August Newsletter: Join JCIJ’s Summer Gathering!
August 16, 2024 • 12 Av 5784
TASTE OF HONEY
"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all," wrote Emily Dickinson. There's a fluttering of hope in the air today, along with the pain and fear - let's fill ourselves with feathers and sing a song of hope, of tikvah.
— Beth Fine
EVENTS
Register for JCIJ’s Summer Gathering!
Join us for the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice's 2nd annual Summer Gathering to come together in community! Registration is required and is free.
With the unknown election outcome in November, a huge uptick in anti-immigrant rhetoric, and recent Executive actions further undermining immigrant rights, it is more important than ever to build our olam chesed, our world with love. Together we can grow an even stronger community of JCIJ advocates, action takers, and accompaniment volunteers.
Come learn more about how to get involved or deepen your engagement in accompaniment and advocacy over brunch and music. There will also be time for chatting ~ schmoozing (Yiddish) or to echar lashon (Ladino)! Listen and sing along with beloved local musician friends Peter Costantini, Lou Truskoff, and Mark Alfs.
Bring: Please bring (or order) mutual aid items for Welcome Packages for newly arrived migrants at tinyurl.com/WAISN-Care-P. JCIJ is supporting the WA Immigrant Solidarity Network in gathering supplies and delivering Welcome Packages.
SUPPORT
Fair Fight Bond Fund
JCIJ helped launch the Fair Fight Bond Fund (FFBF) - thanks to the support of many of you! We are committed to continuing to bond immigrants out of detention to be reunited with their families and have a 10x better chance of winning their cases.
The FFBF led by the WA Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) provides crucial financial support to immigrants detained by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), enabling them to be freed from the terrible conditions in detention and reunite with their families while awaiting court proceedings.
The FFBF is solely supported by contributions from people who believe in justice, dignity, and the power of community solidarity. Will you join us by supporting the Fair Fight Bond Fund today?
The Fair Fight Bond Fund has bonded nine people out of immigration detention this year, including Yessy, a member of this community who the FFBF recently bonded out of detention.
Together, we can build a strong, supportive community that stands against unjust detention and deportation practices!
Urgently Needed Supplies for Newly Arrived Migrants
WAISN and JCIJ need your help purchasing supplies for new migrant arrivals to King County. The need for care packages and resources for newly arrived migrants continues to increase. WAISN, with volunteers from JCIJ, delivered 65 care packages in 2023.
Please support this mutual aid effort of urgently needed items. They will be sent directly to WAISN and delivered by JCIJ volunteers. We will add more items to the wishlist as the highest priority needs are met.
ACTION
Urge the Biden Administration: Admit 135,000 Refugees in the Fiscal Year 2025
Take action in support of refugees today! The Biden administration is currently debating the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions, which specifies the number of refugees our country will strive to resettle in the coming year.
Join us in calling on the Biden administration to commit to admitting at least 135,000 refugees in the coming twelve months as well as committing to the necessary resources to make achieving this goal possible. For a person fleeing persecution — the U.S. refugee resettlement program can be a literal lifeline. So it's crucial that we demand more from our leaders as they determine the number of refugee admissions.
VOLUNTEER
Volunteers are needed to support monthly Saturday Asylum Clinics including volunteer immigration lawyers, non-immigration lawyers, paralegals, and interpreters in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Lingala.
JCIJ supports free legal clinics for Spanish speakers at Riverton Park United Methodist Church on Mondays from 12-4pm. We especially need volunteers who speak Spanish - being fluent is not required. Non-Spanish speakers with an interest in immigration law are also welcome. Volunteer at tinyurl.com/jcijvolunteer.
NEWS
Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy just released a report on current tax payments made by undocumented immigrants. Some key findings are that:
Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Most of that amount, $59.4 billion, was paid to the federal government while the remaining $37.3 billion was paid to state and local governments.
More than a third of the tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants go toward payroll taxes dedicated to funding programs that these workers are barred from accessing. Undocumented immigrants paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes, $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes, and $1.8 billion in unemployment insurance taxes in 2022.
*Stay tuned* for more on our upcoming fight for Unemployment Insurance for Undocumented Workers this legislative session! This is a benefit workers are paying into but not receiving.
Five Years of Washington’s Law to Safeguard Immigrants’ Rights
Following the introduction of the Keep Washington Working Act in 2019, University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) used data and public records to analyze the actual application of the law. Their first report, published in 2021, revealed compliance issues among law enforcement agencies statewide. This month, the UWCHR updated their report to reflect ongoing issues with adoption of the law’s policies at certain agencies and the lack of processes for monitoring and accountability–while still noting progress of the law’s implementation, thanks to advocacy groups and grassroots organizations.
Asylum Officers’ Union Supports ACLU Efforts to Block Biden’s New Border Policy
National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council 119, representing asylum and humanitarian officers across the country, filed a brief in support of ACLU’s lawsuit against Biden’s Mexican border policies, saying that “expanding lawful immigration pathways for some does not justify foreclosing lawful immigration pathways for others” (New York Times). President Biden’s June order removed safe haven protections specifically for migrants who enter from Mexico, preventing them from seeking asylum when border crossings regularly exceed 2,500 per day.
Olympics August 6, 2024 National Immigration Forum
A new analysis by George Mason University shows that 3.7% of U.S. athletes in the Olympics are foreign-born and more than 7% are children of immigrants or second-generation immigrants, reports Beau Dure for The Guardian. Among their many stories: Some arrived in the U.S. to study or for sports opportunities, while others fled dangerous situations in their home countries. We’re feeling proud of all of our athletes, no matter where they were born.
Empathy Over Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric & The Great Replacement Theory
When it comes to immigration and the border challenges, writer Laura Pritchett makes a call for empathy beyond politics in a Los Angeles Times op-ed. After visiting the border, she says: "So many don’t see what’s going on out here. We wish they could see... [We] can recognize that unseen lives are meshed with our own lives more than we think, and that they matter."
Take another look at our resource on The Great Replacement Theory, which pertains to the immigration conversation.
STORIES
In 2022, a Somali community leader asked Dina Burstein if she could help a young community member in prison at Walla Walla. They have been talking on the phone ever since and soon began working together on these columns. Here is their First Column, published in the JCIJ newsletter in 2023 and originally published in The Retiree Advocate. Almost every word attributed here to Mohamed is a quote from Dina’s notes of conversations with him in 2023. Mohamed has served almost ten years of a forty year sentence in the WA State Penitentiary at Walla Walla. He was convicted of three counts of first degree assault and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm during an altercation in which one person was shot in the hand and sustained minor injuries.
In today’s Second Column, Mohamed talks about growing up in Mogadishu and the challenges he faced as he adapted to life in Seattle.
SONGS IN THE KEY OF JCIJ
Curated by Dina Burstein
"By the Waters of Babylon" - Joey Weisenberg, Live at B'nai Jeshurun, NYC - 12/22/22
On Tisha B’Av (August 12-13 this year) Jews remember and mourn the tragic events in 597 BCE, when the inhabitants of Judah were conquered and deported to Babylonia, where they were held captive for 58 years. Psalm 137, sung here by Joey Weisenberg and friends, expresses the yearning for home of those who were deported and held captive in exile. On Tisha B’Av we remember and mourn this and other tragic events, deportations, wars.
Nefesh Mountain • More Love (Official Visualizer)
Nefesh Mountain’s Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff infuse Jewish tradition and soul into the beautifully diverse tapestry of American roots music. Here they call for More Love (beautiful song by Darrel Scott and Tim O’Brien) and I completely agree.
Rawayana - Funky Fiesta feat. José Luis Pardo (Dj Afro) | Video Oficial/Official Video
Rawayana is a Venezuelan band whose members describe their style as "trippy pop.” This song is a light take on the challenges of learning English or Spanish.
When I'm Gone (Phil Ochs) - New Arrangement by Fred Arcoleo
Phil Ochs wrote this inspiring song when he was in his twenties, about ten years before he took his own life. Ach! Listen to this beautiful new arrangement of When I’m Gone by Fred Arcoleo (well past his twenties), a NY singer-songwriter and high school teacher whose deepest desire in life is to help influence the way the world changes.
Be in touch with the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW
at team@jewishcoalition.org and learn more at jewishcoalition.org.
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Donate to build Jewish Coalition’s advocacy, accompaniment and community engagement.
Volunteer for or learn more about accompaniment, legal support, observing ICE flights, tutoring, interpreting, crafting JCIJ communications, and supporting immigrant-led partners.