Act Now for Alternatives, Reduced Funding for Immigrant Detention

From the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (http://www.nrcat.org):

The family separation crisis happening at the border is a human rights disaster, not to mention the Administration’s “zero tolerance” and other anti-immigrant policies. Families are still arriving, seeking to escape physical and mental abuse, torture, and even the threat of death. Imagine leaving everything behind, traveling a thousand miles or more from Central America through harsh conditions to seek asylum in the U.S., only to be treated with the same brutalities you were escaping.

Reports of abuse continue to flood out of immigrant detention centers.  For years NRCAT has responded to reports of torture in detention centers, including the use of extended solitary confinement and “ice boxes.”  In the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents neither children nor parents are safe from sexual assault, shackling, solitary confinement, and poor living conditions. These jail conditions are inhumane and immoral.

NRCAT hopes you will join us as we work with Freedom for Immigrants, Grassroots Leadership, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, and other local and national partners in our efforts to stop the torture and abuse at the border and in our immigration detention system.

1. Sign a pledge at https://www.freedomforimmigrants.org/sponsor-freedom to show your support for alternatives to warehousing families and individuals in immigration detention facilities!  Join with NRCAT and Freedom for Immigrants to show that you would be interested in sponsoring or supporting a family of asylum seekers or other migrants in a community-based alternative accompaniment program (which have proven up to 99% effective). The map you will help us create when you sign the pledge will support our advocacy by showing how many in our country support alternatives to the mass jailing of immigrants!
2. Call Your Members of Congress during the August Recess. Dial 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators and your Representative; alternatively, contact them directly—find contact information:

Senator Robert Casey: http://casey.senate.gov

Senator Pat Toomey: http://toomey.senate.gov

Your Representative: http://www.house.gov

Sample Script: “Hi my name is (Name) and I live in (City/Town). I urge the (Senator/Representative) to reduce funding for immigration detention, deportation, and border militarization, and to reject legislation or spending bills that expand family incarceration. Thank you.”

For more information on advocacy steps you can take, see this toolkit from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. Also, watch and share a video from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition on why it is important to contact Congress this month: watch on Facebook or YouTube.

For more information about how to involve your congregation, please contact NRCAT’s Program Associate Kristin Schol at kschol@nrcat.org or call at 202-853-9012.