As the voting season approaches, we understand the importance of our votes and voices. Together we can uplift our shared values of community investment, decarceration, and restoring democracy. I recorded a short video sharing why your vote matters and what’s at stake! All of us at Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity encourage you to participate in our upcoming voter education webinar, our vigil for elections, and to keep an eye out for IM4HI voter education messages. Your vote matters more than ever!
Sincerely,
Rev. Deborah Lee Executive Director Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
During our Oct 2, 2020 webinar we learned about important ballot measures that will impact our immigrant, low-income, incarcerated, and formerly incarcerated communities. By hearing from people directly impacted, we learned how these state propositions are moving us toward community investment, decarceration, and restoring democracy.
Unfortunately, Gov Newsom’s office has been silent on this issue. When a reporter posed a question about transferring freed prisoners into ICE custody, this was his response: “It’s been done, historically. It’s been past precedent in previous administrations. We maintain it as the appropriate course for our administration.” You can see his response here (question begins at 53:36). This is unacceptable.
In response, we are calling on all sanctuary congregations and faith communities to join on 10/6/2020 the #FreeThemAll Banner Drop Statewide Day of Action. Essentially, gather 3-4 people from your community to create and hang a banner in front of your congregation, or at a nearby prominent location on Oct 6. Here’s the toolkit so you can read more about what this initiative entails: bit.ly/Oct6freethemall .
We’ve brainstormed a few faith messages for the banner. Please include your congregation name or logo.
Let Our People Go! #PrayingforNewsom
Release, Not Transfers! #PrayingforNewsom
Reunite Families! #PrayingforNewsom
Clemencies Now! #PrayingforNewsom
Communities Not Cages #PrayingforNewsom
We would love to have every sanctuary congregation and faith community put up a banner as a part of this action! If you can join this action, please RSVP directly here so the organizers have an estimate on how many groups are participating, and let me know as well, gking@im4humanintegrity.org. We will follow up with you to help coordinate our faith communities.
Six hundred faith and community leaders across California have signed the following faith letter urging Governor Gavin Newsom to suspend California’s role in collaborating with ICE in the transfer of immigrants who are eligible to be released from local and state custody to immigration detention facilities during the state of emergency.
The letter includes:
53 endorsements from denominations, religious networks, conferences and non-profit organizations.
600 signatures from faith leaders and organizations, including rabbis, imams, ministers, priests, sisters, lay leaders, buddhists, and many others.
162 cities from the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Central Valley, Los Angeles, and beyond
“Jewish history teaches us: When those who have the power of governance, have the power to save lives and don’t, because certain lives are considered disposable, history and faith will condemn these actions.” —Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Board Chair, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
Faith leaders representing over 10 million of California’s religiously diverse electorate held a series of meetings with the governor’s office asking him to use his executive authority to protect and save lives of those incarcerated in prisons and immigration detention centers during the pandemic. Faith leaders outlined several actions that the governor could take, the first being to stop the practice of transferring California residents who earn release from prison into the hands of ICE.
“Our faith traditions demand we disrupt the dehumanizing practices of ICE. 575 people deemed safe for release from prisons have been transferred directly to ICE. They should be protected. They are our community members. It was disheartening to hear the excuses from the Governor’s office while families are living in fear of their loved ones being transferred to detention.”
Rev. Dr. Allison Tanner, Justice Advocacy Representative of the West, Alliance of Baptists, a national network of 140 congregations.
Despite their pleadings, on Monday, August 31st, two longtime California residents, Patricia Waller, a Belizean domestic violence survivor and Tien Pham, a Vietnamese refugee were transferred into ICE custody after earning release from state prisons. Patricia Waller survived decades of abuse and won her release from prison after fifteen years of incarceration. Tien Pham had been incarcerated since he was an adolescent, and was granted parole by Gov. Newsom after two decades of incarceration. Both of them were denied the ability to reunite with family members and adhere to their plan of re-entry and instead were transferred to ICE custody and taken to a detention facility in Colorado.
Faith leaders and Pham’s family recently met with the governor’s staff and urged the governor to halt the voluntary practice of ICE transfers. Faith leaders submitted a written letter endorsed by 53 faith institutions and signed by 600 California faith leaders, urging the governor to stop the state’s practice of transferring non-citizens who earn release and parole into ICE detention.
Pham’s family waited for him outside of San Quentin State Prison on what was supposed to be his first day of freedom, but were not allowed to embrace him. “Tien has been living away from our family for over 20 years in prison. Every day the thought of whether he is safe in prison or not stresses us, especially our elderly parents,” said Lien Pham, Pham’s youngest sister. “Now ICE has taken him away from our family again.”
Faith leaders expressed anger at the transfer of Waller and Pham on Monday and disappointment at the reluctance of the governor’s office to take bolder action to stop sending people into ICE detention.
“I thank Governor Brown for giving me a second chance. I had a Life Without Parole sentence and there are so many others like me who have been commuted, have come out and are flourishing. We are asking you to increase interviews, clemencies and commutations so people have a chance to go before the parole board. There are many people incarcerated with Life Without Parole sentences who have done over 25 years incarcerated, are over age 50 and evidence shows are safe to be released.”
Taewon Jamil Wilson, from Families United to End Life Without Parole (FUEL), whose sentence was commuted in 2018
Faith leaders also urged the governor to increase clemencies, commutations and releases to protect the health and safety of all those incarcerated as thousands of those in the care of the California Department of Corrections have tested positive to COVID and where 49 people have already died.
“While Governor Newsom boldly and courageously urges the general public to follow the science to help abate the coronavirus pandemic and uses his executive powers to assuage compliance, he waxes and wanes, however, in applying the science and appropriating his executive powers to protect the safety and well-being of the state’s carceral population. The Governor prefers to parcel out which lives matter. He fails to acknowledge that in the midst of a pandemic every person under the control of the CDCR matters, and that their past criminal history should not be a barrier to consideration of health protections and release.”
Rev. Larry W. Foy, of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, a statewide statewide interfaith network of 200 congregations and 2000 faith leaders
Faith communities also urged the governor to use the legal authority of the attorney general’s office to investigate, regulate and hold accountable private operators of detention facilities in the state where numerous deaths and health violations have been reported.
“Catholic Social Teaching calls us to accompany and walk with those in need. This is why we strongly oppose ICE transfers from jails and prisons during Covid-19, and call on the governor to increase the release of those held in detention centers and to investigate the inhumane conditions in these ICE facilities.”
Madeleine Kirkconnell, co-promoter of justice & peace for the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael and the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose.
Faith communities vow to continue to stand with families with loved ones incarcerated and detained noting that although the Governor ordered an executive moratorium on the Death Penalty in California in 2019, 78 persons incarcerated persons have died in California jails, prisons or detention centers since April 2020.
Organizations who were part of the meetings with the Governor’s office include: Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, United Methodist Church, California/Nevada Conference, City of Refuge Church of Los Angeles, Council on American Islamic Relations, California Catholic Conference of the Bishops of California, Dominican Sisters of San Rafael and the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California, the Diocese of San Bernardino.
