Support the “Pray for Relief” Faith Summit on Stopping Deportations 2014 Action of Immediate Witness

BECAUSE our Unitarian Universalist principles, faith and values call us to witness and advocate for human worth and dignity, justice, equity, compassion and the goal of world community; and

BECAUSE the 2013 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association adopted a Statement of Conscience on Immigration as a Moral Issue charging Unitarian Universalists to work in support of a moral immigration policy and just and humane treatment for immigrants; and

BECAUSE that statement specifically urges Unitarian Universalists to “cooperate with other Unitarian Universalist congregations, other faiths and secular groups” … “for the purpose of education and action;” and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress has failed to move forward on meaningful legislation for immigration reform while the number of people being deported continues at the pace of over 1,000 deportations per day totaling more than two million deportations in the last five years with devastating effects on families and communities; and

WHEREAS, President Obama has declared the plight of the almost 50,000 unaccompanied immigrant children detained by United States Border Patrol this year to be a humanitarian crisis while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reported that many of the unaccompanied children coming from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico may qualify for international protection as refugees; and

WHEREAS, without adequate access to legal counsel or a comprehensive approach to immigration reform many of the same children are currently at risk of deportation back to the heartbreaking situations that caused them to migrate; and

WHEREAS, several of our interfaith partners including the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, Church World Service, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and immigrant rights activists including the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) have invited Unitarian Universalists to participate with them in a Faith Summit on Stopping Deportations called Pray for Relief: Not One More Family Separated to be held in Washington, DC from July 31-August 1, 2014.

THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED That the 2014 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association calls upon the member congregations of the UUA, their individual members and friends and affiliate organizations, to support the Faith Summit by sending a delegation to Washington DC July 31 – August 1, and by encouraging that delegation to consider participating in planned civil disobedience, with the goal of persuading President Obama to take executive action to stop the deportations.

BE IT RESOLVED That the 2014 General Assembly encourages Unitarian Universalists to promote education within their congregations and communities by using resources provided by organizations including NDLON, We Belong Together and Not One More Deportation, to respond to the crisis created by the ongoing deportations, incarceration and criminalization of immigrant communities; and

BE IT RESOLVED That the 2014 General Assembly encourage all the Unitarian Universalist congregations and individuals to write, call and visit local, state and national representatives including President Obama and Speaker of the House Boehner to advocate for compassionate and fair immigration reform; and

BE IT RESOLVED That the 2014 General Assembly encourages every Unitarian Universalist to find a concrete and meaningful way to reach out in love to help resolve this crisis for the well-being of us all.