As we recall recent holidays with family, and the New Year begins for us all, I invite you to hold in heart and mind the over 195,000 Salvadorans who will learn by NEXT MONDAY, January 8th, from the Department of Homeland Security whether they will receive an extension for Temporary Protected Status. Without an extension, families of TPS recipients--including their nearly 200,000 U.S. citizen children--will face cruel separation, and returns to dire conditions of gang violence and acute food, housing, and water shortages.
WHAT CAN WE DO NOW TO SUPPORT SALVADORAN TPS RECIPIENTS?
1) From
TOMORROW THRU JANUARY 6TH, read, reflect and ACT through this 3-part set of
4) Raise your faith voice to
write an op-ed
or Letter to the Editor BEFORE NEXT MONDAY.
For
help, please reach out to communications specialists Wardah and Bilal at
media@cwsglobal.org
. See here for samples, and much more information:
5) Hold a Prayer Vigil or Press Conference for TPS recipients
ASAP in your area, and demonstrate your support for your neighbors! Call attention to the increasing removals of protections being faced by Haitian, Honduran, Salvadoran, and other TPS recipients in recent months! Talk about the need for a legislative solution to permanently protect TPS recipients, and see sample talking points and key contributions of TPS recipients
here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fIF6so2SXTQFVvimggUmEWLSAGNKFQtNfZhVXksj1go/edit?usp=sharing
FOR MORE BACKGROUND AND HELP:
*If you or others in your community are TPS recipients, and have legal questions about how to maintain their status, contact our Disciples Legal Immigration Counsel, Tana Liu-Beers, at: tana@dhm.disciples.org or
https://www.disciplesimmigration.org
.
*For advocacy questions, contact: R
ev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries, sstanley@dhm.disciples.org,
202-957-7826.
Thanks for raising your voice and values of faith to support immigrants and refugees, and for answering the call to "open your mouths to defend the rights...of the needy." (Proverbs 31:8)
Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea,
Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries (RIM)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. & Canada
5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005
(2nd floor, National City Christian Church)
RIM is a ministry of Disciples Home Missions
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