IHM Sisters, others draw upon Scripture in calling for comprehensive immigration reform and accountability for officials
MONROE — The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, based in Monroe, joined religious communities in Michigan and across the country in calling for just and compassionate immigration reform in the United States.
“As people of faith, the love of God unites us as we stand together in our desire for a more humane, just and compassionate response to the immigration crisis we are witnessing in our country,” the statement reads. “We are appalled and broken-hearted by the immense suffering being inflicted on our migrant sisters and brothers. Scripture calls us to lament and to respond.”
The statement was released against the backdrop of increased immigration policy enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security, particularly in Minneapolis, with “Operation Metro Surge.”
The statement was cosigned by 10 other religious and lay communities across the country, including the Congregation of St. Joseph, the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, the Detroit-based Sisters, Home Visitors of Mary, and the Detroit-based Strangers No Longer.
The IHM Sisters cited Scripture, the Book of Leviticus, as the basis for immigration reforms:
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 19:33-34)
The statement highlighted particular actions taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, such as:
- Violence being used by masked federal immigration agents against migrants and peaceful protestors;
- The dehumanization and racial profiling of people of color and different ethnic backgrounds and the disregard for their human rights;
- The cruel separation of families with children ripped away from their parents who are detained and/or deported;
- Mass incarcerations of migrants in overcrowded, unsanitary prisons and detention centers and to the denial of access to pastoral presence;
- Mass deportations without due process, especially to third-party countries; and
- Wholesale bans on accepting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers based on their country of origin or homeland.
“These practices are the direct result of a deeply flawed and immoral belief that all migrants are criminals to be feared and deported,” the statement read. “The violence currently directed at migrants is being done in the name of the American people with impunity and without congressional oversight. We call for an end to these lawless, unconstitutional actions.”
The IHM Sisters asked for federal officials to protect the rights of all people — citizens and non-citizens alike — enumerated in the Constitution and to enforce the law in a way that protects each person’s God-given dignity.
The Sisters also called upon Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform that offers an accessible pathway to legal status for immigrants living in the country.
“We urge our federal legislators to withhold all funding for the Department of Homeland Security — with the exception of FEMA — pending a complete overhaul of current operational policies of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection and to reject any additional funding that would result in the expansion of this massive unjust system that is operating without meaningful accountability to Congress or the American people.”
The statement ends by calling the nation to prayer as it grapples with debate surrounding immigration enforcement policy in the United States.
“We believe that prayer and contemplation, both personal and congregational, bring before each one of us the invitation to conversion, to a change of heart,” the statement concludes. “We invite all people to join us in prayer and action that will lead to a transformation of our hearts and our world.”
