Washington, DC — “Welcome to Washington, DC,” said Jessica, a community volunteer, to a group of newly-arriving asylum seekers bused to the city from Texas.
On the September 12 episode, “Bringing the border to Biden,” of Vox’s Today, Explained news podcast, Senior Producer/Reporter Haleema Shah highlights the coordinated welcome of migrants that have been bused to Washington, DC from border states since the spring—a vindictive initiative created by Texas Governor Abbott and Arizona Governor Ducey to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment and make President Biden feel the pain of his border policies.
DC area groups like The Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network and Sanctuary DMV have been working with local places of worship to receive the asylum seekers, primarily from countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Upon arrival, Shah explains, volunteers help get them to a nearby church. She states, “The migrants are sent into the church basement, and inside the basement are bins of donated clothing… diapers, and toiletries. There’s also a hot breakfast waiting for them.”
Mera, a Mutual Aid volunteer, took in a young family from Cuba: “I was in the group that received the message that there was this couple with a pregnant wife,” she said. “All I could think about was the Nativity story, and how there was no room at the inn for this eight-month pregnant woman, and I just knew that they were going to be mine, and that I would make sure that there was room at this ‘inn.’” She continued, “They are helping me just as much as I’m helping them. This is not a charity situation. This is humans being with other humans and taking care of each other.”
Local synagogues and mosques have also gotten involved in welcoming asylum seekers to the area. Gary Sampliner, co-director of JAMAAT (Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together), and member of the Bethesda Jewish Congregation and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, writes in an op-ed in the Washington Post, “We’ve begun to provide various types of assistance to the newcomers being bused here;” he explains that doing so is simply an extension of the work they’ve done to welcome Afghan refugees.
“We are pleased to see and strongly encourage fellow faith communities and groups around the area to join us in this important work of welcome and are pleased when they do,” says Sampliner. “[But] as with the public-private, multisector approach used in Afghan and other refugee resettlements, we need all hands on deck to welcome new arrivals to the area. We need as many available resources as possible, including the support of local, state and federal governments, faith groups, nonprofit organizations and community volunteers.”
Washington, DC groups and faith communities welcomed Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement last week establishing an Office of Migrant Services to assist the migrants being bused to the area—but are urging all levels of government to do more to establish a humane and dignified reception system for people fleeing oppression and persecution.
Said Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries Director and faith leader involved with Congregation Action Network in welcoming efforts in Washington, DC: “We celebrate the DC Mayor’s long awaited announcement last week for additional assistance for arriving migrants. However, it is important that our region—and every other key region in the interior of our nation—must demonstrate our commitment to humane welcome by not treating this as a ‘crisis,’ but rather as an opportunity to build better infrastructures of humane welcome. While the efforts of volunteers and community groups have been heroic, the United States must create a dignified reception system to welcome people seeking safety as individuals and families await processing of their asylum cases. All levels of government should coordinate and share best practices to provide much-needed funding and support to organizations assisting newcomers—including to faith and grassroots partners. Our faith values call upon us to support a national policy on immigration based on allowing people to seek legal avenues for refuge, family reunification, and opportunities to be quickly approved to work.”
“This is the essence of faith in action: faith and community members stepping to fill the void left by government leaders to offer thoughtful and dignified welcome to migrants,” said Katie Adams, Interim Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and Domestic Policy Advocate for the United Church of Christ. “But this is not how it should be. Absent a national immigration policy that offers welcome through legal avenues, this is what we’re left with—ad hoc efforts from volunteers. Their efforts show what is possible—that we can create a system that receives migrants in an orderly and compassionate way. Migrants seeking shelter and safety at the border are not props for political stunts, they are—as we all are—people seeking safety and home. The amount of resources that go into deportation and deterrence is vast and belies the notion that we don’t have adequate funding to offer a wholehearted welcome to migrants and asylum seekers. It is a moral imperative that the resources, time, and effort put into deterrence should be channeled into thoughtful welcome and an orderly system that ensures people are supported and cared for as they start their lives in the U.S.”
Listen to the full Vox podcast episode here. Read the full Washington Post op-ed here.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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