Building/Rentals > Art Gallery

IMMIGRATION JUSTICE

Speak with authority, act with compassion, work for just and humane reform.

Current and Upcoming Events and Activities:

The next session of the state legislature will begin January 17th. It is sure to be a busy one for justice advocates. On the agenda will be the driver’s license issue (again), funding for education, and a measure to give in-state tuition to non-citizen residents of New Mexico. The legislative Action Team will be seeking your assistance in informing our representatives of our concerns on these and other moral or justice issues. Please watch the Messenger, Broadsheet, and order of service for more information. During the legislative session we will again organize lobbying trips to the Roundhouse in conjunction with Albuquerque Interfaith. 

NEWS

Border Trip Report (Sunday Forum presentation)
On Sunday, November 6th, several of our members who traveled to Tucson and Nogales reported on their experiences at the border. They came back with a deeper and more personal understanding of the realities on the Arizona/Mexico border. Several of the approximately 60 people who attended the forum have expressed interest in another trip, possibly to the Douglas/Agua Prieta border area to visit the Café Justo operation and learn more about other significant projects in that area. Anyone interested in planning and/or going on this next trip is invited to sign up at the Immigration Table in the courtyard between Sunday services.

Angela’s Presentation to
UUA President’s Council
Following the trip to the border, Rev. Angela Herrera was invited to Boston to speak to the UUA President’s Council on the immigration justice programs and activities of our congregation here at Albuquerque UU. Her report was enthusiastically received! After the presentation the Council asked Albuquerque UU present a workshop at the 2012 UUA General Assembly in Phoenix.

UUA Immigration Initiative Grant Approved
Through the tireless efforts of grant writers Liz McMaster and Carolyn McSherry, a UUA grant for matching funds to be used for specified purposes in the Albuquerque immigrant justice programs has been approved. On February 17th the church will hold a fundraising event to help support this effort. Watch for further developments.

Here are some of the things the action teams have been up to:

The Education Team has established a growing lending library, which they share at their table in the courtyard each Sunday. Also available at the table is information about immigration and upcoming events. Much useful information on how to impact legislation and communicate with government officials will be featured in December and January.

The Legislative Action Committee will be organizing trips to Santa Fe during the January legislative session. They will also be organizing, promoting, and encouraging all forms of communication with our representatives. Let the help you get involved in our democracy!

Some More Background on Our Year of Learning and Action on Immigration

Immigration reform is one of the most pressing moral issues of our time. In 2012, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s annual General Assembly will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, where thousands of Unitarian Universalists will convene to speak out—not just to Arizona but to the whole nation—in solidarity with those harmed by the current, broken system, calling for reasonable and humane reform.

At First Unitarian, we are engaged in a year of learning and action on immigration. There are many ways for you to get involved. Look for opportunities such as:

· Inform yourself about immigration issues and write to your representatives.
· Joining a trip to Santa Fe to work for better laws and prevent unproductive,   discriminatory legislation from being enacted
· Attending deportation hearings (the presence of community members is known to influence how immigrants are treated)
· Working with our neighbors here in Albuquerque who are suffering under the broken system
· Joining field trips to the US/Mexico border; the El Paso border patrol; and the Otero County detention center
· Attend General Assembly in Phoenix and/or help plan and present a workshop there.
· Helping to plan the above events and more (see “Action Teams”
below)
 

As people of faith, UUs are called to speak out with a
moral voice on immigration, asking questions such as:

• What kind of reforms would honor the inherent worth and dignity
of all people while protecting the well-being of the our nation?
• Where are there abuses of power? Where can we speak truth to
power?
• And, because we are UUs, we are called to do it with compassion
and respect for all parties involved.

Immigration Facts

· Today, the US southern border is more militarized than ever
before, with more agents than any other time in the border patrol's
history, a longer fence, and--for the first time--unmanned
aerial surveillance.

· Border apprehensions--people being caught trying to cross illegally--
decreased by 36% from 2008-2010. However, deaths have increased,
as people try to circumvent authorities by crossing in areas previously considered too dangerous even for human traffickers.

· Since 2001, the bodies of more than 2,100 undocumented people--including children--have been recovered in Arizona's desert.

· 2010 was a record setting year for immigrant deaths: (from October 2010 through June of 2010: 128 deaths)

· Many human rights violations have been documented in current US detainment and deportation practices, including denying detainees food, water, and medical attention, and caging prisoners outdoors in the desert sun. Detainees do not have the right to a public defender, and deportation hearings are conducted in large groups, with no individual representation.

· Moral violations include the unnecessary separation of families. Men, women, and children who have been detained are sent to separate detention facilities and deported separately (and often far from the site where they crossed over).

· An estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the US-- far more than the US has the resources to deport.

· A legal path to immigration is not available to most undocumented immigrants. The wait time for legal residency, if you qualify, can be well over twenty years. Meanwhile, some sectors of the US economy have come to depend upon people who are currently undocumented laborers.

Who's Who

Steering Committee

The Immigration Steering Committee was initiated by our church’s Social Justice Council, and oversees the whole of First Unitarian’s year of learning and action on immigration. They are also coordinating our congregation’s involvement in General Assembly in Phoenix in 2012. Committee members are:

• The Rev. Angela Herrera aherrera@uuabq.org
• David Colton dcolton8@comcast.net
• The Rev. Liz McMaster mcmaster5965@msn.com
• Carolyn McSherry care@unm.edu
• Rebecca Kitson, Immigration Attorney rkitson@jlawit.com
• Jay Johnson and Barbara Free jayjojohn@yahoo.com
• Carmen Samora csamora@samoralegacy.com


Since immigration is a multifaceted issue, the steering committee established three action teams to tackle immigration justice from three angles: legislative and policy advocacy; hands-on help for neighbors in need; and educating ourselves and others. Action team planning meetings are open to the congregation. For more information about a specific action team’s meeting time or plans, contact the team members listed in the descriptions below.

Immigrant Justice Initiatives

The Immigrant Justice Steering Committee promotes efforts to educate church members and the community about immigration and border issues and encourages members to get involved with action and service. Presently, this has spawned four distinct but allied working groups, each of which focuses its action on a specific area of interest. You are invited to join us on any of these teams and participate in making a difference.

1. The Legislative Action Team:
Identifies issues of concern and organizes lobbying efforts, trips to sessions
of the state legislature, letter writing and workshops on current legislative
issues impacting immigrants in New Mexico and around the country. (see
also State Legislative Issues group). For information and opportunities for
service contact Dave Colton at dcolton8@comcast.net

2. The Education Action Team:
Promotes education actions such as guest speakers, forums, book study
groups and trips. Also helps other action teams publicize their activities.
Recently organized a trip to the Nogales border area. Other trips will
follow, including service trips and detention center visits.
For information and opportunities contact Kris Olson at OLSON_K@aps.edu

3. Know Your Rights Initiatives:
We are organizing to provide information directly to families and
individuals who are in detention or may face that possibility, so they
can know their rights in such circumstances.
For information and opportunities contact Rebecca Kitson at rkitson@jlawit.com

4. Support for established in-house programs helping immigrants and others:
After-School Tutoring Program for information - Alicia Hawkins ahawkabq@comcast.net

ESL (Adult English as a Second Language Program) is an evening tutoring program for adults wanting to learn or improve their English. For information contact Ursula Biggers UBRVB@comcast.net