This Mother’s Day we are paying special attention to the humanitarian crisis we face with our broken immigration system. Everyday 1,100 people are deported, and too many mothers are ripped away from their children, or forced to support their family and raise their children alone. In the last two years, over 200,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were deported.
The time is now to act for immigrant justice and we invite you to participate through calling your decision makers, highlighting the struggle of immigrant mothers in your worship services on Mother’s Day and participating in voter registration activities with partner organizations.
Download the Mother’s Day 2014 Faith Toolkit
Sign a petition to Speaker Boehner (Bread for the World)
Alliance for Citizenship Mother’s Day Toolkit
Call our Nation’s Leaders
Make TWO CALLS to tell both the House of Representatives and the White House that you pray they will act to reunite families and heal immigrant communities!
- The House is refusing to act on immigration reform
- The Obama Administration must stop the suffering and separation of families caused by deportations
We need to hold both the House and the White House accountable to keep families and communities together!
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You can also call the Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121 or find your Representative’s direct line at www.house.gov
Here’s a sample script:
“I’m from City, State, Congregation/Community and as a person of faith, I am outraged that the House has failed to pass immigration reform. The need for reform is urgent, as our broken immigration system tears families and communities apart. I urge the Representative to insist that House leadership work to enact immigration reform that reunites families and leads to citizenship for our undocumented community members.”[/jbox]
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You can also call the White House Comment Line directly at 1-888-907-2053.
Here’s a sample script:
“I’m from City, State, Congregation/Community and as a person of faith, I urge President Obama to stop the pain and family separation caused by deportations. The President has the authority to allow our undocumented community members to stay here in the United States without fear of deportation. As our broken immigration system tears families and communities apart, the President cannot neglect his authority to grant relief similar to the DACA program to more of our community members.[/jbox]
House leadership continues to refuse to bring immigration reform up for a vote, despite having enough bipartisan votes to pass a bill with a path to citizenship. As Republicans are predicting that they might win control of both the House and Senate in November, it is becoming less and less likely that the House will vote on immigration reform this year. We need all Representatives to hear from people of faith that delay is unacceptable, and that we need House leadership to make immigration reform a reality.
While we are calling the House of Representatives and White House today, the Senate also must continue its work to enact true immigration reform. S.744, the Senate immigration bill passed last year, makes too many compromises in militarizing the border and ramping up harmful enforcement efforts. The path to citizenship included in S.744 would also exclude many people, and would take more than 13 years for most individuals who do qualify to achieve citizenship. We need more inclusive reform that makes citizenship more accessible and does not compromise border communities and community safety.
Every day that the House delays, 1,100 individuals are deported from their families and communities by the Administration. There are bold, concrete actions that President Obama can and must take to stop the pain that families and communities face due to deportations. The President has the authority to provide our undocumented community members opportunities to stay in the United States without fear of deportation. Such action could look similar to the recent Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in which undocumented individuals who came to the U.S. as children can apply to temporarily be able to travel and work legally.
