By Immigration Law & Justice Network | Co-Executive Director Alba Jaramillo
By Rev. Lyssette Pérez | President of MARCHA (Methodist Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic/Latnix-Americans)
Immigration Law & Justice Network a network of 19 immigration legal service providers, and MARCHA (Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic/Latinx Americans, the official Hispanic/Latinx caucus of the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico, condemns again, in the strongest terms, Governors Abbot’s (TX), DeSantis (FL), and Ducey’s (AZ) inhumane migrant relocation programs.
As we mentioned in our last press release on November 10, 2022 these three governors have continued busing —or flown—thousands of asylum seekers to Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Martha’s Vineyard, and even Vice President Kamala Harris’s official residence. They have done so in bad faith and without coordination with non-profits and local government.
We know these state governments intend to continue to divide, sow mistrust, and create chaos, overwhelming the social services of the states which are receiving the immigrants and ultimately turning away migrants at the border seeking refuge.
Recently, the same governors are passing anti-immigration laws that violate the human rights of those who are seeking refuge and sanction the communities of faith who are welcoming immigrants following our faith values. These dehumanizing policies create trauma by breaking the nuclear families and violating the fundamental right of religious freedom.
As a network of legal service providers and people of faith, we know that this political stunt is cruel and immoral.
WE JOINTLY CONTINUE CALLING FOR:
1. An immediate end to this dehumanizing political charade of transporting migrants around the nation.
2. All elected leaders and political candidates to refrain from hateful language towards the immigrant community and use asylum seekers as political props.
3. National and local news networks to provide accurate and unbiased information as they cover this humanitarian crisis while denouncing discriminatory narratives.
4. Communities of faith and other community groups where migrants are arriving to organize and offer radical hospitality to ensure the safety and well-being of those displaced through this vindictive practice.
5. Interreligious communities in states with anti-immigrant policies, such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona, to come together and organize massively and press the governors in question to dismay in their attempt to dehumanize the migrant families and demand the protection of their religious rights.
6. The Biden Administration “to restore and strengthen our asylum system,” as has been promised multiple times since his campaign.