Say NO to increased ICE Funding!

Today, we stand at an inflection point, a moment of urgency. We hold in our hearts the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, killed by ICE agents in Minnesota as well as others killed in ICE custody whose names are not in the headlines. We mourn for a world that allows the vulnerable to be treated as threats rather than as neighbors. Cardinal Joseph Tobin shared a story from Bread and Wine, written during the dark days of Italian fascism, when an elderly priest said that even when armies and machinery of death are in motion, what ultimately topples empires and unnerves dictators is a single person who slips into the piazza at night and writes NO on the wall.  As Cardinal Tobin says, “I think if we are serious about putting our faith into action, we need to say no.” 

While people in Minnesota and across the country are collectively standing with their migrant neighbors and communities, Congress is considering more funding for ICE and DHS.  Recent ICE actions not only harm individuals, fracture families, and traumatize children, but also threaten our communities and the common good. Security based on fear, violence, and brutality will never bring lasting and true peace. Instead, we must fight for fair laws, strong communities, and respect for human dignity. We call for a true moral conversion in the way the nation views and treats migrants, borders, belonging, and community.

We join Cardinal Tobin in asking, “How will you say no? How will you say no to violence? … In this week when an appropriations bill is going to be considered in Congress, will you contact your congressional representatives – the Senators and Representatives from your district?  Will you ask them, for the love of God and the love of human beings which can’t be separated: vote against renewing funding for such a lawless organization?”

We encourage you to say no. In moments of profound loss, people of faith are called not to look away, not to ignore their neighbors, but to stand together in truth, faith, and community. We do not ignore the suffering, but serve as witnesses, a sacred act. We say their names. We pray for the dead. And then, we act. Please act today and say “no!”

Photo: Barbed wire fence, courtesy of Markus Spiske, available in the public domain via Unsplash.