On January 29,
Join the #Faith4
Asylum National Day
of Prayer and Action!
January 29, 2020 Nationwide Prayer Vigils to mark 1-year since Asylum-Seekers forced to “Remain in Mexico,” and to Launch our #Faith4Asylum campaign.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition, including many Catholic organizations and in collaboration with immigrant and border organizations, is launching a campaign to stop the administration’s harmful and inhumane policies.
Please join the Faith 4 Asylum Campaign: Stop the Inhumanity. This campaign will be launched on January 29 with a prayer vigil in Washington, DC and scores of vigils across the country. Please consider planning a vigil for your local community.
Take the Pledge to join the campaign.
Asylum seekers are migrants who flee their homes because of fear of violence or persecution. U.S. and international laws state that anyone has a right to apply for asylum in the United States. However, recent changes in U.S. immigration policy are preventing asylum seekers from waiting for their hearings in safety in the United States, instead forcing them to wait in locations in Mexico where they face violence, extortion, sexual assault and kidnapping. At least 636 people have been raped, kidnapped, assaulted, and even murdered, including 138 children.
This Remain in Mexico (MPP) policy violates domestic and international law by sending asylum seekers to dangerous conditions without an adequate screening process, effectively denying them access to lawyers and interpreters and preventing many from receiving a fair day in court. More than 56,000 asylum seekers have already been sent to Mexico under this policy.
Visit the website www.Faith4Asylum.com to find or share a local vigil, get resources, and endorse the campaign as a congregation or organization.
O God, you give us neighbors for whom your love abounds.
They've come here seeking refuge; they work here in our towns. Their children go to school here; they come to church and pray.
O Lord, we grieve when neighbors are being sent away.
O God, you give us neighbors in this world that divides.
We see them at the border; they're struggling for their lives.
They're hurting by the roadside, and by the river, too.
You call us to show mercy to neighbors loved by you.
O God, you give us neighbors and call us all to see
our common fears and longings, our shared humanity
You call us all to listen to burdens they have known,
to hear the truth they tell us, to see the love they've shown.
O God, you give us neighbors; and now, what must we do
This question asked of Jesus is one we ask anew.
May we not make excuses and choose to walk on by
these neighbors fleeing violence — some sent back now to die.
God, may we work for justice for those who live in fear;
May we show Christ’s compassion and pray and persevere,
and by your Holy Spirit,
In all we do and say, may we stand up for neighbors now being sent away.
