para los trabajadores de todo el mundo. Continuaremos luchando con nuestrxs socixs


por la paz


, los derechos humanos, la justicia económica, los derechos de los migrantes y los derechos ambientales.

Si bien podemos sentirnos abrumadxs por los cambios políticos que sin duda han de venir, también honramos, alzamos y tomamos la dirección del otro lado de la historia.El lado donde los defensores de los derechos humanos en todo el hemisferio han luchando valiente e incansablemente contra las escaladas en la violencia estatal y la militarización. El lado en el cual los inmigrantes han luchado por sus derechos y por un mejor mundo para sus familias y para todxs nostroxs. En CRLN, hemos trabajado durante décadas construyendo un apoyo fiel, basado en la comunidad y solidaridad para los inmigrantes, los defensores de derechos humanos a nivel internacional, y uno para el otro. Continuaremos construyendo este apoyo, organizándonos por amor y solidaridad para que tengamos el respaldo de uno para el otro incluso cuando los sistemas que nos rodean no lo hagan.¡La lucha sigue!

TRUST ACT Victory a Great First Step! Faith Communities Must Continue to Resist Criminalization

The TRUST Act is the strongest bill of its kind in the US. It protects the Fourth Amendment for ALL people. At a time when immigrant communities are under unprecedented attack by aggressive threats of deportation, by an agency that is out of control, by threats to end important protections such as DACA and Temporary Protected Status, the TRUST Act is a great first step, a solid foundation to start addressing the criminalization of immigrants and communities of color in our state. – Mony Ruiz-Velasco, ED of the West Suburban Action Project (PASO)

This week, CRLN joined our partners and conveners of the Welcoming IL Coalition in celebration of the signing of the TRUST Act by Governor Rauner. We are honored to have been a part of this campaign, a truly grassroots effort led by community members and local organizations. For months, directly-affected communities put pressure on the State of IL to take real steps to provide sanctuary protections for all.

This campaign was successful in demanding that local police cannot comply with immigration detainers or warrants not issued by a judge. Under the TRUST Act, local police also cannot stop, search, or arrest anyone based on their immigration or citizenship status.

As people of faith, we are called to uplift and honor the demands of immigrant communities and communities of color. We must continue to act in beloved solidarity to continue to resist the rhetoric and practices that dictate protections for some directly-affected communities and not all.

During the signing of the TRUST Act, Governor Rauner stated that he is a pro-immigration legislator. Our work as faith communities is to remind legislators that the work of being ‘pro-immigration’ also requires a critical analysis of violent ICE and law enforcement practices, both in IL and throughout the U.S. We must publicly denounce the dehumanizing conditions that are a result of the mass criminalization of immigrants and communities of color.

We lift up a vision of sanctuary and immigrant justice that holds government institutions accountable to the dignity and respect that immigrant communities, predominantly of color, deserve. We affirm that the lives of our immigrant brothers, sisters, and siblings are more valuable than how much money they can contribute to the economy or their criminal record.

Join us in continuing the fight for #Sanctuary4All in the state of Illinois. La lucha sigue!

To learn more about our immigrant justice work in the Chicagoland area or to join our



Nov. delegation to the SOA Watch Border Convergence



, please contact our Immigration Organizer at

crodriguez@crln.org

__

Suggested Readings:

ICIRR Press Release: ‘TRUST Act Signed into Law in Illinois’

‘Why You Should Stop Using the Term Dreamer’

by Jorge Rivas

‘What Do I Need to Know if the DACA Program Ends?’

by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center