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Immigration as a Moral Issue (Proposed Congregational Study/ Action Issue for 2010-2014)

Issue

Migration of people—driven by economic, social, political and environmental factors—is taking place around the world. Millions are currently in transit, in refugee camps, in detention centers, or living and working in places without full legal status and without access to social services or protection of civil rights.

Grounding in Unitarian Universalism

The dignity of all the world's peoples is core to Unitarian Universalist (UU) principles and values. Given the justice-oriented nature of UU faith, UUs are called to be leaders in the struggle for immigrant and refugee rights, and to view immigration not only as a legal issue but also moral issue.

Topics for Study

• What are the definitions of refugee, migrant, permanent resident, citizen, non-immigrant, and undocumented and documented immigrants?
   
• What international bodies are accountable for the welfare of migrants and refugees? Are these bodies effective?
   
• Is international law concerning migrants and refugees (mainly the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions) adequate for people seeking asylum in a current context?
   
• What underlying factors contribute to global migration? And where are we complicit or accountable in these factors?
   
• Should there be complete global freedom of movement of migrants?
   
• What is the economic impact of immigration on countries and on individuals?
   
• For what reasons are immigrants arrested and incarcerated? And once incarcerated, how are individuals and families treated in detention centers?
   
• What are our positions on the enforcement of national boundaries?
   
• Who are the immigrants in our communities?
   
• What are the myths and realities regarding immigrants?
   
• What role do racism, hate and intolerance play in driving immigration and enforcement policies?
   
• Are there ways that immigrants enrich the social fabric of the country in which they settle and in particular the United States?
   
• Using UU principles and values, what would be a just and humane immigration policy?

Possible Congregational/District Actions

• Participation in events that support the rights and dignity of migrants and refugees. Explore and implement programs for transforming concern into action for justice for immigrants.
   
• Support and participation in humanitarian, sanctuary and other efforts directly related to helping immigrants and refugees
   
• Support and participation in efforts to change both national and international laws.
   
• Organizing and hosting events to educate, energize and empower those engaged in these issues.
   
• Coordinating experiential trips to gain first-hand understanding of border, migrant and refugee issues.
   
• Take an active role in interfaith, community organizing to address needs of migrants and refugees in our local communities and around the world. (UURISE, Interfaith Immigration Coalition, No More Deaths)
   
• Offer an intercultural awareness program for congregants.
   
• Develop an intentional program of inviting immigrants for cultural sharing.
   
• Conduct workshops on immigration, the facts and the human stories.
   
• A district may wish to sponsor a program either at DA or for clusters of UU congregations on radical hospitality in the multi-cultural context.
   
• Provide English as a Second Language tutoring.
   
• Conduct citizenship classes.

Related Prior Statements

• 1961 General Resolution on Migrant Workers
   
• 1963 General Resolution for Immigration Reform—encouraged an overhaul of antiquated federal immigration policy.
   
• 1964 General Resolution on Poverty—included migrant workers in the classifications of people deeply affected by poverty.
   
• 1975 Business Resolution on UU Migrant Ministry—allotted Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) money to support ministry efforts for migrants.
   
• 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985—resolutions endorsed and supported the Sanctuary Movement to protect the lives of Central American refugees.
   
• 1989 Resolution of Immediate Witness to the Refugee Internment Camp in Harlingen, TX.
   
• 1992 General Resolution on Children Held in INS Detention—addressed the worsening treatment of minors held in custody by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services.
   
• 1995 Resolution of Immediate Witness to call for conscious, humane treatment of immigrants.
   
• 2006 Action of Immediate Witness to Support Immigrant Justice—displayed solidarity with immigrants struggling for justice in the U.S.
   
• 2007 Action of Immediate Witness to Support Immigrant Families and Stop ICE Raids—called for a halt to federal raids on workplaces that employ undocumented migrants.

Supporting Documentation

It is difficult to pin down exact numbers of people in transit around the globe. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), some 191 million people—or 3% of the world's population—were living outside their country of origin in 2005. The UNFPA tracks trends in migration, noting specifically that more women are now migrating than in the past. They attribute a majority of migration to the economic need for work. In a press release dated April 21, 2009, Oxfam predicts a 54% increase in people affected by climate disasters by 2015. Other international NGOs are making similar predictions about the expected increase in "climate refugees." A statistically significant correlation between migration and environmental degradation including climate change was shown by Afifi and Warner (2007), controlling for the already established major drivers of migration. A June 2009 press release from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) said "the number of people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution worldwide stood at 42 million at the end of [2008]." The UNHCR's 2008 annual report said that 80% of the world's refugees are in developing nations, and that although there was a decline in total refugees from 2007, they are already observing a sharp increase in 2009.

Both the United States and the European Union have invested in deterrence-based strategies to enforce boundaries where large numbers of migrants and refugees are crossing without authorization. In the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security was empowered to carry out the Secure Borders Initiative that called for a massive increase in border enforcement infrastructure, including patrol agents, walls and surveillance systems. The European Union created FronTex to enforce its southern and eastern boundaries using resources allotted from various member states. Both the U.S. and E.U. also fund deterrence efforts in "transit" states (Mexico in the case of the U.S., Libya and Morrocco in the case of the E.U.). These parallel strategies that emphasize enforcement by deterrence have led to the deaths of countless thousands of migrants and refugees.

Other countries throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia are employing harsher border controls coupled with more aggressive immigration enforcement. The numbers of immigrants and refugees in detention centers has swelled around the globe.

To begin addressing these problems, UU churches are becoming involved in a variety of ways. In Arizona, where the numbers of migrant deaths is the highest along the U.S./Mexico border, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson (UUCT) adopted local humanitarian organization No More Deaths as a ministry of the church. No More Deaths provides direct humanitarian assistance to migrants crossing the desert and to those repatriated back to Mexico by the Department of Homeland Security. No More Deaths works with a variety of faith, secular, NGO and governmental partners in its work. UUs from around the country have traveled to Arizona to volunteer with NMD, and congregations have sent monetary and material donations to support their humanitarian work. In December of 2005, a NMD volunteer and member of UUCT was issued a littering ticket while putting out gallon jugs of water for migrants near the border. He fought the ticket and was convicted by a jury in federal court for "knowingly littering," and is currently under orders to perform 300 hours of community service and complete one year of probation.

In Phoenix, UU minister Susan Frederick-Gray announced a call to action to bring attention to the racist tactics of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose raids and checkpoints resulted in the deportation of hundreds of undocumented immigrants and spreading fear and hate in those communities. Rallies against Arpaio and the 287(g) agreements that empower local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law followed. To date, Sheriff Arpaio is still in office.

Unitarian Universalist Refugee and Immigrant Services & Education, Inc. (UURISE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing low-cost legal immigration counseling and representation, comprehensive refugee resettlement services, educational and advocacy programs on human and legal rights, and outreach to immigrant victims of human trafficking, persecution, torture, domestic violence and other crimes. UURISE is based in San Diego, CA but travels around the country to participate in various trainings and seminars.

Additional References

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Annual Report, August 2008. See a quick immigration summary page on the Department of Homeland Security website. The page contains further links to Department studies on all phases of immigration, as well as statistics and reports.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. See an introductory page on all types of visas for foreign nationals. From that page it is possible to learn about visitors, temporary workers, student and immigrant visas. The page also contains links to statistical reports, laws, and an FAQ about coming to the United States via legal means.

The Pew Hispanic Center links to an enormous amount of data concerning the hispanic population of the United States. See information specifically related to immigration. The Pew Hispanic Center offers many detailed studies of the Hispanic population by country of origin, occupational and economic profiles, and many similar Statistical resources about Hispanic immigrants.

Immigration Policy Center, American Immigration Council. Their home page is packed with detailed reports on legal actions and strategies, program links to many facts and statistics on immigration, and additional program links to more information resources.

UNHCR, 2008 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons. This link presents the immense global scope of our present immigration problems. The 12 million undocumented workers who arouse such passions in the United States are only a fraction of the total number of stateless and displaced persons in our world today.

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Last updated on Tuesday, October 11, 2011.

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