Category: IM4HI Vision

 

by Rev. Deborah Lee & Cecilia Vasquez

As people of faith, we believe that people everywhere must have the fundamental human rights to land, economic security, health, education, and dignity.  People should have the right to migrate and the right to stay home. 

Recently the news has been filled with headlines stirring up familiar tropes and fears of an invasion of non-white immigrants at our southern border.   Some are politically using vulnerable immigrants to create a “crisis” at the US-Mexico border. The real crisis is not at the border, but rather the global context that forces people to migrate.  Inequality, climate change, neoliberal economic policies, and militarization are the root causes of poverty and migration in much of the world. In order to address any problem systemically, we must address the root causes, particularly as defined by indigenous people, women’s groups, and grassroots communities on the ground.  We must acknowledge what has been the role of the US government and corporations in exacerbating the problem. We must address root causes with co-responsibility, collective action, and community care so people aren’t forced to migrate.

This Could Be Done Differently

 As a country, we have enough resources to welcome new immigrants and respond in a humane, responsible, and compassionate manner. The Biden Administration promised to restore asylum rights and have a different approach to refugees and migrants. But in March, 17,345 people who came to the border as part of a family were expelled, a full third of all families.  Although President Biden has ceased the Trump practice of expelling unaccompanied children which was blocked by the courts last November, he has failed to rescind Title 42, which was invoked by the Trump administration to use the pandemic as an excuse to expel anyone arriving and seeking asylum.  The continued practice of Title 42 has forced some families to separate at the border leaving some to become “unaccompanied minors.” The label “unaccompanied minors” is misleading. In fact 90% of so-called unaccompanied minors have family members already in the US with whom they plan to reunite. The longstanding practices of Customs and Border Patrol, has led to making children “unaccompanied,” by failing to recognize other trusted family members with whom they are travelling as family.  

We believe there is another way.  The Biden Administration is seeking to create “influx centers,” another name for massive child detention facilities.  Our countries’ history of separating families and warehousing children goes back to the genocidal policies towards indigenous and Black communities. Immigrant children have been subject to it since.   

Detention in large scale influx facilities is not the solution now, not during a pandemic, and not ever. Health professionals and child welfare advocates are clear that such settings which deprive children of their freedom are inherently harmful to children for any amount of time.  Evidence suggests that  children housed in these situations face severe trauma and  “will likely suffer acute, sustained, and even permanent impacts to their minds and bodies.” These “emergency influx shelters” are part of decades of policies under Republican and Democratic administration to criminalize versus humanize migrants.  The top priority must be non-detention solutions which rapidly reunite children with their parents, trusted caregivers or family members must be the top priority.  The Biden administration must rescind Title 42 and apply financial resources to more rapidly vet and process children to get them out of detention and reunite them with their families.

We Can Respond with Compassion

We have more than enough resources to approach this in a different way. The question is, “Do we have enough courage and heart?”  If we are courageous we can do the right thing and respond with compassion. We can reimagine our current system of detention and deportation by responding with collective action and community care to welcome people in safe and dignified ways. We have organized and witnessed the ability of communities to come together to support and accompany newly arrived immigrants seeking safety in the US as an alternative to family separation and detention.  With redirected government resources, this could meet the need and be even more impactful.   

We need to commit to the core values of human dignity and  freedom, that no one belongs in cages.  But that everyone deserves communities of care and welcome and support that they need to fully thrive.

Support our campaigns that uphold the vision of a world without bars and borders. 

By: Reverend Deborah Lee & Cecilia Vasquez

Today at protests you might see signs like Abolish ICE, Abolish Police, Abolish Prisons.  Abolition is a word that makes people uncomfortable.  It is controversial, today and historically when it referred to the abolition of slavery, a movement that at its founding was anchored by faith inspired activists who felt that the very existence of the institution of slavery was antithetical to spiritual and moral integrity.  They were up against powerful economic and political systems that still perpetuate white supremacy. But they were morally clear that every person was made in the image of God and that no one was born to be in bondage.  They believed that slavery did not have to exist. It could end and people could be freed. 

Perhaps there is a lesson in that for us too, as we consider modern day abolitionists who are seeking to eradicate systems that are cruel, brutal, and profit from anti-blackness and racism.  Author of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Locking Up Our Own,” James Forman Jr. says, “What I love about abolition,…is the idea that you imagine a world without prisons, and then you work to try to build that world.”  When we have lived with entrenched systems for so long, it can be hard to imagine a different way of organizing our society, a different way of relating and addressing issues.  We invite you to envision with us what a world without prisons and ICE detention might look like and what could exist instead?  

We have come to know Mario, age 43, who has been detained for 3 years in immigration detention. He was transferred into ICE custody after serving seven years in prison. Ten years ago, Mario got into a physical altercation while intoxicated which landed him in prison for a seven year sentence.  Mario regrets this act and wishes that day had gone very differently.  But let’s imagine how this whole situation could have been handled differently. 

From a young age Mario experienced a lot of trauma and violence. He along with his family fled a violent Civil War in El Salvador, which was prolonged by US military intervention. As a refugee family, displaced by war, the family ended up in San Bernardino County in CA. The community offered little to no resources to help the family adjust to life in the US or process the trauma.  Mario’s father was violent and abusive towards Mario and the family.  Mario also experienced bipolar mental health disorder, but this went undiagnosed for years. Without access to resources that could have helped him, such as medical treatment, therapists, and community support, he learned to self medicate through alcohol and drugs.  

It was not until Mario was incarcerated after the incident 10 years ago that he finally received a mental health diagnosis and some form of treatment.   For so many individuals, jails and prisons are the first or only place where they receive mental health support. The National Alliance on Mental Illness stated, “Many individuals, especially without access to mental health services and support, wind up homeless, in emergency rooms, and often re-arrested. At least 83% of jail inmates with a mental illness did not have access to needed treatment.” What if he had received this diagnosis earlier in life, before he had a prison sentence? Public safety conversations need to address access to health services. 

With proper treatment, Mario was able to be a fuller version of himself. In prison, Mario helped create a faith support group where those incarcerated formed a brotherhood helping one another. Mario was able to take a faith-based recovery program and pursue his studies of theology. He developed a ministerial gift to counsel other men. Why did Mario have to wait to be incarcerated to receive the treatment and support he needed? Why are our systems set up in a way to be reactive, rather than proactive?  How could Mario have received help instead of punishment?

After serving his seven year sentence and earning parole, Mario’s family was waiting for him to finally come home.  But because he is a non-citizen, an immigrant and a refugee, Mario was instead taken directly by ICE to an immigration detention facility.  Instead of being able to work through his immigration legal case in the care of his family, he was deemed “dangerous” because of his prison record, and has been locked indefinitely in immigration detention for 3 years. In an abolition society, Mario would have had access to a diagnosis, medication, therapy, community and been able to be home.

 An abolition society sees the sacredness in each other, and finds ways to support and honor each individual’s needs.  Abolition means envisioning a way we could address problems and treat people differently based on creating systems of care. Abolition means whole-heartedly addressing the root causes of oppression and impoverishment; investing in safety and security by fulfilling human needs such as housing, education, healthcare, a sustainable planet, meaningful employment, and beloved community.

Join us in realizing that beloved community through the work we are leading, like passing measures and budgets in Los Angeles and Oakland and other cities to redirect funding from policing towards community based programs that can help prevent problems and support people through mental health and preventative programs.  We are also advocating to redirect funds from ICE used to unnecessarily detain immigrants and asylum seekers towards community case management and accompaniment.

You can also support Mario’s freedom campaign here: bit.ly/FreeMarioToolkit

Let’s help bring Mario home!

by Cecilia Vasquez, Communications Manager, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity

“I do not think of political power as an end.  Neither do I think of economic power as an end.  They are ingredients in the objective that we seek in life.  And I think that the end of that objective is a truly brotherly (and sisterly) society, the creation of the beloved community.”  

  —Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1966

This month we honor the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of achieving racial and social justice through faith-rooted organizing. Often his faith and spiritual nonviolent campaigns and organizing are lost in textbooks and secular accounts. In our event, “Radical King, and Prophetic Voice” we brought to the forefront that his faith beliefs were at the core of his organizing and radical vision.

At Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, faith and spirituality are at the foundation of our organizing. Faith-rooted organizing is more than engaging individuals and congregations as a base but centers spiritual values in every step of community organizing. It means centering and practicing our spiritual values as we create systemic social change. It comes from a place of love and is centered in the sacred. It reminds us to honor the humanity in everyone, Yes, everyone! Faith-rooted organizing demands that we have integrity between our means and our end goals, because process matters. Simply winning a campaign is insufficient transformation, and beloved community is what we truly desire. Faith-rooted organizing utilizes the unique gifts and liberating traditions of faith communities as a part of larger movements. We see and put to use the gifts that everyone has to offer in social movements. Faith-rooted organizing taps into ancient symbols, moral teachings, and spiritual practices that come from a place of love that replenishes the spirit to continue in the movement. 

We believe that all people are sacred across bars and borders. This means centering the experiences of those most impacted by policies of incarceration and immigration. We honor their pain, care for their spirit, and support their leadership. We achieve this by offering programming that walks alongside people on their journey from arriving to the United States, living incarcerated or in detention, and post-release support. We value programming that fosters leadership to those closest to the problem and people of faith. Together we are guided by values of solidarity and compassion, advocating for new and just solutions. Together we realize community transformation as we dismantle the ways people of color are criminalized through our carceral and immigration systems.

We create ongoing spaces to learn about structural racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness in the United States. We engage in the difficult and necessary conversations to assure we are practicing integrity in our journey towards beloved community. 

Be part of our Faith-Rooted Organizing on the ground today or sign up for an upcoming Faith-Rooted Organizing Training, as we hold them annually! To learn more about current campaigns and how to get involved, click here.