Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals – DACA

Faith Leaders: Sign On Today!

We invite faith leaders from across traditions to sign on to this letter urging DHS to to take immediate action to expedite the renewal of applications for DACA program recipients, to ensure DACA recipients receive automatic extensions of their protection from deportation and work authorization, and to issue clear written guidance to provide that current and former DACA recipients will not be enforcement priorities for removal.

Decisions issued by the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of California and the Eastern District of New York require DHS to accept renewal applications. Yet, given the lack of clarity on DACA renewals and the status of the program, hundreds of thousands of recipients have been in a position of uncertainty, unable to know what the next step of the process would be. Since the Trump administration terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA program in September 2017, more than 22,000 DACA recipients have seen their protections expire. We must urge DHS to adequately prevent these harms, it is vital that DHS process renewal applications in a compassionate and expeditious manner. The full text of the letter is available here.

Together, our collective advocacy places the faithful call to love our neighbors into action. Faith leaders: sign on today!

Thank you for standing with us in the fight.

Rev. Noel Andersen
National Grassroots Coordinator
Immigration and Refugee Program
Church World Service

On September 5, the Trump Administration rescinded DACA with a 6-month delay. What this means for the almost 800,000 DACA recipients is that in March of 2018, their legal status and work authorization in this country will begin expiring without the option to renew.

Stay Informed: Please take 30 seconds to sign-up as a UMC Immigration Rapid Response Team. You will receive resources, updates and action ideas and invitations. Click Here.

Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals – DACA

Since DACA first began on August 15, 2012, the Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON) network has helped thousands of young undocumented immigrants become DACAmented, enabling them to pursue their dreams of living happy, hopeful, and productive lives in the only country they’ve ever truly known. These are the sons and daughters of America. This is their home. This is where they belong—with us; not in the country of their birth, but in the country that raised them and taught them to dream.

Justice for Our Neighbors is a network of 17 sites across the country that provides free or low-cost immigration legal services for low-income immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers. JFON attorneys meet with clients at legal clinics in churches and community centers, through referrals and scheduled appointments.

The JFON network grew out of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s long commitment to refugees and immigrants. Since UMCOR’s founding in 1940, refugee ministry has been at the heart of its work, guided by Christian values of hospitality to the stranger. Read more…

Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors

The Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist Church has supported this ministry from its beginnings. TN JFON provides affordable, high-quality immigration legal services to immigrants, educates the public and faith-based communities about issues related to immigration, and advocates for immigrant rights. The Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist Church has supported this ministry from its beginnings. Read TN JFON Statement on DACA

> 2021 “Families Together” Classes begin in January! A free online class series for Spanish-speaking immigrant families interested in learning more about immigration-related topics. English & Spanish available. Details

Take Action to Support Our Dreamers & The Dream Act.

Operation Mega, a raid ICE had planned for September would have been the largest-ever raid, with a target arrest of 8,600 immigrants across the country. All 24 ICE offices were involved in planning and carrying out this action. Although we received the announcement that the raid had been cancelled, this is an important time to continue to prepare with our families, congregations and communities!

Supporting DACA Recipients

> Take 30 seconds to sign-up as a UMC Immigration Rapid Response Team. Click Here.

> Make sure DACA recipients know they are welcome in your community, and that they have the most up-to-date information about their status. For those DACA recipients whose DACA expires between now and March of 2018, they may file a renewal for their DACA status by October 5, 2017

> Consider taking up an offering to have funds available to aid DACA recipients for their renewal fees of $495. Contact Justice For Our Neighbors for more information. (615) 454-6185; Español (615) 835-2512.

Contact Your Members of Congress to support the DREAM Act.

> Call your Representative and Senators. Call their DC office and their local office(s).
> Click Here to Find your Representative
> Click Here to seeing a listing of Senators Alexander and Corker’s D.C. and local offices. If you cannot get through, call another office. They”ll hear your concerns as well. Sample Script:
“Hello, I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and [as a United Methodist/person of faith] I urge you to stand with all DREAMers in the United States and support a clean passage of S.1615/H.R.3440, the Dream Act of 2017.”

> Send a letter to your members of Congress telling them to do all in their power to pass the DREAM Act. Be sure to add a personal note. Example letter.

In-District Meetings

On September 18-22, your House Representatives will be back home, and your Senators will be back on the 21^st and 22^nd. We want to work with local teams to set up in-district meetings. This is a critical time to STAND with DREAMers, be face to face with your members of congress or their staffers and ask them to pass a clean Dream Act of 2017.

If you think you are able to work with a team to set up/attend a meeting, please email us directly!** merrilee.wineinger@tnumc.org