Immigration Justice

Immigrant Welcoming Conference / Immigration Working Group

The Wisconsin Conference is an Immigrant Welcoming Conference.  To learn more about what this means and how your congregation and you can get involved in immigration justice work: Immigrant Welcoming Conference page.

Learn more about the crisis in Afghanistan and what you and your congregation can do to help

• Resources from Church World Service (CWS):
  • Learn More About Welcoming Afghans
  • How to Help Afghans (includes Take Action: Urge the Administration to Protect Afghans Seeking Safety and Protection)
• Recording and other materials from the UCC webinar, “Training for UCC churches: serving Afghan refugees”, on September 11 will be coming soon!  These links were shared during the webinar:
  • FAQ on Afghans Seeking Refuge
  • Top 5 Ways To Support Afghans Seeking Refuge
  • A recording of the training is available on YouTube.
• Resource from the Wisconsin Council of Churches, “Helping Refugees from Afghanistan.”
• Information on Afghanistan refugee assistance from Catholic Charities in LaCrosse.
• Information on Team Rubicon‘s work and donation and volunteer needs
• Information from refugee assistance organization, HIAS:
  • “How you can help” webpage
  • Video of August 23 public briefing on the crisis in Afghanistan
  • Related blog post from August 23
• Open Doors for Refugees in Madison has put together a helpful webpage, The Afghan Refugee Crisis, that gives good general information.

Immigration justice news and actions

• The Immigration Working Group (IWG) is hosting  a Zoom workshop, “Immigration Justice Update” on September 30 from 6:30-8pm. Click here to register.  Learn about how the immigration actions and policies of the Biden Administration stack up against Joe Biden’s ambitious and progressive policy agenda, eight months into his first year as president.  There will also be updates from IWG members about immigration justice work–like sponsoring asylum-seeking families–being done in their communities. Presenters will include Katie Adams, Policy Advocate for Domestic Issues in the UCC’s Washington, D.C. office.  The workshop will also includean update on the fast-changing situation with recently-arrived Afghan refugees in Wisconsin.
• To learn more, watch the recordings from the Immigration Working Group’s three-part Zoom workshop series from the spring of this year, “Immigration Justice Reset”. 
  • April 20: In recognition of the many ways that justice issues intersect, this workshop, “Justice Reset: Advocating as People of Faith,” was co-sponsored by the Creation Care Team. Katie Adams, Policy Advocate for Domestic Issues in the UCC’s Washington, D.C. office, shared practical tips for effectively advocating for justice issues.
    • Access the video recording of the April 20 workshop here.
  • March 16: A conversation with Carole Anne Donohoe and Katia Cardoza of Al Otro Lado‘s Family Reunification Project about their work.
    • Access the video recording of the March 16 workshop here.
  • February 16: A conversation featuring Noel Andersen, the UCC & CWS Grassroots Coordinator for Immigrants’ Rights, the Rev. Randy Mayer of Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita, Arizona, Katie Adams, Policy Advocate for Domestic Issues in the UCC’s Washington, D.C. office, attorney Linda Zuba, and representatives from Al Otro Lado.
    • Access the video recording of the February 16 workshop here.
• Read and apply critical thinking skills to these July 2021 White House releases about the Biden/Harris Collaborative Migration Management Strategy and U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America
• Church World Service (CWS) has put together an August Recess Toolkit of resources and ways to take action at the national level.  CWS is partnering with SEIU, AFL-CIO, and other labor groups on the “We Are Home” campaign (which advocates for a “pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people and a fair, humane, and functional immigration system”); the weeks of July 12 and July 19, 2021 were designated “Immigration + Labor Weeks of Action.”
• The Wisconsin Conference’s  Immigration Working Group urges congregations to sign and circulate this petition to make COVID-19 vaccines available in Haiti.

The country of Haiti is now experiencing an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases, and there are no vaccines currently available in Haiti.  In addition to the widespread political violence and turmoil in this ravaged nation there is now great concern that Haiti could be devasted by COVID-19.  The Wisconsin Conference Immigration Working group urges members of our congregations to sign and circulate this petition initiated by Catholiccares.org and “Faith In Action” calling upon the Biden administration to send surplus doses of vaccines to Haiti immediately.  This will both reduce the chances of additional suffering and loss of life in Haiti, and also make it less likely that Haitian immigrants carrying the virus will bring more cases into the U.S. Use this link to sign the petition.

• The Interfaith Immigration Coalition newsletter contains a wealth of relevant advocacy information.
  • To sign up for the newsletter, visit the Interfaith Immigration Coalition webpage.
  • Current efforts include their “Faith4Asylum” campaign (focused on an end to Title 42 expulsions) and participation in the broad-based “Welcome with Dignity“campaign.
  • A few highlights from March, 2021:
    • Access the “Welcoming Migrants: Take Action Toolkit“
    • View a recording of “A Faithful Response to the Border: Welcoming Migrant Children and Asylum Seekers” webinar on Facebook or Google Drive
• In March, Noel Andersen and Church World Service issued an urgent appeal to advocate for asylum seekers, especially unaccompanied children, at the border:
  • Visit the CWS take action page to contact your representatives via email and get ideas on how to amplify the message on social media.
  • Download the CWS fact sheet on welcoming unaccompanied children here
  • CWS has also created a talking points document with messaging about FEMA at the border; download document here.
  • Another resource is Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (lirs.org); specifically their “How to Help Migrant Children at the Border” webpage.
• Educate yourself about U.S. refugee admissions: 
  • On May 3, President Biden issued a statement revising the annual U.S. refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for this fiscal year.
    • This revision is partly in response to outcry by advocates, including Church World Service, to the presidential determination on refugee admissions announced on April 16, 2021.  (See the Church World Service Rapid Response Toolkit, shared by Noel Andersen.)
    • Later on April 16, the White House issued a brief walk-back statement.
  • International Rescue Committee Fiscal Year 2021 mid-year report, “More of the same: Biden to admit fewer refugees than any president in U.S. history.” (April, 2021)
  • For current and historical information on U.S. refugee admissions:
    • The Refugee Processing Center’s Admissions and Arrivals page posts monthly reports on refugee admissions.
    • This data tool created by the Migration Policy Institute tracks refugee ceilings and arrival numbers from 1980 to the present.

Links to organizations involved with immigration and immigration justice

For links to numerous state, national, and international organizations involved with immigration and immigration justice: Immigration links page

Immigration justice resources

For resources to learn more about immigration justice: Immigration justice resources page