NM Faith Coalition At City Hall...Again

On Monday, June 7th, a vigil to call attention to the impact of city policies and ICE on immigrant domestic violence survivors brought more than 100 people together. The vigil was held outside of City Hall before the weekly City Council meeting. The vigil ended with the English and Spanish singing of "We Shall Overcome" and a silent march into the City Council chambers.

Rev. Daniel Erdman, a local UCC pastor, read a statement to the City Council on behalf of the NM Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the NM Conference of Churches. We stood up as he read this statement:

Statement – City Council – June 7, 2010

My name is Daniel Erdman, and I represent the New Mexico Conference of Churches, which is a member of the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice.

A number of organizations and coalitions are present today, and I ask their members to please stand and remain standing at this time.

We come with one message: the Albuquerque community cannot be divided over the issues relating to immigration, and immigrants must not be blamed for the difficulties we face as a city and as a society.

We are ONE Albuquerque!

New Mexico has a proud tradition of diversity and cultural enrichment. Although economically poor, we have become an example of how people of different races, ethnicities, cultures and faiths can not only coexist with each other but also appreciate and celebrate our differences. We cannot allow influential people to devalue this tradition for short-term political advantage.

Not a sign of simple tolerance or indifference, our traditions of diversity rather express the best of our values, whether religious or humanist, values on which this nation was founded and without which it will perish: “that all are created equal, with certain inalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Therefore:
• We denounce any political tactics that would scapegoat the most recent arrivals in our midst.
• We resist any public pronouncements that forget our own histories and experiences of immigration.
• We abhor any veiled or explicit defamation that would equate immigrants with criminality.
• We protest the criminalization of those who have only violated a civil code in seeking a better life for their families.
• We renounce the terminology that would describe any human person as being “illegal”.

I ask all those who are standing to remain in silence for a moment, to reflect on these our common values and to silently express our hope that we as the community called Albuquerque, and the State of New Mexico, can together put into practice our civility, our unity and our humanity.

NM Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice at City Hall

On Monday, May 17th, members of the NM Faith Coalition joined a packed City Hall to show support for the Garduno/Sanchez measures on the agenda which challenged Mayor Berry's new procedure for local law enforcement and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as calling for a boycott of city funds in Arizona, like so many other cities have done.

Members of the coalition also spoke to City Council during the 5 hour meeting, including Rev Anita Amstutz of Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Melissa Jameson of St. Michael All Angels Episcopal Church, Renee Wolters of First Unitarian Church, and immigrant Lily Otto.

The NM Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice also distributed bright orange stickers that said "Keep Abq Immigrant Friendly" and more than half the room wore the stickers to identify that they were in favor of the Garduno/Sanchez measures.

Unfortunately, the measures failed by one vote. Please thank Councilmembers Rey Garduno, Ken Sanchez, Debbie O'Malley, and Isaac Benton for supporting compassionate immigrant policies.

NM Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice Opposes Arizona SB 1070

The New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice opposes the new law in our neighboring state, Arizona, which further criminalizes immigrants. We have signed on to this statement by the national new sanctuary movement:

"The National New Sanctuary Movement today renews its commitment to take a moral and united public stand in support of compassionate immigration reform. As guardians of society's values, faith leaders have the capacity and moral duty to support families suffering under unjust immigration laws. Millions of Americans who are members of our religious communities seek answers from us, not only about our nation's laws, but also, more importantly, God's laws.

It is for this reason that members of the New Sanctuary Movement, representing clergy and lay leaders from many faiths and denominations from across the country, condemn Arizona's SB 1070. We call for its immediate repeal, and we will resist these efforts that attempt to divide our communities. Resistance to this law is in solidarity with all God's children, and the New Sanctuary Movement will be in public witness to reveal the suffering of families under SB 1070.

We echo the sentiments of Juan Carlos Ruiz, Catholic leader and co-founder of the New Sanctuary Movement, who has promised resistance: "Anything that belittles or debases the human person is an offense and an insult against our God and must be resisted with all the resources of our faith traditions that call us to build a world of compassion, justice and peace."

Called by the demands of our faith, we insist that our elected leaders pass an immigration reform bill that is humane and just, a bill that ensures family unity and mitigates harsh enforcement provisions, which has worker protections and a rational path to documented status. We are unanimous in our belief that all people, documented and undocumented, must be treated humanely and justly."

May 1st: Day of the Immigrant

The NM Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice is proud to sponsor the May 1st Concert, Vigil and Fiesta for Immigrants in Albuquerque. From 6-8pm we will gather at the new Plaza Encuentro (714 4th St SW between Coal & Bridge) to celebrate immigrants in Albuquerque and support humane immigration reform in our country. We will be participating in an interfaith vigil at 6:30pm. Please join us!

Honoring a Man of Faith: !Cesar Chavez Presente!

The New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice will celebrate the life and work of Cesar Chavez by marching on Saturday, March 27th at 11am from the Westside Community Center to the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Cesar's deep faith sustained his struggle to get recognition for the people who feed us.
"From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength."

Cesar wrote the book "My Faith In Action", sharing the power of faith put towards social justice.

Please join us Saturday either at the march or the National Hispanic Cultural Center!
More info at: cesarchaveznm.org

Opportunities to Learn More about Immigration & Faith

We in the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice care about educating ourselves and our community. We host a monthly training on different topics as part of our meetings:

Understanding Immigration Policies: Rachel LaZar of El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos (Nov 2009)
Introduction to Immigration Law: Rebecca Kitson, immigration attorney, 1st UU (Feb 21, 2010)
The Migration of Central Americans: Fr. Rafael Garcia, Immaculate Conception (March 7, 2010)
Understanding Asylum: Dr. Tom Davies (April TBA)

Please join us in understanding the issues around immigration to the United States and discuss how people of faith can show hospitality and compassion.

NM Faith Coalition Meets with Mayor's Office about Immigration Policy

Fifty five local religious leaders signed a letter from the NM Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice to Mayor Berry expressing concern about immigration policy in Albuquerque. Every member of City Council was cc'd on the letter.

After receiving the letter, the mayor's office offered to meet with the coalition. Five representatives of the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, including a Catholic priest & new immigrant, an Episcopalian & ESL teacher, a Unitarian & immigration attorney, a Christian leader and former APD/Community Relations board member, and a recent immigrant, met with a representative of Mayor Berry's office for more than an hour to discuss policy.

The mayor's office was presented with faith statements on immigration from the mainstream Christian, Jewish and Muslim perspectives. He was also provided with a study conducted by the National Police Foundation in May 2009 that found that when local law enforcement tries to enforce federal immigration law, the result is a decrease in public safety, a diversion of scarce resources, and an undermining of police-community relations. Read the study here:
http://www.policefoundation.org/strikingabalance/strikingabalance.html

We urged Mayor Berry's office to change current APD policy regarding certification of crime victims applying for a U-visa (specific visa granted to crime victims and witnesses who assist with prosecution)—currently APD has a blanket policy NOT to certify these victims, requiring that U-visa petitioners go to NM state police for certification, which is difficult and time-consuming. We also expressed that we do not support a change in APD policy which would mean enforcing federal immigration laws (the work of ICE not local law enforcement).

We were pleased that the mayor's assistant took extensive notes and dialogued with us for almost 1.5 hours. We look forward to ways in which we can help create better public safety policies in Albuquerque which reduce racial profiling and criminalization of migrants.