Washington, DC – Since its inception, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) has held one truth: Our diverse faith traditions compel us to welcome one another with love and compassion, regardless of place of birth, religion, or race. Yet religious institutions, communities, and leaders have fallen short of this ideal, and are complicit in the systemic racism that harms the bodies and souls of Black people in America and around the world.
In solidarity with Black people in the United States and around the world who have been terrorized, targeted, injured, and killed by police and by the violence of the systemic racism in our nation’s institutions, we call for justice, action, and accountability.
The racism that undergirds our nation’s carceral system feeds our current system of “crimmigration:” the nexus of immigration policy, policing, detention, and deportation; it is fundamentally at odds with our deeply held interfaith value of recognizing the sacred in every human being. Approximately four million immigrants are Black, and at least half a million of that total are undocumented. Undocumented immigrants have taken immeasurable risk and demonstrated profound courage by protesting in support of Black lives.
The work to create a humane and just world for all people, regardless of immigration status, is inextricably intertwined with the work of racial justice to ensure the safety of dignity of Black lives.
In the spirit of solidarity, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition commits to the following:
- To undertake deep, internal work as a coalition – specifically the IIC members and leaders who are not BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Color) – with the long-term goal of dismantling racism and white supremacy within our coalition and becoming better allies and advocates. This work will include but not be limited to ongoing self-education, increasing diversity within the IIC, and centering those most impacted in our work.
- To build relationships with, center, and lift up the work of Black immigrant-led organizations who have long been working at the intersection of immigration and racial justice, including but not limited to African Communities Together, Black Alliance for Justice Immigration, Black Immigrant Collective, Cameroon American Council, Family Action Network Movement, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Inc., and Undocublack.
- To endorse the Movement for Black Lives platform.
In addition to the commitments above, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition encourages its member organizations, faith communities, faith leaders, and individual members to:
- Share these resources for faith communities providing sanctuary to and solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter.
- Participate in the Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington, and sign the Poor People’s Campaign’s open letter to our nation’s lawmakers on systemic racism.
- Encourage our faith communities’ participation in BIPOC-led movements, such as the Juneteenth weekend mobilization.
- Follow the leadership of BIPOC faith communities by engaging in vigils, studies, discussion groups, and other means of education on how to be anti-racist and dismantle systemic racism.
- Connect on the ground with Black Lives Matter and other grassroots campaigns led by people of color.
- Support efforts to defund the police and invest in nonviolent community-based protection mechanisms.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 55 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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