For Immediate Release: Jan. 24, 2019
Contact: Gebe Martinez | gebe.gmnetworking@gmail.com | 703-731-9505
“End the government shutdown without caveats that deepen the family separation disaster.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the Senate prepares to vote on a disastrous Trump administration proposal that would weaken the rights of immigrants, including long-standing Americans like Dreamers, while pursuing $5.7 billion for a wasteful wall on the southern border, Faith in Action urges the Senate to vote ‘No,’ and instead reopen the government without strings attached.
The following is a statement by Richard Morales, policy and program director for Faith in Action’s immigrants’ rights campaign, LA RED:
“No walls. No deals. That’s what Faith in Action has maintained as Trump has pursued the most immoral and racist policies of his administration — shutting down critical government agencies and forcing 800,000 federal workers to go without pay or be furloughed until he gets money for an ego maniacal wall to keep brown-skinned immigrants out of the U.S.
“So insidious is his hate-driven agenda against immigrants, that he pretended last weekend to offer temporary relief to DACA and TPS holders and a new process for asylum seekers, while details showed intent to gut well-established immigrants’ rights that have benefitted our nation.
“The truth is that the deadly ‘wall’ debate also overshadows critical threats by this administration against our communities, like caging children at the border, or sending asylum seekers like Rosa Guitiérrez Lopez into sanctuary at a church just nine miles from the White House. Congress must end the government shutdown without caveats that deepen the family separation disaster.
“We also urge Congress to stand up to Trump on behalf of Americans who believe in the U.S. Constitution, which created three branches of government so that Congress could hold in check the executive branch. Congress must end the government shutdown without caving into irrational demands for a wall, and it must do so without trading the rights of immigrants to seek justice without being separated from their families. Furthermore, Congress must defund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security agencies that carry out Trump’s hateful, anti-immigrant policies, including increased funding for detention beds and deportations.
“Our communities, including immigrants, clergy, and social justice advocates, seek restoration of our national values that respect the dignity and worth of every person and that uphold liberty and justice for all.”
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Faith in Action, formerly known as PICO National Network, is the largest grassroots, faith-based organizing network in the United States. The nonpartisan organization works with 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities and towns through its 46 local and state federations. For more information visit www.faithinaction.org.
