The Time For Immigration Reform Is Now:Resources to Advocate for the 2013 Senate Bill

Long Island Jobs with Justice390 Rabro Drive

Hauppauge, NY 11788

Email: lijwj01@gmail.comPhone: 631-348-1170 ext. 310

Fax: 631-348-1180www.longislandjwj.org

Resources Contents

Page

An Interfaith Statement of Principles For Just Federal Immigration Reform 3

The 2013 Senate Reform Bill: What We Like; What We Don't Like 4

S 744 Advocacy Letter 6

Responses to Conservative Opposition to Senate Immigration Reform Bill 7

Some Common Fears and Facts about Immigrants in U.S. History and Today 10

Tips on How to Organize Your Congregation for Immigration Advocacy 13

Interfaith Prayers 14

How to Hold a "Stop the Deportations" Vigil 17

Sample “Stop the Deportations” Vigil Media Advisory and Press Release 19

2

An Interfaith Statement of Principles for Just Federal Immigration Reform

Like people of many different faiths, we take seriously the words of Leviticus (19:33-34), “Don’t mistreat any foreigners who live in your land. Instead, treat them as well as you treat citizens…” Because the United States is a nation of laws rooted in our faith traditions and a nation of immigrants, we support reforming America’s broken immigration laws for the benefit of our economy and the millions of immigrants who annually pump billions of dollars into our tax base and productivity. We believe immigration reform should:

1. Address the causes of migration including extreme poverty - some of which is caused by free trade agreements such as NAFTA that have ruined local economies by flooding them with cheap American products such as US-subsidized corn - as well as violent conflicts, religious and political persecution, environmental destruction and economic exploitation that cause people to leave their homes and families.

2. Keep all families together by reducing the backlog in visa permits and by increasing the number of visas available to spouses and children of documented, permanent immigrants.

3. Provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrant workers and their families that is fair, efficient and humane and not punitive with exorbitant fees, fines or other requirements such as making them first return to their country of origin.

4. Meet our workforce needs by providing visas for all sectors of the economy and adjusting the number of visas to the changing needs of the U.S. economy such as the harvest season in agricultural regions.

5. Protect the rights of immigrant workers such as their right to change employers, join a union, earn the minimum or prevailing wage, overtime pay, protection from racial, ethnic or sexual discrimination and other rights guaranteed to American workers.

6. Enforce the new immigration rules fairly by cracking down on unscrupulous employers who exploit immigrant workers without punishing these workers or subjecting them to error-ridden electronic verification systems like “e-verify.”

7. Terminate cruel and harsh enforcement of immigrant laws such as the mass arrests, detentions and deportations of non-criminal undocumented immigrants, often without due process of law like the right to counsel, to submit evidence, confront accusers or a jury trial.

8. Maintain humanitarian border security enforcement in consultation with border communities in ways that treat all migrants with respect while using taxpayer dollars to prevent entry by dangerous criminals or people who threaten U.S. national security.

While so many immigrants have fled poverty in their homelands, here on Long Island an Adelphi University study found that immigrants contributed $10.6 billion in purchasing power to the local economy in 2006, generated 82,000 jobs while each immigrant paid $2,305 more in local taxes than they received in government services such as health care or education. Immigrants are and always have been vital to the strength of our nation. For this reason, we support reform our immigration laws using the above principles.

3

The 2013 Senate Reform Bill: What We Like; What We Don't LikeS744 - Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013

What We Like

Bill Includes a Path to Citizenship – Creation of a new immigrant status, Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI), offers a 13-year path to citizenship. At the end of 10 years in RPI status, individuals can apply for permanent status (green card), and after 3 years of permanent status can apply for citizenship. RPI status provides work authorization and ability to travel outside of U.S.

DREAM Act – Would allow any undocumented child who was brought here before the age of 16 (DREAMers) a 5-year pathway to citizenship. No age cap. No imposed penalties.

Family Reunification – Individuals who were present in the U.S. before December 31st, 2011 and were deported for non-criminal reasons can apply to re-enter the United States in RPI status if they are the spouse or parent of a child who is a United States citizen or permanent resident. Young people who have been deported, and qualify for the DREAM Act provision, can also apply to re-enter.

Dependents of immigrants with RPI status could independently apply for RPI status if the principal’s RPI status is revoked.

Those who unlawfully re-entered after a prior order of removal could obtain RPI status if they re-entered before December 31st, 2011.

New family “V” visa creates a new nonimmigrant visa for families with approved petitions to work and live in the U.S. while waiting for their green card. Allows family members to visit the U.S. for up to 60 days per year.

Child Status Protection – Children who have aged out of petitions filed on behalf of their parents because they turned 21 while waiting in line will get credit for

waiting in line and will get their green-cards faster.

Legal Permanent Residents' spouses and children become "immediate relatives." There will me limited to no wait time for the children and spouses of green card holders to enter the U.S.

Naturalization - Waiver of English requirement for disabled and senior immigrant authorization.

New Nonimmigrant “W” Visa – Program for low-wage foreign workers. Spouses and minor children are included and will receive work authorization. This is a three-year visa with three-year renewal periods. “W” visa holders may switch from one registered employer or position to another without penalty and upon meeting other eligibility criteria can apply for merit-based legal permanent residence. Wages will be equal to the actual or prevailing wage. Workers will be protected under local and federal labor and employment laws.

H-1B - Expanding the current cap for these temporary non-agricultural workers from 65,000 to 110,000 visas a year with an option to ultimately increase the cap to 180,000 visas annually as demand dictates.

AgJOBS - Creation of a “blue card” program given to undocumented agricultural workers. Persons with an agricultural card can gain a green card in five years if they meet employment requirements. Includes lower fines.

Workers’ Protections - Providing workers with whistle blower protections (POWER Act), anti-discrimination protections, and access to the application of labor and employment laws such as minimum wage, overtime and the right to join a union.

What We Don’t Like

4

Legalization fines and penalties ($2,000) may leave many behind.

Increased Border Enforcement – Allocations of over $4.5 billion.

Border and Interior Enforcement Triggers – Adjustment to Registered Provisional Immigrant status cannot be achieved until the Department of Homeland Security has submitted strategies for border security. Adjustment to permanent status cannot be achieved until the Department of Homeland Security has deployed the border security strategy.

Persons in Registered Provisional Immigrant status cannot qualify for healthcare, Medicaid, welfare or nutritional assistance.

LGBTQ Families Left Out – No recognition of permanent partners or same-sex bi-national couples for immigration benefits.

Elimination of Sibling Visa – U.S. citizens will not be able to petition for their siblings 18 months after the bill’s enactment.

Elimination of Diversity Visa Lottery – May result in a reshaping of U.S. demographics and race relations.

Mandatory E-verify – All businesses must implement e-verify within a 5-year phase-in period. Businesses with more than 5,000 employees must implement within a 2-year phase-in.

Maintaining the Secure Communities program.

Maintaining mandatory detentions. Everyone who entered the country

without status after Dec 31st, 2011 is subject to detention and deportation (hardship waivers may be available).

5

Urge Your Congressional Representative to Support Senate Bill for Federal Immigration Reform

Dear Senator/Congress Member ___________________:

I write in support of the Senate bill (S744 “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act”) for much-needed comprehensive immigration reform of our nation’s broken immigration laws because I believe that the bill conforms to these basic principles of justice:

Provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrant workers and their families by: granting them temporary Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status with a ten-year path to a green card (Legal Permanent Resident status) followed by a three year path to full U.S. citizenship, provided they pay a total $2,000 in fines, have no criminal record and pay their back taxes.

Keep all families together by: increasing the number of visas available to spouses and children of naturalized citizens and legal permanent residents; providing a new nonimmigrant visa for families with approved petitions to work in the U.S. while awaiting their green card; allowing the spouses and children of Legal Permanent Residents to become “immediate relatives” without a wait time for legal status; allowing undocumented children brought to the U.S. before the age of 16 (the so-called DREAMer children) to immediately obtain RPI status and a five-year path to citizenship.

Meet our workforce needs by: providing a separate path to legalize undocumented agricultural workers within five years; raising the number of temporary agricultural workers with legal status from 50,000 to 112,333; raising the number of temporary non-agricultural workers from 65,000 to between 110,000-180,000 a year; creating between 120,000-250,000 merit-based visas based on immigrants’ education and types of employment.

Protect the rights of immigrant workers by: providing workers with “whistle blower” protections if they report abuses by their employers, anti-discrimination protections and the protections provided by U.S. labor and employment laws such as minimum wage, maximum hours and overtime pay.

Enforce the new immigration rules fairly by: cracking down on unscrupulous employers who exploit immigrant workers and ensuring that workers are not falsely targeted by the error-ridden E-verify system.

Maintain humanitarian border security enforcement in consultation with border communities in ways that treat all migrants with respect while using taxpayer dollars to prevent entry by dangerous criminals or people who threaten U.S. national security.

While so many immigrants have fled poverty in their homelands, here on Long Island an Adelphi University study found that immigrants contributed $10.6 billion in purchasing power to the local economy in 2006, generated 82,000 jobs while each immigrant paid $2,305 more in local taxes than they received in government services such as health care or education. Immigrants are and always have been vital to the strength of our nation. For this reason, we urge you to support the Senate bill for comprehensive immigration reform.

Yours truly,

Name _______________________ Address ___________________________

6

Responses to Conservative Opposition to Senate Immigration Reform Bill

If you are speaking to members of your congregation, or anyone else about the proposed Senate immigration reform bill, what do you do if you run into opposition? Some of this will be blind ideological or racial hatred; don’t try to change the minds of these people. But for many, there will be honest misunderstandings and concerns. Here are some ways you can respond from a values base and with facts:

Common Misunderstandings About the Senate Immigration-Reform Bill

Values-Based/Factual Responses

This bill is “amnesty” by another name. It will reward lawbreakers.

The immigration reform bill doesn’t reward anyone; it just gives people a chance. It creates a path to citizenship. For 11 million undocumented immigrants who are working and raising their families here while just trying to meet their basic needs, deportation is neither fair, nor is it possible for the U.S. government to deport that many people. Additionally, the law has strict requirements and penalties such as:

o A 10 year waiting period for undocumented immigrants to earn their green card (Legal Permanent Residency). While they wait, they will become legal, temporary “Registered Provisional Immigrants” but they must have no criminal record, have a knowledge of the English language and employment to get their green card;

o They will have to pay a total of $2,000 in fines and all their back taxes to get their green card.

o They will have to wait another 3 years to earn full U.S. Citizenship

This bill will just encourage more immigrants to illegally cross U.S. borders.

The number of immigrants crossing the border illegally should decrease because the bill will ensure that there is a sensible amount of visas available to meet the actual need for workers.

In addition, the bill provides an additional $4.5 billion in border security enforcements including increased electronic surveillance, more border patrols and more fencing. While many people believe it is impossible to fully secure the 2,000 mile border with Mexico (not to mention the over 5,000 mile

7

border with Canada, where the 9/11 terrorists entered the U.S.) the bill’s $4.5 billion in expanded border-security measures will be in addition to:

o The $18 billion a year on border immigration enforcement already being spent by the U.S. government - 15 times what was spent in 1986. (Jeff Jacoby, “Secure Borders? We Already Have Them,” Boston Globe, May 12, 2013)

o The doubling of the number of border-patrol agents over the last decade to 21,000 (Ibid.)

o The dramatic 80% decrease in the number of migrants illegally crossing the border since the 1.6 million high in 2000. (Ibid.)

This bill is another example of the Obama administration refusing to enforce restrictions on illegal immigration.

Our country was built on a system of laws, and the only way for immigration reform to work is if we enforce the laws that we already have. Obama has far surpassed the number of deportations of the Bush Administration, and he regularly deports immigrants with American children. Obama has deported 1.5 million immigrants during the first term. However, Obama is just enforcing a broken system. A lot of immigrant advocates such as Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) have stated that Obama’s record of deporting non-criminal immigrants is “nothing to be proud of.” (Corey Dade, “Obama Administration Deported record 1.5 Million People,” NPR, December 24, 2012)

The conservative Heritage Foundation released a report on May 6th, 2013 (similar to its 2007 report released the last time there was a serious effort at immigration reform) claiming that immigrants granted new legal status will eat up more than $9 trillion in public services such as health care and education while contributing only $3 million in taxes.

As members of the general public, we should demand higher standards than the Heritage Foundation displayed in the creation of this faulty political document. We cannot, in good faith, call it a report.

Even Haley Barber, former Mississippi Governor and former Republican Party National Chairman said, “The Heritage Foundation is a political document; it’s not a serious analysis…. This study is designed to scare conservative Republicans….” (Associated Press, “Heritage Foundation Study on Immigration Bill’s Cost Sets Off Squabble Among Conservatives,” May 6th, 2013.)

8

Meanwhile, numerous studies have demonstrated that immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in government services.

o Current federal welfare laws prohibit legal immigrants from accessing most welfare services for five years. Undocumented immigrants can never receive welfare.

o A National Academy of Sciences study found that immigrants have added billions of dollars a year to the American economy. While there may be an initial cost for immigrants - especially in public education - immigrants more than make up for these costs in the productivity they add to the economy. (National Academy of Sciences, “Overall U.S. Economy Gains From Immigration, But It's Costly to Some States and Localities,” 1997.)

o A 2008 Adelphi University study found that Long Island immigrants contributed $10.6 billion in purchasing power to the local economy in 2006, generated 82,000 LI jobs and paid $2,305 more in local taxes than they received in government services such as education and health care. (Mariano Torras, “Economic Benefits of Immigrant Population,” Adelphi University, 2008.)

9

Some Common Fears and Facts about Immigrants in U.S. History and Today

Prepared by Richard Koubek, Ph.DCommunity Outreach Coordinator, Long Island Jobs with Justice

May, 2013

Fear # 1: Don’t Immigrants Take Our Jobs?Immigrant Facts:

Historically, immigrants come to the U.S. when the economy is doing well and do not to come during recessions and depressions.

For example, during the recession of the 1850s, immigration fell from 400,000 a year to about 150,000. During the depression of the 1870s, it again fell from about 450,000 to 100,000. When that depression ended, immigration rose to 800,000 by 1880.

Immigrants historically have taken unskilled jobs Americans don’t want. Historically, immigrants have taken low-wage jobs, thus allowing native-born workers, in the

words of one researcher writing in 1912, to become an “aristocracy of labor.” In short, immigrants have done the work that native-born people would rather not do (e.g.,

canal and railroad construction in the 1800s, landscaping and agricultural harvesting today) thereby creating opportunities for the native-born workers to become supervisors or to take “higher-level jobs.”

Today, the U.S. has a serious shortage of unskilled workers. According to the Department of Labor (2004), there will be a shortage of two million unskilled

workers by 2010 and the number of native-born unskilled workers is steadily shrinking due to low birth rates and higher levels of education.

The Long Island Immigrant Alliance reported in 2006 that work visas are issued to only 5,000 unskilled workers a year while the economy creates 500,000 unskilled jobs per year. Many of these jobs are not desired by native-born workers and are filled by undocumented immigrants who enter the country without visas.

Fear #2: Don’t Immigrants Lower Wages?Immigrant Facts: Initially, immigrants can have a small impact on wages.

There are economic pockets, especially in the cities and African-American communities, where immigrant labor has lowered wages for some unskilled, native-born people.

But, the 2005 Economic Report of the President found that unskilled immigrants generally do not compete with native workers and that a 10 percent increase in immigrant workers lowered the wages of native workers by only 1 percent.

10

But they tend to increase wages in the long run. A 2006 study by three economists found that the effect of illegal immigrants was zero

because these lower-wage workers allow native-born Americans to expand their businesses or work hours by hiring more employees, taking on new contracts or having more time to increase their income. States with higher numbers of illegal immigrants actually had higher median wages for high school dropouts. (New York Times, April 16, 2006)

And, immigrants - particularly legal immigrants - generally do as well financially, if not better than native Americans. For example, a 1998 Urban Institute study concluded that legal immigrants, after living 15 years in New York, actually earn more money ($18,700/yr.) than natives ($18,100/yr.)

Fear #3: Won’t Immigrants Cost Taxpayers More Money?Immigrant Facts: Immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in government services.

Immigrants do add to the cost of some government services. For example, a 1997 National Academy of Sciences study found that in New Jersey a native-born family pays an average $232 a year in state and local taxes to cover the net costs of services used by immigrants; this figure is $1,178 in California.

However, current federal welfare laws prohibit legal immigrants from accessing most welfare services for five years. Undocumented immigrants can never receive welfare.

Meanwhile, the National Academy of Sciences study found that immigrants have added billions of dollars a year to the American economy. While there may be an initial cost for immigrants - especially in public education - immigrants more than make up for these costs in the productivity they add to the economy.

As for taxes, by one estimate, immigrants earn about $240 billion a year, pay about $90 billion in taxes and use only $5 billion in public benefits.

The approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants alone pay $7 billion a year in taxes including sales taxes or the portion of their rent that goes to local property taxes.

And, both documented and undocumented immigrants make major contributions to the economy. Because current immigration laws favor educated and skilled people, a 2008 Adelphi University

study found high levels of education among many Long Island immigrants, with more than 13% over the age of 25 having a graduate degree (compared with 15.6% of the total population,) and 32.3% of them with at least a bachelor’s degree (compared with 35% of the total population.)

The Adelphi University study also found that Long Island immigrants contributed $10.6 billion in purchasing power to the local economy in 2006, generated 82,00 LI jobs and paid $2,305 more in local taxes than they received in government services such as education and health care.

In addition, a 2005 study by the Social Security Administration found that legal immigrants will contribute $611 billion to Social Security over the next 75 years while undocumented immigrants contribute $20 billion to Social Security each year, a net gain for the system because undocumented immigrants can not collect Social Security.

Finally, the 1998 Urban Institute study found that immigrants pay as much in taxes as natives; New York State’s legal immigrants who constitute 15.4% of the population paid 15.2% of the State’s tax burden - $17.8 billion a year in local, state and Federal taxes.

11

Fear #4: Can We Assimilate So Many “Different” Immigrants?Immigrant Facts: Immigrants have been both welcomed and feared throughout U.S. history.

Belief that the U.S. can’t assimilate immigrants is an old, unfounded fear. On March 16, 1898, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts said in the U.S. Senate that immigration should be restricted because the new immigrants, “Italians, Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Greeks, and Asiatics” were people which “English-speaking people have never hitherto assimilated, and who are most alien to the great body of the people of the United States.” All these groups are today fully assimilated.

Until 1924, the U.S. had virtually open borders with few restrictions placed on incoming immigrants. Thus, national immigration policy encouraged immigrants to “flood” into the U.S. as a much needed workforce. When people today ask, “Why can’t immigrants enter this country legally like my ancestors did?” the answer is quite simple: most of our immigrant ancestors faced few, if any legal restrictions on their ability to enter the United States.

Unfounded fears about our nation’s ability to assimilate “different cultures” did lead the U.S. to change its immigration policy from what had been a virtual open door to strict quotas adopted in 1924 that severely restricted immigration from southern and eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America until 1965. Prior to 1924, Chinese and Japanese were restricted between the 1880s and 1905, criminals, people with mental illness and communicable diseases or those who could become a burden on the community and, after 1917, people illiterate in their own language, had been restricted.

Today, the U.S. is not being flooded by hoards of illegal immigrants; two thirds to three fourths of immigrants enter the country legally. Immigrants represent only 12% (33 million people) of the U.S. population today compared with about 15% in 1920.

But historically, large numbers of immigrants from many different cultures have successfully been assimilated into American life. Numerous studies have shown that the children of today’s immigrants generally speak English

(as did the children of earlier immigrant families) and are rapidly adapting to American cultural norms. In fact, the Urban Institute study found that the children of immigrants grow up to earn just as much as the children of native-born Americans.

A 2004 study by the Mumford Center at the State University of New York in Albany found that 72% of third generation Hispanic immigrants speak English exclusively.

One third of immigrants are naturalized citizens, a major step toward assimilation. So many immigrants are applying for citizenship that the process is backlogged for years.

12

Tips on How to Organize Your Congregation for Immigration Advocacy

Many religious traditions call for acts of both charity (individual service) and justice (advocacy for structural change.) Nevertheless, many clergy and many congregants are wary about mixing religion and politics. Here are some suggestions for getting started with immigration-reform advocacy in your congregation:

1. Meet with your clergy leader to discuss the importance of faith-based advocacy for immigration reform. Ask him/her to:

Identify members of the congregation who might want to serve on your Immigration Reform Committee.

Provide space in your congregation’s bulletin or newsletter to explain the campaign and to announce the meeting.

Provide time during the religious service for you to announce the campaign and invite people to the organizing meeting.

2. For your first meeting, you will need a facilitator and someone to take notes. You will also want to give people clearly defined roles so that they can actively participate. Print out an agenda so that you stay on task.

3. Prepare a sign-in sheet and use it to create an internal list serve for your group so that you can organize events online, as well as at in-person meetings.

4. Include prayers for immigration reform and justice for Long Island immigrants in your weekly service.

5. When called upon, organize an immigration-reform letter-collection drive after services. Each letter counts for forty voters! To collect letters effectively: Get the approval of your clergy leader. If possible, publish briefing notes in your bulletin in advance of the letter

collection, explaining why just immigration reform is of concern to your faith community. Frame the policy notes in religious terms. (Jobs with Justice will provide you with these briefing notes.)

Jobs with Justice will provide you with the sample letter. Publish the letter in your bulletin the week before and make an announcement calling the congregation’s attention to the letter that will be collected the following week.

Have your Immigration Reform committee set up a collection table that does not block the passageway into or out of the worship area. Have pens available.

Have copies of the letter sorted by member of Congress (some congregations are represented by two members of Congress).

Make an appointment to visit the member of Congress to deliver the letters and explain your position.

13

Interfaith PrayersRemember the ImmigrantA Prayer for Call-and-Response by Interfaith Worker Justice

Leader: We serve a God who directs us to care especially for those most vulnerable in society. Our scriptures tell us of God’s special concern for the “alien” or the “stranger,” or as more contemporary translations say—the immigrant.

Leader: We ask God to open our eyes to the struggles of immigrant workers, for we know that…

All: We must not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether the worker is a resident or immigrant living in our town. We must pay the worker the wages promptly because the worker is poor and counting on it. (Deuteronomy 24:14)

Leader: God’s desire is that those who build houses may live in them,

All: And that those who plant may eat.(Isaiah 65:22)

Leader: And yet we know this is not possible for many in our midst.

All: We know of: farm workers who cannot feed their families; construction workers who have no homes; nursing home workers who have no health care; restaurant workers who could not afford a meal in the restaurant.Leader: We know that too many immigrant workers among us are not

receiving the fruits of their labor, nor the justice required by the courts.

All: God charges our judges to hear disputes and judge fairly, whether the case involves citizens or immigrants. (Deuteronomy 1:16)

Leader: But our laws do not adequately protect immigrants. Our legal and social service programs exclude many immigrants. Our education programs undervalue immigrant children.

All: God tells us that the community is to have the same rules for citizens and for immigrants living among us. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. Citizens and immigrants shall be the same before the Lord. (Numbers 15:15)

Leader: When an immigrant lives in our land,

All: We will not mistreat him or her. We will treat an immigrant as one of our native born. We will love an immigrant as ourselves, for God’s people were once immigrants in Egypt. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

Leader: To those who employ immigrant workers, we lift up God’s command:

All: Do not oppress an immigrant. God’s people know how it feels to be immigrants because they were immigrants in Egypt. (Exodus 23: 9)

Leader: And a special word to those who employ immigrant farm workers:

All: Make sure immigrants get a day of rest. (Exodus 23:12)

Leader: To those who craft our immigration laws and policies, we lift up God’s command:

14

All: Do not deprive the immigrant or the orphan of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that God’s people were slaves in Egypt and the Lord our God redeemed them from there.(Deuteronomy 24:17-18)

Leader: To all of us who seek to do God’s will, help us to:

All: Love one another as God has loved us. Help us to treat immigrants with the justice and compassion that God shows to each of us.

A Prayer for ImmigrantsBy Jessica Vazquez Torres

Source of Life who is known by many names;

Over-turner and illuminator of hearts;We gather with gratitude for the earth and all who journey in it.We give thanks for the interconnectedness of all creation.

Source of Wisdom who is known by many names;

The Prophet Mohammed asks: What actions are most excellent?To gladden the heart of a human being;To feed the hungry;To help the afflicted;To lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful;To remove the wrongs of the injured;Let us not forget.

The Psalmist asks: Who is fit to hold power and worthy to act in God’s place?Those with a passion for the truth, who are horrified by injustice;Who act with mercy to the poor and take up the cause of the helpless;

Who have let go of selfish concerns and see the whole creation as sacred.Let us not forget.

Jesus, carpenter of Nazareth, asks: What is the greatest commandment?To love your creator;To love your neighbor;To undermine oppressive powers with life giving actions;To be in solidarity with all who suffer;To act for justice;And to teach others to act for justiceLet us not forget.

Source of Justice who is known by many names;Let us not swerve from the path of righteousness that leads to just and equitable relationship.

Open our eyes that we may see the immigrant and undocumented;Whose labor enables and sustains our living;The farm worker, the hotel maid, the line cook, the childcare provider, the healthcare worker;

Give us the courage to stand with those crossing our borders;Escaping economic oppression and political persecution;Seeking work to support their families;Aspiring to participate in the bounty of the creation;

Give us the strength to confront the prejudice and intolerance of those who are fearful;And respond by closing our borders to those who sojourn seeking life and opportunity;

Give us the will to leave behind the safety of our sanctuaries and temples;And claim our place in the movement to transform the creation;That our voice, our heart, our spirit will join the voice, heart and spirit of all who

15

demand to live with respect, justice and peace.

And let us not forget;That the creation is founded on justice;And that we have the moral responsibility to bring forth justice into these times.May it be so.

These resources were originally created by Jews United for Social Justice and are reprinted here with their permission.

SOURCE: Interfaith Worker Justice, For You Were Once a Stranger: Immigration in the U.S. Through the Lens of Faith (Resource I: Interfaith Prayers, Pp. 73-74) ww.iwj.org

16

How to Organize a “Stop the Deportations” Vigil

1. Put together a planning committee that will plan and carry out the vigil. Designate roles and responsibilities.

2. Pick a location that is symbolic and central. A church on a main road is good location.

3. Request and collect names of people who have been deported, or are awaiting deportation, from local community groups, churches and advocates who work with the immigrant community.

4. Put together a list of press who usually cover immigration topics in your community. Be sure to send them a Media Advisory (to be send 2 weeks beforehand) and a Press Release (to be send the day before and the day of).

5. Create a list of people you will invite to the vigil. Use all forms of invitation, not just emails.

6. Identify diverse spokespeople to speak at the vigil. Be sure you provide them with guiding points to address. Encourage them to share their stories and the names of people they know who have been deported or are awaiting deportation,

7. Be creative and provide visuals! Set up a memorial, enlarge photos of deportees, and/or make placards with deportee names that vigil participants can hold. Some useful materials may include: candles, flowers, pictures, and posters with deportee names and “stop the deportations” messages.

17

8. Make a list of prayers that participants can read at the vigil. The following is an example:

Prayer to Welcome Immigrantsby Dorothy Day

O God,Who welcomes all his children,And embraces even the prodigal ones,Help us open our heartsAnd welcome all who come, searchingAs our ancestors did,For the promise of a new land, a new life.

Root out fear from our souls;Help us form the words“Sister” and “Brother”As we greet the newcomers.

Let us remember that,With your grace,There are enough loaves and fishesTo go aroundIf we come togetherAs your family.

Give us the courageAnd the compassionTo respect the rights of allIn this country of abundance,To embrace all inThe name of Your love.

9. At the vigil, be sure to:a. Identify someone who will greet and navigate the media representatives.

Make sure you give them a Press Packet that includes the Press Release.b. Identify someone who will be the emcee. Make sure they have a pre-

printed schedule for the vigil that includes the order of speakers and a list of deportee names that can be read out loud.

c. Provide the opportunity for participants to share more names and stories. If necessary, designate someone who will be able to provide interpretation for those who do not speak English, or who feel more comfortable sharing in a language other than English.

d. Identify participants who would like to speak with the media.

18

Sample Media Advisory

Media Advisory

For immediate releaseTuesday, April 9th, 2013

Contacts:

Charlene ObernauerExecutive Director, L.I. Jobs with Justice631-524-3922Charlene.obernauer@gmail.com

Father Bill BrisottiPastor, Our Lady of Miraculous Medal in Wyandancholmm@optonline.net631-643-7568

Vigil Calls for an End to Immigration Deportations

This week is rumored to be the release of the much anticipated immigration reform bill, but in the meantime, community members are crying foul at the hundreds of thousands of deportations that continue to occur every year. On Tuesday, April 9th, people of faith and community members will call for an end to the deportations and immigration raids, and for the smooth passage of an immigration reform bill that puts all 11 million people on a path to citizenship.

Who:  Long Island Jobs with Justice and St. John of God in Central Islip

Co-Sponsored by: SEPA Mujer, Long Island Immigrant Alliance, 1199 SEIU, Make the Road New York

Where:  Outside of St. John of God Roman Catholic Church, 84 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip, NY When:  Tuesday, April 9th at 6:00PM

  # # #

19

Sample Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETuesday, April 9th, 2013

CONTACT:

Anita HalaszOrganizer, Long Island Jobs with Justiceahalasz.lijwj@gmail.com(718) 216-1085

Father Bill BrisottiPastor, Our Lady of Miraculous Medal in Wyandancholmm@optonline.net631-643-7568

Vigil Calls for an End to Immigration Deportations

Central Islip, NY— People of faith and community members joined together to call for an end to unjust deportations and immigration raids, and for the smooth passage of a just immigration reform bill that puts all 11 million undocumented people on a path to citizenship.

With the anticipation of Congress announcing their immigration reform bill in the upcoming weeks, protestors solemnly held signs with the names of Long Island community members who have been deported. Many of these community members were members of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch, a Roman Catholic Church that has been active in the struggle for immigration reform.

Father Bill Brisotti, Pastor of the congregation stated, “As we see an imminent possibility for the comprehensive, just and humane reform of our nation’s immigration policy, we ask our government to stop deporting undocumented people, especially those with families and dependent children, and those for whom a reformed policy might provide a path to legalization.”

The group cited numbers from the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement that claim 400,000 immigrants are deported every year.

“A vast majority of people deported have not committed any serious crime,” said Anita Halasz, Organizer with Long Island Jobs with Justice. “Thousands upon thousands of families have been separated, leaving 1 out of 4 children of immigrants in foster care without their parents.”

Two of the speakers at the rally were workers at Three Guys in Brooklyn and members of UFCW Local 348-S. They held signs that read “NO MORE RAIDS”, and spoke about their experience of having their restaurant raided by Immigration Customs and Enforcement last week, calling the current immigration system unjust and unfair.

20

“We are hardworking people just trying to earn a living like everyone else,” said Augustin Martinez, a member of UFCW Local 348-S and one of the workers at the restaurant that was raided.

“Our families and communities need immigration reform that is committed to unity and love, not division and intolerance. We need laws that are compassionate and just, not punitive and judgmental. We need to recognize the many contributions and hard work of our immigrant brothers and sisters and welcome them with open arms and hearts,” concluded Halasz. 

Today’s event was co-sponsored by St. John of God Roman Catholic Church, SEPA Mujer, Long Island Immigrant Alliance, 1199 SEIU, and Make the Road NY.

 ###

 Long Island Jobs with Justice is a Coalition of students, people of faith, unions, and

community members.

21