MEMO: Will Sen. Shelby use his approps power for good?

September 23, 2019

TO: Alabama news editors, reporters, and columnists 

FROM: Interfaith Immigration Coalition 

RE: Will Sen. Shelby use his power for good? (immigration/appropriations)

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

Matthew 25:35 NIV

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.

Mark 12:30-31 NIV

As Congress finalizes spending bills for Fiscal Year 2020, we urge Senator Richard Shelby to remember that Jesus was once a stranger. We call on Senator Shelby, as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to use his significant power to end overspending on unchecked enforcement and fund immigration policies that protect children, keep families together, welcome refugees, and live out Jesus’ call to treat all human beings as we would God.

SaId Katie Adams, Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and Policy Advocate for Domestic Issues with the United Church of Christ: “Senator Richard Shelby holds an important leadership position in the Senate and plays a critical role in the Appropriations process. It is up to him to ensure that our federal tax dollars are directed in line with the values we uphold as a nation. This does not mean we erase all immigration laws. It means we infuse them with compassion, remembering that our faith calls on us to love our neighbors and welcome strangers as we would God.

“And when the law is no longer just, as is the case for many asylum-seekers and undocumented immigrants who have lived here for decades, we must find the moral courage and conviction to reform the laws so that they do represent our values.” 

This memo includes: asylum and detention; refugee resettlement; indiscriminate deportations; our call to action for Senator Shelby; and resources.

Restricting Asylum, Detaining Children and Migrants

More than thirty national, faith-based organizations sent a letter to Congress calling for a reduction in “the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) budget for deportation, detention, and border militarization.”

Rather, they urge support for programs that include “community-based alternatives to detention, mitigation of the root causes of forced migration, and meaningful reforms that would reunite families permanently and allow our communities to flourish.” Alternatives to detention are cost-effective, functional, and humane; read about them here.

Eviscerating Our Nation’s Commitment to Resettling Refugees

Faith leaders and faithful Americans are concerned about dramatic cuts to the U.S. Refugee Resettlement program that have already taken place and are rumored to continue this month. Lynda Wilson and Debbie Soniat of the Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership recently wrote on AL.com: 

When Trump announced he was reducing the refugee cap to 30,000 for 2019, the lowest number in more than 40 years, we urged people to contact their legislators. It may not have worked then, but we’re not giving up. And we’re not alone. In early August, a bipartisan group of 18 senators released a letter calling Trump’s proposal “alarming” and urging the administration to let in more refugees—not fewer.

There are 25.4 million refugees around the world, according to the United Nations, a 50 percent increase since 2013. These are ordinary people trying to escape war and persecution. We find it shameful that the United States, traditionally a generous and compassionate country, has turned its back to these vulnerable families.

Deporting Long-Term Alabama Residents, Instead of Reforming the Law

Americans of goodwill are also concerned about the government’s approach to the status of long-term U.S. residents who are immigrants. Deportations are being carried out without regard to the impact on children, families, communities, and lives. No longer is the government considering an individual’s positive contribution before insisting on deportation.

This has inspired nearly three dozen churches in Birmingham alone to offer refuge for immigrants who fear raids and deportation. They cite their “ethical and theological commitments” that require them to “take a stand against policies and language that dehumanize our immigrant siblings.” 

Sometimes, the law is not just and needs to be fixed. Sometimes, too, the law needs to be carried out with the addition of common sense and compassion. In February, The Anniston Star published an editorial that said the “[i]mmigration debate needs compassion—in Alabama, too.” 

Senator Shelby, Will You Use Your Appropriations Power for Good?

In their letter to Congress, religious groups called for federal appropriations to contribute to “a world where every child of God is clothed, fed, safe, loved, and free. As people of faith, our various traditions command us to love our neighbors and welcome guests as we would welcome God.”

We want to know: will Senator Shelby heed this moral call and fund immigration policies that faithful, compassionate, and good?

Resources

View immigrants’ economic contributions in Alabama and demographic traits in this data from New American Economy.

Read this memo on border policy recommendations and this backgrounder on how federal appropriations can reflect our values by Interfaith Immigration Coalition.

To interview Alabama faith leaders, contact Interfaith Immigration Coalition (media@interfaithimmigration.org).

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 53 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.

Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm

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