President Trump and his Administration have attacked the immigrant community since the very first day of his presidency. This includes

1. Suspending all border entries, including asylum-seekers, effectively ending asylum at the US-Mexico border, as well as ending humanitarian parole programs, such as the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) program. 
    
2. Suspending the US Refugee Resettlement Program, which allows for the resettlement of refugees into the United States. 
    
3. Declaring “illegal” immigration a national emergency, which allows the administration to unlock military funds for border wall construction and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.
    
4. Reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forces asylum seekers, people fleeing persecution in their home countries, to wait in dangerous cities in Mexico while their cases are processed, which could take months or even years. The last time President Trump instituted this policy, people who were sent to Mexico were subjected to horrific crimes and exploitation, including kidnappings, rape, and other violent attacks. Human Rights First documented over 1,500 publicly reported cases of “murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, and other violent assaults against asylum seekers and migrants forced to return to Mexico by the Trump Administration".
    
5. Ending the so-called policy of “catch and release” which could prevent asylum seekers from living in community rather than in custody while they await a hearing on their case. This will lead to the prolonged and unnecessary detention of millions of families fleeing persecution. 
    
6. Denying birthright citizenship to certain immigrant children. 
    
7. Calling for the penalization of anyone who helps undocumented people remain in the country and ordering the review of federal funding of all non-profit organizations to determine if they are facilitating "irregular migration". 
    
8. Denying federal funding to “sanctuary jurisdictions” and authorizing local law enforcement to enforce immigration law. 
    
9. Rescinding the Sensitive Locations Guidance, allowing ICE to conduct raids in schools, hospitals, and places of worship.
   
    

We believe that all people, including immigrants, are made in the image of God. Yet the punishment of asylum seekers fleeing persecution, the building of border walls, and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants fails to respect the God-given dignity of every person and our call to welcome the stranger. Regardless of what policy the Trump administration rescinds or puts forth, faith communities will continue to look to our sacred texts and centuries of tradition to live out our faith by welcoming immigrants and protecting the most vulnerable among us. 

Tell Congress to oppose this Administration’s attacks on immigrants today!