Immigration Resources

Newberry UU Announces Sanctuary Status

Clayton Memorial UU Church has announced their status as a sanctuary church. The address is 334 Clayton Memorial Church Rd, Newberry, SC 29108.  There is a reception room with a shower, a bathroom, and a bed, along with shades, etc. around the windows for privacy.  We plan to support them when they lets us know what their needs are. In the meantime, you can support them monetarily here: https://newberryuu.org/support-cmuu/

 

Migrant, Refugee & Asylum-Seeker Justice
  • #CloseTheCamps. Through our coalition efforts we have shut down the detention camps in Tornillo and Carrizo Springs, TX, prevented Ft. Sill in Oklahoma from becoming a detention camp, and seen 1,500 youth released from the Homestead Florida camp.
  • The fact that the Department of Health and Human services is now saying it will eventually close these camps
proves that they never had to cage these kids but rather have chosen to carry out the cruel policies of the administration. We need to keep the pressure on Homestead and ensure that the 17 year olds there are released before they turn 18 as they are being handed over to adult detention centers on their birthdays! We will close Homestead and keep on fighting to close all detention centers and get justice for migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Here’s what we need you to do:
      1. Contact your Member of Congress and ask them to support the Child Prison Camps Act and Families Not Facilities Act. We are gaining new opponents as the Trump administration’s detention camps become more exposed and there is ‘division in the ranks.’ Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma is one of the most conservative senators in the country and he rejected the use of Ft. Sill to cage migrant children. Our partners at the American Friends Service Committee have set up an action center here.
      2. Participate in an in-district visit to your representative to Defund Hate - no more money for ICE and Border Patrol. Research shows that these visits are the most effective ways of changing votes. The UUSC has put together resources to use to arrange visits from August 19-30.
      3. Volunteer for the vigils at Homestead - sign up here.
  • Expanded Community Sanctuary: In addition to closing the camps we are working to protect our community members who are subjected to raids and deportations. The joint UUA-UUSC Love Resists campaign is supporting congregations participating in community protection networks, rapid response, and expanded sanctuary. For congregations providing sanctuary, and whose guests are being threatened by ICE with fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, UURISE (UU Refugee & Immigrant Services & Education) can also support you.
  • Defend No More Deaths, a ministry of the UU Church of Tucson: Dr. Scott Warren will face trial for a second time this November on two counts of felony harboring for offering food, water, clean clothes and beds to two men from Central America. This re-trial is a blatant attempt to intimidate people everywhere who believe care and compassion should not be criminalized.
No More Deaths is hosting a short-term volunteer program in support of Scott’s legal defense campaign. From September to November 2019, they are welcoming volunteers from around the world for two weeks or longer to come support their community outreach efforts in southern Arizona. You can find more information here.

ICE is mobilizing to deploy mass deportation raids.

While they are focusing on several major cities, they have been known to stop buses for random ID checks in even remote locations.  Here's what you can do to help stop this:

  • ICE Checkpoints: If you see ICE checkpoints, you could ask why are they stopping, searching vehicles and where are they taking individuals who are being detained?
  • ID Checks: If ICE is asking for ID on a train, bus, or other spaces, refuse to show your ID – ask questions about why they are there in the first place and put yourself between ICE agents and undocumented individuals.
  • At Homes: If ICE agents are seen posted outside of homes inquire who they are searching for and why?
  • Ask for a warrant: Ask for a Judicial Warrant - ‹signed by a judge- authorizing a formal search of your home. If they hand you a paper, make sure it's an actual judge-authorized warrant and not another piece of documentation. You do not have to let them enter without one. If they have a warrant, you must let them enter.
  • Record Video: The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have the right to record law enforcement. If you see an immigration raid, please record or livestream the incident.
  • Name + Badge Info: Record badge numbers, license plates, and everything that happened in the incident by writing it down and video taping. As much as possible, try to learn and document what role ICE officers and local law enforcement played during the activity.

Action Items:

El Refugio

Families of detainees need our support

The waiting room at Stewart Detention Center is filled with families who have traveled long distances to visit someone they love. The process is slow. The guard informs a woman she cannot visit her husband.
Why? Because of the holes in her jeans.

An El Refugio volunteer is in the waiting room, and she keeps extra clothing in her car. She gives the woman a pair of pants. The woman is granted a visit with her husband.

Visiting a loved one at Stewart Detention Center is stressful and confusing. For those detained at Stewart, life is harrowing. As many as 1,800 immigrants are detained at any given time. Some are sick and deprived of medical care. Others have been further isolated as punishment, even while trying to follow Stewart’s arbitrary rules. Three people have died since February of 2017.

Your gift to El Refugio eases the plight of families who have been separated by cruel immigration policies.

https://www.elrefugioministry.org/

Resources:

Toolkit to help migrant families get out of jail.

SC United with Immigrants - SC United with Immigrants is a coalition of organizations and community leaders who are committed to serving immigrants and refugees in South Carolina. We came together in December 2016 as a non-partisan group committed to preserving the rights of all who live in our state. We seek to provide individuals, advocates, and organizations with resources, education and other tools to support this goal.

WeAreHereToStay.org - Find out about supporting undocumented immigrants

Protecting immigrants’ rights in hospitals

Read about our recent Community Conversation about the refugee crisis.

DACA Stats