Author Archives: Lisa Swanson

Yesterday, faith leaders and people of faith gathered at the Episcopalian Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D.C.–just a few blocks west of the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy, and a few blocks east of the White House–to pray and witness for comprehensive immigration reform.

The interfaith press conference and vigil had originally been scheduled to coincide with a White House summit on immigration with Administration and Congressional leaders. But late last week, the date of the summit was pushed back–for the second time. The bipartisan summit was scheduled initially for June 8th, then rescheduled for Wed. June 17th. Now, there’s no certainty about the new date. Organizers of yesterday’s vigil, who included Reform Immigration For America and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, decided to continue as planned, in spite of the summit’s shifting date.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Unitarian Universalist faith leaders lead vigil attendees in reflection and prayers for President Obama and Congress to have the courage to move legislation forward this year. Speakers included: Rabbi Darryl Crystal, KAM Isaiah Israel, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Chicago, IL; Rev. Simon Bautista, Latino Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington; Fr. Robert Wotjek, Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD; Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, Bull Run Unitarian Universalist in Manassas, VA; and Rabbi Noam Marans, Associate Director of Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee.

After the vigil’s conclusion, faith leaders and attendees proceeded to the White House for further prayer and witness. Watch the video above to see reflections on immigration reform from Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, who has been involved in immigrant justice work in Manassas, Virginia.

“When we talk about immigration, there are always theological questions lurking just under the surface of our usual arguments. Here are some:
Is it moral to exclude people from this country?
Is it moral for a country to defend its borders, and if it is, why is it moral?
Is it ever right for a group to band together and keep out others who “don’t belong”?”
—excerpt from “Family Across Borders,” by Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig

This Mother’s Day, Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton, California, preached on the theology of immigration. After sharing a story from her own family’s experience and contemplating the theological questions behind how we approach immigration, Laura closed her sermon by explaining HR 182, the Child Citizen Protection Act, and encouraging members of her congregation to fill out postcards to their representative asking them to co-sponsor the Child Citizen Protection Act.

Read Laura’s sermon, Family Across Borders, and then send your own message to your representative through our online action campaign.

The Child Citizen Protection Act would allow immigration judges to take into account the well-being of a U.S. citizen child when determining if their non-citizen parent should be forcibly deported. The bill would offer hope to families which include include at least one non-citizen parent and a U.S. citizen child—which make up 15% of all families in the United States.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep before Stephen Colbert interviewed Sheriff Joe Arpaio on The Colbert Report this past Monday night, but Alex and I watched a clip of their conversation online this afternoon.

Over the course of a seven minute exchange in which Colbert did most of the talking, the discussion touched on law enforcement, racial profiling, and the border wall. Sheriff Arpaio responded to Colbert’s questions clearly and professionally, and even with a certain measure of grace–especially in light of the fact that a crowd of picketers was outside the building, protesting his treatment of undocumented immigrants.

Watching the interview, it was obvious that Sheriff Arpaio possesses a great deal of knowledge, experience, and passion for law enforcement. But I was troubled by how the pragmatism of his answers glossed over the human costs of his immigration enforcement practices.

For example, when the conversation turned to racial profiling, Arpaio said that identifying undocumented immigrants on sight is “pursuant to [his and his officers’] duties” in enforcing immigration laws. And while that may seem on the surface like a logical answer to the question asked, for me it misses the point.

Arpaio’s response, though calm and seemingly logical, left unacknowledged the suffering that his methods have created in immigrant and Latino communities by spreading fear and dividing families.

We need strong law enforcement, but first we need to be sure that the laws that we’re enforcing are good–that we have policies that work. Currently, our immigration policy is overwhelmingly broken. Enforcing broken laws is dangerous as well as ineffective.

We need pragmatism in our law enforcement, but our pragmatism absolutely must be anchored in compassion and respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every human being.

Watching the interview reaffirmed my belief in how important it is that Unitarian Universalists practice advocacy. The compassionate perspective is so very important, and that’s what we, as people who value both human diversity and interconnectedness, bring to the table on issues of social justice.

What do you think? Please feel free to share your comments and reflections on the video here.

Tonight, this man . . .

. . . will take on this man . . .

on Comedy Central. 11:30 PM/10:30 C.

I might have to stay up past my bedtime.

(Who are these men, anyway? Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report, photo by DJOkatu on Creative Commons, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix, Arizona, photo by lanceold on Creative Commons. Colbert is the host of mock news show The Colbert Report. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being investigated for civil rights abuses against immigrants.)

In the latest of a string of experiments in finding new ways to connect and inform the UU immigrant justice community, the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy is hosting a conference call this Tuesday, April 21st, from 4 to 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. The call will briefly cover:

* Legislative developments
* May actions including May 1st and the May 12th Day of Remembrance
* May 2009 Action of the Month: Crash Course for Immigrant Justice materials
* The new UUA Immigrant Justice presence on Twitter, Delicious, and Facebook

To participate, send an email to lswanson [at] uua.org. I’ll email you the call-in number, access code, and agenda on Tuesday morning.

First there were webpages.

Then there was an email update list.

And now . . . . there’s UUA_Immigration Twitter!

. . . And UUA_Immigration on del.icio.us.

–And last but not least, a new Facebook group called Another Unitarian Universalist Acting for Immigrant Justice on May 1, 2009.

Not sure how Twitter, del.icio.us, or Facebook work? Us neither. (Just kidding). (Sort of).

Why are you still reading this post? Go click on the links and explore!