FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT
Heather Cabral, 202-550-6880, hcabral@faithinaction.org
WASHINGTON – Faith and immigrant justice leaders from across the country are condemning a Texas federal judge’s ruling that will temporarily halt “The Keeping Families Together Parole in Place” program created by the Biden-Harris Administration.
In a statement, Bishop Dwayne Royster, executive director of Faith in Action said “Our hearts and prayers go out to the many couples and families whose lives were upended by Judge Barker’s decision. All our immigrant siblings deserve to feel and be safe with their families, especially their children. We cannot be a nation that touts family while creating policies that cause generational harm and dehumanize people based on immigration status. When we dehumanize our sisters and brothers created in God’s image we diminish God. We have to implement and center policies that create safety and security for all families. Together with colleagues across the Faith in Action network, we will continue to fight for more just and more humane policies.”
Omar Perez, immigrant justice director at Faith in Action, said: “It is deeply troubling to see the well-being and stability of immigrant families being used as political leverage in light of the recent court ruling. As the Biden administration’s policy remains stalled, countless couples and families with mixed immigration status are at risk of separation and hardship. More than twenty million people in the United States including 10 million U.S. citizens live in families which have mixed immigration status. This decision is an affront to those families. If made permanent, the effects of this decision will be felt for generations, as children are forced to grow up without the security and support of their loved ones. Immigrants, who come to this country seeking safety and a chance at a better life, deserve to live without the constant fear of deportation. Our nation must prioritize humane and just policies that reflect our core values and provide the security these families desperately need.”
DACA recipient Nanci Palacios, deputy director of Faith in Florida, said: “I am deeply disappointed by the district court’s ruling in favor of separating families. Florida was one of 16 states that sued the Biden administration falsely claiming this policy would impose a financial burden on the states. Yet, in Florida, we benefit significantly from the immigrant community and strong families. Florida is currently facing a labor shortage exacerbated by Governor Ron DeSantis’s relentless attacks on the contributions of immigrant families. Immigrants enrich our cultural and social lives and are integral members of our congregations—families who want to thrive and pursue their version of the American dream. Florida prospers because of the invaluable contributions of the immigrant community.”
DACA recipient Catalina Morales Bahena, interim director of NMCAFé, said: “Once again we see the decision to upend the lives of mixed-status families. When it comes to our current immigration policies in this country we forget that we have families who have been here over three decades with no pathway to citizenship. In our border communities, like here in New Mexico some of our families have never known another land but the one they live in and yet are deeply impacted by Judge Barker’s decision. This decision criminalizes generations of immigrants and their families. It separates parents from their children and in our border communities, it puts a target on them by our local agencies like border patrol.
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Faith in Action is a movement of people for faith and moral courage organizing for racial and economic justice. Faith in Action is the largest grassroots, global faith-based community organizing network, with affiliates working in more than 200 cities and towns in 24 states and a dozen countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Faith in Action is non-partisan and does not support or oppose candidates or parties.
