Declaration by People of Faith

In Support of the Lives and Rights of Immigrants

 

We, people of faith and of good will living in Colorado, proclaim the dignity and worth of our immigrant friends and neighbors.  Standing resolutely in our various faith traditions, we denounce the dehumanization and mistreatment of immigrants in our communities.  We call upon our fellow Coloradans and our governments – federal, state and local – to support laws, policies and practices which recognize and protect the humanity, dignity and lives of the immigrants among us. 

 

The major faiths demand that the foreign-born among us be treated with the same decency, respect and care that we afford to those who were born in this country.  This applies, not just to individuals, but to our communities and to our whole society as well.

 

Tragically, our immigrant neighbors are under attack today in our communities and in our country.  Some governmental leaders are actively denying the humanity of our immigrant neighbors and are deliberately unleashing powerful forces of misinformation and aggressive action against them. 

 

We, however, refuse to allow the politics of prejudice and fear to defeat the call of faith and love.  We as people of faith and good will stand with immigrant community members-- and we demand that our governments do so as well. 

 

We support and call for laws, policies and practices that recognize and protect the humanity, dignity and lives of our immigrant neighbors, including:

• A commitment that schools, places of worship, medical sites, work places, courts, child care facilities, libraries and humanitarian organizations will be places of safety, free from fear of raids or incursions by immigration agents.

• The legalization of work and residency status for our immigrant neighbors who have lived peacefully, productively and patiently among us for years.

• The return of temporary protected status, work permits and humanitarian parole to immigrants who legally obtained those benefits and from whom they have been unfairly removed.

• The opening of our country to persons fleeing persecution in their homelands and seeking refugee and asylum status in the United States.

 

We denounce the dehumanizing mistreatment of our immigrant neighbors by cruel and unfair laws, policies and government actions.  We demand an immediate end to all inhumane practices, including:

• Tactics of terror by employees of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, which attempt to obtain by fear results that ICE and DHS cannot obtain through legal means.

• The bullying and coercion of organizations and individuals that are legally serving and accompanying immigrants.

• The forcible separation of families and the inhumane detention of beloved parents and needed breadwinners.

• The intimidation and detention of immigrants attending required hearings in immigration court.

• The terrorizing of immigrants in their homes and community sites by ICE agents unconstitutionally seeking to make warrantless arrests.

 

We condemn the deliberate spreading of false and destructive disinformation about our immigrant neighbors.  We urge all people of faith and good will and all government representatives to read and respect the Truths About Immigration Statement recently signed by hundreds of faith leaders in Colorado: https://www.interfaithimmigrationnetwork.org/learn

 

Today, we join hands with our immigrant neighbors and friends, to speak out and to act nonviolently against the demonization of human beings.  Today, we stand up for and act for the honoring and protecting of human lives, here, in our communities.  We rise up now for justice, for fair treatment, for humane action, for truth.  We say to our immigrant friends, family, neighbors:  We are with you!

 

This Declaration is sponsored by:

Interfaith Immigration Network, interfaithimmigrationnetwork.org

Valley Beit Midrash, https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/

Casa de Paz, https://www.casadepazcolorado.org/

Colorado Immigration Protection Teams

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For a full list of organizations sponsoring this Declaration, see Sponsoring Organizations below.

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