Vigils to Support Immigrant Rights & Oppose Detention Centers

Friday, July 12th 8pm

Ypsilanti ·  Riverside Park ·  2 East Cross Street and
Ann Arbor · Federal Building· 200 E Liberty Street

The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, along with other local organizations, groups, and individuals in our network, are coming together to host a vigil to end the detention camps and all of the violent policies impacting undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. We want to come together to grieve the lives already lost as well as the ones forever changed by the trauma endured. We want to find solace in being with others who will not tolerate these atrocities happening at the southern border and across this country at the hands of ICE. And, we want to share resources and opportunities to act locally by connecting with ongoing efforts to support our own community. Please join us and bring a candle or flashlight!

To help organize in Ann Arbor, contact the event host Corky at https://www.facebook.com/events/2365990303462262/

To help organize in Ypsilanti, contact ICPJ at [email protected] ·  734.663.1870
Ypsi Co-sponsors: The Poor People’s Campaign, Love Resilience Action Ypsi
https://www.facebook.com/events/688362441624525/

Download flyer and postcards to print and distribute.

With the threats of increased deportations; the deplorable conditions in concentration camps; the pervasive child abuse and human rights violations against those seeking refuge in this country… and the need to advocate for immediate change by our Congressional representatives in Washtenaw… Contact [email protected] today if you would like to connect to our Immigrant Rights Caucus and current organizing work.

As people of conscience, building a more compassionate world, we want to organize support for asylum seekers. That is why ICPJ is co-sponsoring with the Washtenaw Congregational Sanctuary the Supporting Asylum Seekers Forum on Sunday, June 30^th, from 2-5pm. Location: The Church of the Good Shepherd, United Church of Christ, 2145 Independence Blvd, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. Please join us!

Often, asylum seekers have fled violence in countries deeply hurt by U.S. military, political, and economic policy. After often facing a perilous journey to seek asylum in the U.S., many face family separation, inhumane conditions in detention, inadequate legal support, and layers of obstacles to demonstrate their life or death need for asylum.

The U.S. is ramping up detention as well as mass deportations. We must act to support immigrants’ rights. One way to do this is to organize a concerted effort to support asylum seekers specifically.

We invite you to participate in this forum to learn more about asylum, the challenges faced by asylum seekers, and the ways that our community can organize to support our neighbors and defend human rights.

Please distribute the flyers or postcards, in your networks as appropriate. 

We are calling on the ICPJ community to take a moment to send letters to your representatives to support asylum for Emilio and Oscar Gutiérrez Soto, members of the Ann Arbor community. We have made it easy – follow this link, enter your information, modify the suggested letter if you like, click, and send the letter(s).

Emilio Gutiérrez Soto is a Mexican investigative journalist who exposed military corruption in Mexico. Since then Emilio and his son, Oscar Gutiérrez Soto, had to flee to the US due to the active and imminent death threats targeted against them. They have been living in the US for ten years, always abiding by immigration regulations. Despite their compliance and strong case for asylum, their asylum petition has been denied.

Emilio and Oscar Gutiérrez Soto have become an important part of our community in Michigan. Help us support their efforts to seek asylum in the US and prevent them from being deported to Mexico, one of today’s deadliest countries for journalists. Please reach out to your representatives and speak up for Emilio and Oscar through the letter campaign.

See more information: https://www.michigandaily.com/section/government/dingell-upton-urge-halt-deportation-knight-wallace-fellow-emilio-gutierrez-soto

The 2018 ICPJ Winter Newsletter is available for download. Check it out for a report back from the 2018 Facing Race Conference, updates on Congregational Sanctuary, human rights organizing for immigrant youth, and much more.

Thank you.

I am so proudly grateful for what you and the whole ICPJ community do to:

• Train up the next generation of activists
• Speak out against injustice
• Provide sanctuary in the face on unjust deportation orders
• Change minds, change hearts, and change policies
• Care for the Earth
• Bring people together
• Speak out against Islamophobia

And so much more.

Thank you for making the world a better place.

Mohamed Soumah, a 44-year-old man from the West African former French colony of Guinea-Conakry who has been threatened by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with immediate deportation, has taken sanctuary in Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House (Quakers).  Mohamed, who has been living and working in the United States for fifteen years, suffers from a serious, life-threatening disease that requires ongoing medical attention. According to his physician, he is essentially on life support.  His home country lacks adequate facilities for this kind of care, so returning there would be a death sentence.  His mother, who suffered the same hereditary condition, died there due to inadequate treatment.  The average per capita income in Guinea is $825/year, and average life expectancy is 52 years. The United Nations Development Program ranks Guinea 175^th of 189 countries included in the Human Development Index rankings.

Press Release – 31 October 2018

Press Advisory – 31 October 2018

How you can help:

• Volunteer to provide support: A volunteer training will take place on Sunday, November 11 at 1pm at the Ann Arbor Friends Meeting, 1420 Hill Street.
• Donate to  Washtenaw Congregational Sanctuary to Mohamed and build a sanctuary network for others facing unjust deportations
• Advocate to the ICE Detroit Field Office to give Mohamed Soumah a stay of removal for medical reasons as the medical facilities in his home country are inadequate to provide him the lifesaving care he needs. Contact  [email protected]
• Advocate for more humane immigration policies. One way to do that is to submit a public comment opposing President Trump’s proposed change to the Public Charge Rule, will make immigrant families afraid to access essential health, nutrition and shelter programs. Learn more at ProtectingImmigrantFamilies.org

Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice unequivocally stands with our immigrant sisters and
brothers throughout the United States and with our immigrant neighbors in Washtenaw County.
Our advocacy and our work with immigrants moves us to speak out and act for justice for our
neighbors:

There is a U.S. migration policy disaster, not a migration crisis. Contrary to the impression
created by xenophobic rhetoric, apprehensions of migrants at the southern border were down
44% in 2017, and net migration from Mexico has been negative since 2008 as more Mexicans
are leaving the United States than entering. The foreign-born population (documented and
undocumented) is about 13% in the United States, a smaller proportion than at the peak in 1890
and less than many other countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and
Germany. Continue Reading »

What can we do in the face of the growing anti-Muslim and anti-Refugee rhetoric in the US?  We can speak out for inclusion!

The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County  launched the One Human Family campaign in 2016 to mobilize religious and community voices to say NO to hate and fear-mongering and YES to inclusion and welcoming.

Show your support by ordering your yard sign or banner here today!

The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) has issued a statement that clarifies our recognition and support of the human rights of LGBTQ+ people. ICPJ roots our peace and justice work in the belief that all people are deserving of human rights such as freedom of expression and freedom from violence and poverty, and ICPJ therefore believes that it is important to clarify that those rights apply to all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

As an interfaith coalition organization, ICPJ has always been mindful of the importance of respecting all of our coalition partners so that we can most effectively create change. The policy statement below was developed with feedback from community and congregational leaders from across the ICPJ coalition.

Statement on Universal Human Rights and Inclusion of Community Partners

Approved by the ICPJ Board of Directors June 29, 2016

The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice strives to bring about greater peace and justice by working across many different faiths and philosophies. Although religions may differ in specific teachings, we believe that all the faith groups ICPJ works with are grounded in an enduring respect for human life and dignity. As such, ICPJ roots our peace and justice work in a commitment to universal application of human rights. We model our understanding on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights established in 1948.

ICPJ affirms that all human beings are equally entitled to basic human rights including but not limited to: dignity, freedom of expression, freedom from violence and threats of violence, and access to health, education, housing, employment, and commercial goods and services. We recognize that these human rights apply to all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, sex, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, economic status, ability status, religious beliefs, or political beliefs.

ICPJ celebrates the important work happening in Washtenaw County and beyond to strive towards a vision of greater peace and justice. Although we each may differ in how we seek to achieve this vision, we know that as activists, community organizations, and faith groups, we are stronger together than we are apart. ICPJ will continue to work towards peace and justice with all those who share our enduring, foundational belief in human life and dignity.