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April Action Alert: Support the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009 April 28th, 2009
Join the National Week of Lobbying on the Border Wall
This week, April 27- May 1, dozens of concerned citizens and faith groups are visiting Washington, DC, to build support among Members of Congress for H.R. 2076 – the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009. Last week, Rep. Grijalva introduced this bill in the House of Representatives. If passed, the Bill would restore the rule of law to the borderlands, and protect communities, national parks and other federal lands – as well as significant wildlife habitat – from the unintended consequences of our nation’s border policy.
The damage that border walls have caused is alarming. To date, infrastructure has been built across more than 600 miles of our shared international border with Mexico. Walls have separated families, caused damaging floods and erosion, and fractured habitat and migration corridors vital to wildlife that has been pushed to the brink of extinction.
Your members of Congress can stop construction of the Border Wall and help mitigate the damage done, but they need to hear from you today.
Immigration Reform Now is Good for the U.S. Economy April 13th, 2009
Recent signals from White House officials that President Obama will address immigration reform this year are welcome. Among the issues of concern is the fate of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of our society.
Ant-immigrant groups are inserting fear and intimidation into the debate with phone calls and emails to the Democratic leadership in Congress to abandon any effort for immigration reform. This opposition comes despite overwhelming evidence that a majority of Americans agree that the current immigration system is broken – they support reform and oppose “enforcement only” tactics.
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Ask Your Member of Congress to take Action on Immigration Reform April 6th, 2009
People of faith continue to call for reform of the broken immigration and border systems in the US. With the Congress on Easter/Passover recess from April 6 – 17, and many Members in their home districts, we have a wonderful opportunity to ask them to take action on immigration and border reform. Faith communities across the United States are coming together in more than 120 Neighbor to Neighbor in-district meetings with their Members of Congress to ask them to enact Comprehensive Immigration and Border Reforms this year.
The Oblate JPIC Office has released a resource guide on Immigration and Border Reform that includes talking points for meetings with your elected representatives. The resource is a PowerPoint that can also be used as a discussion tool with groups.
Download the PowerPoint on Immigration and Border Reform
Immigration and Border Reform educational document available in PDF (Download PDF)
Tell your Member of Congress to act boldly on immigration reform. Join your faith community or interfaith group for action. Contact George Ngolwe [gngolwe@omiusa.org] for additional information about neighbor-to-neighbor in-district visits and tips on talking about immigration and border reforms.
Cardinal George Calls for End to Immigration Raids March 23rd, 2009
On Saturday, March 21, Cardinal France George OMI, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called on the Obama White House to end immigration raids that are splitting up families. He challenged the current administration to live by its campaign promises of change by working towards immigration reform.
Cardinal George spoke before several hundred people attending an interfaith prayer forum inside Our Lady of Mercy Church in Albany Park in Chicago. The forum was organized by advocates calling for changes to U.S. immigration policy. It was organized in collaboration with U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) as part of a 17 – city tour focusing on immigration. Cardinal George articulated the position of the Catholic Church on immigration as one that doesn’t approve of people breaking the law, but that believes everyone deserves respect. He said a cessation of raids would demonstrate the administration’s sincerity to voters in the immigrant community.
Legislation to Protect Immigrant Detainees Introduced in the House of Representatives March 10th, 2009
In response to the numerous deaths and cases of abuse in immigrant detention centers across the nation, U.S. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) has introduced the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act of 2009 (H.R. 1215). This bill works to “better ensure immigrant detainees receive fair and humane treatment while in detention.”
The Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act seeks to:
- Improve detainees’ access to telephones and medical care, including treatment for survivors of sexual abuse
- Improve mental health care standards, which are critical for persons who have suffered persecution, torture, or other trauma
- Promotes alternatives to detention which enable detainees to be released on their own recognizance, bond, or other non-custodial supervision programs
- Provides protections for unaccompanied children taken into DHS custody.
The Oblate JPIC office supports this proposed legislation. Through a joint letter to Congress, we are joining other faith, human rights, civil liberties, immigrant and community organizations in urging Members to support this bill which would create enforceable and humane treatment standards for immigrants held in detention facilities.
