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Statement from The Board of Directors

Faith leaders led peaceful direct action outside the SF ICE Field Office at 630 Sansome Street, where more than 250 people gathered to prevent kidnappings and confront harm to immigrant neighbors (Dec 2025)

We will fight for human integrity. 

We will show the world our “soul force.”  

We are not afraid.  

We practice Love over Fear.

Dear Allies, Accomplices, & Lovers of Justice,

At IM4HI, we honor the integrity and human dignity of every single person. When that dignity is under assault, we must, as Martin Luther King urged us in 1963, “rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”

Physical force is the unrepentant killing of Keith Porter Jr. , Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti by government agents and the deaths of 32 of our siblings while in ICE detention in 2025.

Soul force is tens of thousands of people in Minneapolis marching in minus 9 degree weather to protect their neighbors, and thousands of others gathering in solidarity on neighborhood corners and city hall steps across the country.

In addition to the horrific deaths in Minneapolis, we honor the lives of Jaime Alanis GarciaSilverio Villegas GonzalesMarimar MartinezRoberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, and  Josue Castro Rivera.

We commit to lead with love, hope, and community, and must not allow indiscriminate ICE killings and detentions to continue. The IM4HI board refuses to look away, to make excuses, or to sanitize our language. ICE and Border Patrol are a fascist, para-military force committing acts of evil in our country. 

Our faith traditions teach us how we are to respond to oppression:

“Whoever kills a person it is as if he had killed the whole of humankind. And whoever saves one – it will be as if he had saved the whole of humankind.”

— Qur’an 5:32, Talmud (sanhedrin 37a)

“Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

— Isaiah 1:17

“Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.”

— Romans 21:12

The forces of fascism and violence are arrayed against us. How we respond could be the difference between living in a diverse, pluralistic democracy and living in a military ethno-state. 

Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity stands with all communities that protect their neighbors from violence and oppression. We will continue to organize, coordinate, and collaborate non-violent direct actions. We are here for you. We hope you will join us!

At IM4HI, we believe that all people are sacred, across bars and borders. Join us in this work, as we create an unbreakable web of solidarity across our communities. Like a tree planted by the water, we shall not be moved.

Yours, The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity

Board of Directors —

Benjamin “BenjaSoul” Mertz, Chair

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb

Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow

Martha Matsuoka

Maram Bata

Sergio Jaime

Tarek Shawky

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A Prayer for the Ceasing of State Violence and the Protection of All People

The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity protects, enriches, nourishes and upholds the Human Integrity of all people, builds beloved communities, centered in spiritual values & the leadership of people impacted by immigration, incarceration, and militarization.

 Holy, Loving and Compassionate One,

We hold grief in our hearts at the brutal and tragic ICE killing of Renee Nicole Good, a beloved daughter, mother of three, poet, and good neighbor—whose life was taken in Minneapolis during an ICE enforcement operation. Every person deserves safety, belonging, and freedom from fear, harm, and discrimination. May her life be honored with justice, compassion, and the sacredness of every human life.

We say her name. And we say the names of at least 6 other loved ones who have been killed in ICE operations since the beginning of 2025: parents, workers, immigrants and citizens: Jaime Alanis GarciaSilverio Villegas GonzalesMarimar MartinezRoberto Carlos Montoya ValdezJosue Castro RiveraKeith Portal Jr., and one who is still unnamed killed at the Rio Grande.

We say their names. And we say the names of the 32 people who needlessly died in ICE detention in 2025, deprived of healthcare, basic necessities and their liberty. We lift up each life who has died into your loving arms. We pray for their children, their families and communities who are suffering and grieving. Grant them comfort, healing and the strength to go on. 

We condemn these ICE killings. And we lift up their lives. We celebrate the fullness of their lives, their best memories, their hopes and their dreams. May their dreams become ours. May we carry them in our hearts and remember them with dignity, honor, and justice.  

We pray for the ceasing of this state’s racialized violence and state terror. The occupation and repression has stricken our communities with fear, grief and trauma. Here within our nation and through our country’s actions globally.  

We pray for the end of US military violence, state violence and all forms of violence that go against the dignity and sacredness of human life. We pray for the more than 80 people who were killed this week in the US attack on Venezuela in direct violation of human rights, sovereignty and international law. Our faiths teach us: No life must be shed. No stealing of that which is not ours.  

We pray for the protection of all people. We hold the 68,000 who are confined in ICE detention centers across the country. We pray for their safe release and swift return to their loved ones. We pray for refugees and people everywhere who have been displaced and impacted by militarism and violence, especially in Palestine and Sudan. 

When systems of power turn into tools of harm rather than peace, grant us the courage to speak up in truth and stand with those who face injustice. Give us the commitment to continue to look out for one another and walk in humility alongside those who suffer.

May our hearts mourn, but still grow in love. In the face of “might makes right”, give us resolve in the belief that only Love makes right. May our creativity transform fear, force, and dehumanization into actions that honor and protect all human life and dignity.  

Grant us a deep source to continue to walk in love, welcome all with joy and compassion, and celebrate our common humanity. May our wellspring of love run deep and overflow.   

What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic… power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

How to get involved:

*Please fill out forms in link above to join

“Human integrity” is the wholeness of every person and the oneness of humanity.

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TELEMUNDO 48: Exigen mejores condiciones para inmigrantes en centros de detención de California

“Han sufrido muchos abusos y maltratos allí donde básicamente la negligencia médica ha sido grande y trabajan por un salario de esclavitud”, dijo José Rubén Hernández, vocero de Interfaith Movement.

Por Andrés Brender y TELEMUNDO 48 

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