For The Record

Submit birth, marriage and obituary records online.

Personal Ads

Meet new friends today!

Advertising

Put your message in front of 19,000 readers.

PDF documents on this site require the free Adobe Reader:

Get Adobe Reader

2010-04-06 issue:

Immigration task force calls for May 1 vigil

by members of the Human Trafficking Task Force

Print Article

As a body of Christians, committed to the way of Jesus, Mennonite Church USA passed a resolution on immigration in 2003. It stated, "We reject our country's mistreatment of immigrants, repent of our silence, and commit ourselves to act with and on behalf of our immigrant brothers and sisters, regardless of their legal status."

Six years later, in 2009, Mennonite Church USA passed a resolution, sponsored by Mennonite Women USA, on human trafficking in which we committed ourselves "to join with other Christian denominations in a united voice against the evil of human trafficking."

Jesus also spoke often of liberation for those in literal bondage. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free." (Luke 4:18)

These resolutions and the biblical text share a call to advocate for people who are oppressed.

To follow up the resolution in 2009 a task force has been formed to work on advocacy for those trapped in human trafficking, which is also referred to as modern slavery. Institutional representatives meet regularly to discuss modern slavery concerns and identify ways the faith community can respond. Organizations represented on the task torce include Iglesia Menonita Hispana, Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Church USA Denominational Ministry, Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, Mennonite Women USA and Mennonite Mutual Aid.

Already this task force has provided worship resources and educational information about modern slavery. Among initiatives currently, MMA is developing a consumer education and advocacy campaign seeking justice on behalf of child workers in the cocoa industry, as part of its stewardship investing activities. Mennonite Women, has made this a lead issue in presentations, publications and through their online resource page www.mennonitewomenusa.org

This task force also recognizes clear connections between modern slavery and immigration and calls Mennonite Church USA to become educated about the intersecting issues.

According to the immigration resources at the Third Way Café, "When international agribusiness buys the land people have been farming to support their families, they need to find other opportunities to survive. Some of the people facing these kinds of economic pressures travel to the U.S. where they often take low-paying, menial jobs."

Hence, we must recognize that many recent immigrants are forced to migrate in order to find work. And this is where the lines between modern slavery and immigration blur. 

From the 2003 Resolution: "For many immigrants the opportunities of living in the United States are offset by hardship and discrimination. They work the most difficult and dangerous jobs for the lowest pay, and immigrants without documents are frequently cheated out of wages and denied compensation for work-related injuries. Unfair immigration policies make it difficult to travel across borders, unjust quota systems discriminate against citizens from some countries, and families are divided by long delays in document processing."

Because modern slavery is invisible to most of us or because we've been conditioned to blame the undocumented victims, we can only estimate the number of children, women and men involved. Worldwide, the estimate is 12-30 million and in the United States, between 45,000 and 50,000, with hundreds of thousands more at risk.

One way to show visible support for immigrant sisters and brothers is to join with other Mennonites, May 1, for a prayer vigil on immigration. The purpose of the vigil is to strengthen relationships between cultural groups and pray for change in our hearts toward people different from us.

The vigil also seeks to raise consciousness and understanding of the realities faced by immigrants in the United States.

As a denomination with many diverse groups, may we learn to celebrate and lament together. For those of us who come from older immigrants groups who sometimes forget our own immigrant history, may we acknowledge our complicity in the oppression of others when we have not advocated for justice. For those of us who are more recent immigrants, may we be strengthened to know we are not alone in the struggle for justice.

Find more information on the May 1 prayer vigil at the Peace and Justice Resource Network Web site.

Reader Comments

Add Comments

Current Stories

Articles

News stories, digests and Meno Acontecer

Columns

Births and Marriages

Readers Say

Subscribe