Help 28 Children Facing Deportation
From Interfaith Immigration Coalition: Proyecto Dilley, Shut Down Berks Coalition, Berks Interfaith Witness, and Aldea are sounding the alarm about the imminent deportation of 28 children and their parents and are calling for support from the interfaith community.
These families have been detained for the entirety of the pandemic and were never given a fair chance to apply for asylum. Now, they are being threatened with deportation before the holidays—a decision that could mean their death. Many have also contracted COVID-19 inside the detention centers, threatening their safety in another way.
These deportations are illegal and immoral. Denying children and families the right to seek asylum violates our deepest-held faith values and responsibility to care for our neighbors.
Thankfully, on Thanksgiving Eve, a court issued a temporary ten-day stay of removal to protect the families from deportation. However, they are still at risk of deportation when that stay runs out, so we must continue to take action.
Here's what you can do:
Sign this Petition and share it on social media using the hashtags #28Children and #SafetyForThe28.
Contact ICE Director Simona Flores and urge her not to deport the families.
Phone: 214-918-4822
Email: Simona.L.Flores@ice.dhs.gov
Sample Script: 23 families, with a total of 28 children, have been detained in family prisons during the entire pandemic and are now being fast -tracked for deportation during the holidays. They are being unfairly denied the right to seek asylum. This is illegal and immoral. Families need to be free and safe, not deported to the violence they fled. Do not deport these families. Instead, release them to relatives or sponsors.
Contact PA Governor Wolf. Call him at 717-787-2500 and use this sample script to urge him to shut down Berks Detention Center. You can also send him a postcard!
Call PA Elected Officials and urge them to advocate for closing Berks Detention Center and protecting families from deportation. Reach Representatives Evans, Scanlon, Dean, and Houlahan, and Senator Casey, at 202-224-3121.
Join the Week of Action December 7-11 which will focus on urging PA Governor Wolf and President-Elect Biden to free the families and shut down Berks. Each day’s action will be posted on the Shut Down Berks Coalition Facebook Page.
Uplift these children's stories in your outreach to lawmakers and other government officials.
Forward this email to friends, family, and members of your faith community and encourage them to advocate.
Act today! Don’t let these children and their families be deported back to the life-threatening situations they've fled.