CA State leaders also rebuke Trump’s immigration policies

By Post Staff

Since the Trump administration’s cancellation of the 2011 “sensitive areas” memo, faith communities associated with the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity  are affirming  their commitment to sanctuary, which means continuing to welcome immigrants and offering solidarity, support, and services regardless of immigration status.

The “Sensitive Locations Memo,” introduced during the Obama administration in 2011, advised immigration enforcement officers to avoid making arrests in places like schools and houses of worship.

In addition, California state officials and leaders of county offices of education and school districts also quickly rebuked the Trump administration’s policies allowing immigration enforcement near or in schools.

“Schools must be safe spaces, not sites of fear,” said Alex Traverso, director of communications of the State Board of Education. “Every child deserves to learn without intimidation, and California will do all we can to protect our students.”

The directive issued Tuesday by Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman reverses the 2011 memo, restricting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies from detaining immigrants near locations like schools, childcare centers, playgrounds, hospitals, and churches.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.

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Under California law, school officials are not required to allow immigration agents to enter schools without a judicial warrant, according to recent guidance issued by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“It is disappointing, but unfortunately unsurprising that President Trump, in his first days in office, is focusing his time and energy on making his inhumane and irresponsible mass deportation agenda a reality,” Bonta said.

David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, said, “We have a professional and moral responsibility to keep our students safe if ICE comes to our communities. We will always come together in our union to ensure every public school is a safe space and to uphold the constitutionally protected right of all students to access a public education.”

Despite the repeal of the 2011 memo, faith communities remain steadfast in their solidarity, according to Rev. Deborah Lee, executive director of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity.

“We strongly condemn the harmful executive actions that have spread fear and perpetuated misleading narratives criminalizing and demonizing immigrants to justify mass arrests,” Lee said.

“The truth is sanctuary policies keep communities safer and immigrants being targeted, including those who are legal permanent residents … are essential members of our families and communities,” she said.

The history of sanctuary spans critical movements, from the Underground Railroad and the abolition of slavery to providing refuge for Central American migrants fleeing violence and supporting mixed-status families facing deportation in the past two decades, the statement of the Interfaith Movement said.

“Our faiths compel us to prevent harm and honor the sanctity of families, communities, and human life,” said Rev. Dr. Tovis Page, co-minister of the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo and program director of the Peninsula Solidarity Cohort. “This is especially critical today, as immigrant communities endure mass arrests, racial targeting, and the spread of fear and animus.”

Rabbi Dev Noily of Oakland’s Kehilla Community Synagogue said “the Torah teaches that ‘…when an immigrant comes to live with you in your land, you should not wrong them.  You should treat the immigrant who lives with you as one of your citizens.  And you should love them as yourself:  for you were immigrants in the land of Egypt.’”

“Our sacred texts value the dignity and well-being of every person. It is immoral that these policies of mass detention and mass deportation are enriching the pockets of for-profit detention centers whose stocks are soaring, while immigrant families who feed this nation, provide care and keep this nation running will suffer immensely,”  said Sister Joan O’Donnell from the Sisters of Mercy Western Region.

For more information contact, contact the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity at  office@im4humanintegrity.org or https://www.im4humanintegrity.org

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