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How To Do: Isaiah 58 - National Solidarity Vigil and Fast for Arizona |
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| PRAYER FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM |
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Our God, you have given us in your word |
IMMIGRATION (Most U.S. wants Overhaul of Immigration Laws) |
IMMIGRATION (This week in Immigration) |
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IMMIGRATION (Immigration - Arizona |
IMMIGRATION (Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas) |
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IMMIGRATION (Chicago's religious leaders protest Arizona immigration law) |
IMMIGRATION (Radio Spot) |
| Postville
Anniversary spurs renewed calls for
Comprehensive Immigration reform |
Catholic Religious Leaders Call for Action  On the second anniversary of the immigration raid on the Agri-Processors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, on May 12, 2008, groups throughout Eastern Iowa and around the nation are holding prayer services and public protests, hoping to draw attention to the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform. The Intercommunity Peace and Justice Task Force of Northeast Iowa sponsored a prayer service for immigrants and immigration reform on May 12, starting in downtown Waterloo, Ia., that began in Lincoln Park and ended with a walk and prayer at the Black Hawk County Jail where many of those arrested in Postville two years ago were detained before being sent to federally financed prisons around the country and then deported. In Davenport, Ia., a bilingual Mass was held on May 12th at St. Mary's Catholic Church followed by a special prayer service. The prayer service, composed by Sister of Charity Mary McCauley, Dubuque, who worked as a pastoral minister in Postville in 2008, was, she explained, “in memory of all who live life in the shadows because of their fears of being detected by authorities, and in hope that one day we can all live in peace.” Services using Sister McCauley’s prayer were also conducted in Postville and in Clinton, Ia. Word was received in Dubuque on May 12th that Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas, the federal interpreter who served at the hearings for the immigrants in 2008 and who lectured on the implications of the raid in six Eastern Iowa cities in March of this year, will receive the Clarion Award given by Catholic Academy at the Catholic Press Association convention in June. The award is given for outstanding work in communications. Dr. Camayd-Freixas has testified before Congress and published several essays on the threat to American democracy posed by the mass raids. In Silver Spring, Md., the presidents of the national conferences of men and women religious, comprising leaders of US orders of Catholic priests, brothers and sisters, issued a statement calling on President Obama and Senate and House leaders to work for comprehensive immigration reform now. The members of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) represent the majority of the nation’s Catholic sisters, brothers and religious priests, a number of whom work directly with immigrant families and communities. The statement reiterates a previous joint statement issued in 2007 in response to the failure of comprehensive immigration reform which stated: “The status quo is morally unacceptable, as millions of immigrants are relegated again to the shadows in our nation.” The current statement was prompted by the “recent draconian enforcement-only legislation in the state of Arizona and by the introduction by Senator Schumer and others of a Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform, which, according to the statement “once again underscores the absolute necessity for Congress to act soon and to fix, in a comprehensive way, our broken immigration system.” While acknowledging the right of the United States “to control its borders,” the presidents affirm the need for a “just and humane approach to immigration reform which must include a path to citizenship, family reunification and protection of workers’ rights.” The statement emphasizes both religious values inherent in the “Catholic faith and missions of many of our Religious Institutes” and the national US value of being a “welcoming people.” |
Active Nonviolence & Peacemaking - Nuclear Disarmament
Immigration Reform - Poverty/Social Justice - Environment - Death Penalty