Unitarian Universalists call for an abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the end of family separation at the border, and other social justice initiatives.
Denomination News:
Guest post by Bruce Wiggins, First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee.
[Note: This is an edited version of an article in UUWorld with coverage of the UUA General Assembly 2018 in Kansas City, MO. If any of you at First Church are interested in pursuing any of these actions, let Rev. Dena McPhetres or a member of our Social Justice Council know at the Social Justice Table, staffed at Coffee Hour.]
For the full article, see https://www.uuworld.org/articles/ga-2018-news-report .
The General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association voted to make dismantling white supremacy its priority for congregational study and action. Delegates picked “Undoing Intersectional White Supremacy” as a multiyear Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI).
Delegates also endorsed three Actions of Immediate Witness, which all emphasize the urgency of supporting people of color and indigenous people.
- The first calls for congregational action to draw attention to predatory medical fees charged to incarcerated people, who are disproportionately people of color; the UUA’s Church of the Larger Fellowship developed the resolution in partnership with its 870 incarcerated members.
- The second resolution pledges solidarity with indigenous “water protectors,” who have been fighting the placement of liquid natural gas pipelines near Native American lands and who face federal charges for disrupting construction of the pipelines.
- The third resolution demands immediate action to improve U.S. treatment of asylum seekers and migrant families to keep families together. Among other demands, the resolution advocates the abolition of Immigration Customs Enforcement “and the implementation of a system that understands the causes the migration provides a non-carceral [without imprisonment] solution while asylum seekers await a decision on their case, and has a fundamental commitment to keeping families together.”
All three resolutions were adopted speedily by overwhelming margins and without amendments.
[Photo from: http://immigrationimpact.com/2018/03/02/sues-family-separation-border/ ]