Immigrant Justice Update

Daniel Stracka, Chair

UULMCA Immigrant Justice Steering Committee

Founder, UURISE

Rev. Lindi Ramsden

Senior Minister & Executive Director

UULMCA

Staff for Immigrant Justice Team

Jan Meslin Detention Visitations

and UULMCA Immigrant Justice

Steering Committee

UU s and allies join Sept 29, 2012 TRUST Act Rally in McArthur Park, LA

Immigrant Justice Update

AGENDA• Welcome and Intros • UULMCA Immigrant Justice Team• Past Actions • Next Steps

o Legislative Priority - TRUST Acto County and statewide organizingo Building Relationships through volunteer engagement

(Detention center visitation, DACA, etc)

• Learning Opportunities

Welcome & Introductions

• Your Name• Congregation • County • Four words that describe

why you care about immigrant justice

What is a UULMCA Justice Team?1) Steering Committee

2) Guiding Principles

3) Immigrant Justice Congregational Contacts

4) UULMCA Staff Support

Immigrant Justice Team

• Daniel Stracka, chairUURISE & Palomar UU - Vista

• Rev. Tera LittleThroop UU, Pasadena and PSWD Staff

• Jan MeslinTapestry UU, Mission Viejo

• Barbara MooreEmerson UU, Canoga Park

• Richard HobbsFirst Unitarian Church of San Jose

• Amy Moses-Lagos, scribeUU Church of Berkeley

• Bob LaneMt. Diablo UU, Walnut Creek

• Rev. Lindi Ramsden, staffUULMCA

Immigrant Justice TeamThe Steering Committee is responsible for

policy direction, program, and growing our organizing capacity

Immigrant Justice Team

UU ancestors crossed borders to flee persecution and seek religious freedom in 1500 and 1600s

• Michael Servetus of Spain fled persecution because of his theology and writings - On the Errors of the Trinity

• Italian religious liberals flee from Italy and Switzerland to Poland

• Bernard Ochino banished at age 76 from Zurich in the winter, dies trying to find safe harbor

• Polish Bretheren flee to Holland & Translyvania

Guiding Principles: grounded in UU History

Immigrant Justice Team

Resistance and service • 1840s -Henry David Thoreau opposes war with Mexico, active

with underground railroad • 1850s - Theodore Parker –resists fugitive slave act• 1860s - Thomas Starr King teaches the value of multi-cultural

society and keeps CA in the union during Civil War • 1940s - UUSC helps those persecuted by Nazi’s to escape • 1960s – 70s Support for Farmworkers• 1980s –Central American Sanctuary Movement• 2012 - UUA Justice GA

Link to UUA Statements on Immigration

Guiding Principles: Historical Grounding

Immigrant Justice Team

1. Family Reunification

2. Path to Residency and Citizenship

3. Legal Remedies for Continuing and Future Migration

4. Just and Humane Enforcement Policies: We will work for enforcement policies which treat all people with dignity and respect, including policies that afford migrants fair and equal treatment under the law and recognize their due process protections. We will work to reduce the incarceration of migrants who have committed no crime, and work to ensure humane detention conditions for those migrants who are detained.

5. Integration of Migrants Into Our Society

6. Just and Sustainable Development Policies

For the full text of the UULMCA Immigrant Justice Guiding Principles

go to www.uulmca.org/immigrantjustice

Guiding Principles - Goals

Immigrant Justice Team

• Far North

• Sacramento & Foothills

• North Bay/Lake County

• East BayGarner Takahashi MorrisBob Lane, Contra Costa & Alameda Counties

• SF & Northern Peninsula

• Silicon Valley

• Central Coast Deborah Pembrook

• Northern San Joaquin/Sonora

• South San Joaquin

• Channel

• San Fernando Valley Meredith Graham & Rev. Betty Stapleford

Barbara Moore, LA County

• Los AngelesKathleen McGregor Barbara Moore, LA County

• Orange County/South LARev. Karen Stoyanoff & Jan MeslinJan Meslin, Orange County

Barbara Moore, LA County

• Inland Empire

• San Diego CountyPatrick McLaughlin

Congregational Ambassadors, Contacts, & Clusters

Key: Red = UULMCA Cluster Coordinator (general organizing) Green = Countywide UULMCA Immigrant Justice Coordinator

Together we are making a difference.

The UULMCA Immigrant Justice Team has made great strides in engaging UUs in moving from promise to commitment, from talking justice to doing justice. Together we are doing more than we could ever do alone!

2011-12 Education & Action

Congregational Study

Immigration as a Moral Issue

Group Read: The Death of Joseline

Workshops & TrainingsOctober 2011 - Mt. Diablo UU

March 2012 - Neighborhood UU

March 2012 – Border Links Trip

April 2012 - PSWD District Assembly First Unitarian LA

May 2012 - Farmworker Reality Tour Watsonville, CA

June 2012 - Justice GA 2012 Phoenix, AZ

Past Education & Actions

TRUST Act (AB1081)•May 2012 Lobby Day in Sacramento•Prayers for TRUST – Prayer Flags•Public Witness – in Sacramento, in LA•County Level Organizing – LA, Contra Costa

• Pasadena Police Chief Interfaith Clergy Visit

2011-12 Legislation

TRUST Act -AB1081(Ammiano)• Passed the CA Legislature

• Check how your Legislators Voted• Assembly 48 aye, 26 no, 6 not voting• Senate 24 aye, 13 no, 3 not voting

• Governor vetoed bill September 30, 2012Hopeful (if confused) veto message

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1081 without my signature.

Undocumented immigrants play a major role in California's economy, with many performing low-wage jobs that others don't want. Comprehensive immigration reform including a path to citizenship would provide tremendous economic benefits and is long overdue. Until we have immigration reform, federal agents shouldn't try to coerce local law enforcement officers into detaining people who've been picked up for minor offenses and pose no reasonable threat to their community.

But I am unable to sign this bill as written. Under the bill, local officers would be prohibited from complying with an immigration detainer unless the person arrested was charged with, or has been previously convicted of, a serious or violent felony. Unfortunately, the list of offenses codified in the bill is fatally flawed because it omits many serious crimes. For example, the bill would bar local cooperation even when the person arrested has been convicted of certain crimes involving child abuse, drug trafficking, selling weapons, using children to sell drugs, or gangs. I believe it's unwise to interfere with a sheriff's discretion to comply with a detainer issued for people with these kinds of troubling criminal records.

The significant flaws in this bill can be fixed, and I will work with the Legislature to see that the bill is corrected forthwith.

Sincerely, Edmund G. Brown Jr.

Governor Brown’s Veto Message on TRUST Act

Next Steps: 2013

TRUST Act 3.0 (Ammiano)• Local Actions – congratulations Berkeley City Council!

• November 15: Interfaith Call- in Day to Governor • Info for Orders of Service next week• Utilize Stories• What would help you get your congregation to call?

Next Steps: 2013

A Wish for the HolidaysEducation and action activity for children, youth and families

Stop deportations and detentions so our families can stay together

www.webelongtogether.org/wish

• Educational materials

• Video – I Want My Parents Back (for age 15 and up)

• Art/letter writing project

5.5 million children live with the fear that a parent could be deported. These

policies threaten the fabric of all of our communities. It just isn’t right.

Next Steps 2013

Building Relationships through direct service Relationships foster understanding and support

UU Volunteers at Justice GA 2012 pair up to assist immigrants with naturalization process and are

transformed by the experience.

Deferred Action VolunteersRelationships foster understanding and support

What is DACA? – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Estimated that 1.5 million young people qualify, about 25% from California

How can your congregation help? Find a local immigration services

organization to assist

For more info:

Dan Stracka daniel@uurise.org

Detention Visitation

Where Are Detention Centers in CA?• San Diego• Orange County – Orange, Irvine, Santa Ana

• San Bernardino County – Adelanto, San Bernardino

• LA County – Lancaster, Pasadena, Alhambra, Glendale, Pomona

• Ventura• Kern County- California City

• Contra Costa County - Richmond

• Sacramento• Yuba - Marysville

See the of US Detention Centers at www.endisolation.org

Detention Visitation

Detention Visitation ResourcesLost in Detention – Frontline Video

• Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement CIVIC

• Detention Watch Network

• Visiting Immigrants in U.S. Detention Facilities - Detention Watch Manual

• The Sojourner Detention Program video

• Lutheran Access Toolkit

• Women's Refugee Commission

If your congregation is interested in learning more please contact: Jan Meslin from the UULMCA Immigrant Justice Team jmeslin@cox.net

Walking the WalkUU Justice Leaders Summit

The weekend before Thanksgiving

Walking the Walk:UU Justice Leaders SummitNovember 16-18, 2012

Presentation Center, Los Gatos (Santa Cruz Mountains, 20 minutes from San Jose airport )

Walking the Walk: UU Justice Leadership Summit Nov 16-18

Immigrant Justice Trainers• Christina Mansfield,

Founder Detention Dialogues• Katia Hansen, UURISE• Rev. Tera Little, PSWD and Throop UU

Plus many other teachers and trainers – see www.uulmca.org for a full description

•Spring Justice Trainings –San Diego, LA, Sacramento, East Bay

BorderLinksTrips with UU College of Social Justice Feb 1-4 or May 24-27

May 20: Immigrant Lobby Day at the Capitol!

Planning Ahead

Community Partners

CIVIC Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement

California Immigrant Policy Center

ACLU Immigrant Rights Project

California Dream Network

National Day Labor Organizing Network

Immigration Equality – for LGBTQ individuals and families

CHIRLA - Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles

SIREN – Services Immigrant Rights & Education Network (Santa Clara County)

Asian Law Alliance - Santa Clara County

UU & Interfaith Resources

Unitarian Universalist

UU Legislative Ministry, CA & UULM Action Network, CA

UU RISE UU Refugee and Immigration Services and Education

UUA Immigrant Justice Resources

PSWD Border Issues & Migration Resources

Interfaith

Interfaith Immigration Coalition

PICO California Affiliates Photo by Mike Kerwin East Bay UUs protest expansion of Contra Costa Jail to hold more immigrant detainees

California CLUE Interfaith Committtee for Worker Justice (San Diego)Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (SF East Bay)

General Discussion

Thank you for joining us!