For new readers, Church World Service is one of the nine federal resettlement contractors with subcontractor office spread throughout the US. They receive millions of federal dollars amounting to 62% of their entire budget from you—the US taxpayer.See here.
Here they plan to join the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) on the Capitol steps looking to get arrested in a protest of the President’s refugee policy.
FAITH LEADERS, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS, AND FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE STAGE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE FOR REFUGEES
On Tuesday, October 15th, 18 protestors–including heads of Amnesty International USA, America’s Voice, CAIR, and Church World Service, as well as a former Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration–will risk arrest on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. The leaders will wear life vests symbolizing the life-saving refugee resettlement program.
Faith communities, human rights groups, clergy, refugees, and refugee agencies will hold a major action on Capitol Hill as Secretary Pompeo meets with Congress to finalize the administration’s 80% cut to the refugee admissions program.
WHAT: Protest and Civil Disobedience Responding to Decimation of Refugee Resettlement
WHERE: Capitol Lawn Area 9, Constitution and First St NE
WHEN: Tuesday, October 15th at 1:00 PM
DETAILS: 18 protestors–including heads of Amnesty International USA, CAIR, America’s Voice and CWS–wearing life vests symbolizing the lives that could be saved or lost through the resettlement program will risk arrest on the steps of the US Capitol. Supporters will hold 95 photographs of refugees, a nod to the historic average refugee cap of 95,000.
LEADERS RISKING ARREST INCLUDE:
Anne C. Richard, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) [She’s back!—ed]
Margaret Huang, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service
Nihad Awad, National Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations
Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive Director, America’s Voice
Sarnata Reynolds, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee
OTHER SPEAKERS:
Sami Muya, a Refugee from Somalia separated from family members by anti-refugee policies
Endnote: I am so happy to have RRW backso history isn’t forgotten and images like those above can continue to be available for all to see.
You should take a minute and have a look at the church member congregations Church World Serviceis representing (see this post). Is your church among them?
This is an update of the story I posted here in September about Africans piling up in southern Mexico and insisting that the Mexican government allow them to move north to the US border.
Looks like so far Mexico is holding firm in its promise to the Trump Administration to get these caravans stopped—-in this case with the Mexican National Guard.
(Note that the LA Times isn’t loose with the language and isn’t calling the migrants ‘refugees.’)
Mexican authorities stop caravan of migrants attempting to head north
To get the best media photo, well-trained migrants putting babies on the front lines to confront National Guard..
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities on Saturday thwarted the latest caravan of migrants attempting to head north from southern Mexico with the hope of reaching the United States.
Some 2,000 migrants from various nations — including Central American and African countries, Haiti and Cuba — set off on foot in the predawn hours from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula.
It was the first such caravan since early 2019, as Mexico — under pressure from the Trump administration to curb U.S.-bound migration thorough its territory — has cracked down on Central Americans and others seeking to reach the United States.
On Saturday, the northbound caravan met a phalanx of Mexican authorities, including National Guard and federal police units along the highway at a point about 25 miles north of Tapachula. The enforcement presence prompted almost half the caravan members — including many women and children — to surrender to Mexican immigration authorities.
[….]
Thousands of migrants seeking to reach U.S. territory — more than 1,000 miles to the north — have been stuck in Tapachula for months as Mexican officials have been hesitant to hand out visas allowing them to continue north. Most entered Mexico from Guatemala. The migrants stranded in Tapachula are mostly Central Americans but include others from the Caribbean, South America, Africa and Asia.
