Migration Working Group
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Migration Working Group
part of the Mission & Advocacy Committee
Human Rights Activist from Mexico To Speak About Struggles to Help Brutalized Migrants
- Tuesday February 14, 7:30 pm
- Basil Hall (room 117), St. John Fisher College
3690 East Ave, [ map ] - Free and Open to the Public
- Flyer
Padre Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, human rights activist and founder of the Hermanos en el Camino migrant shelter in Oaxaca, Mexico, will talk about Migration and Human Rights at St. John Fisher College on February 14.
The National Human Rights Committee of Mexico estimates that over 11,000 migrants were kidnapped in Mexico in a six-month period in 2010.
Hermanos en el Camino, founded by Padre Alejandro in 2007, provides a short respite from danger. It has become a frontline in the fight against increasingly organized and brutal attacks on undocumented Central American migrants in transit through Mexico. It is part of a system of over fifty shelters and food kitchens that have emerged along the unauthorized migratory route to the US.
It provides food, access to hygiene products and facilities, medical care, legal support to victims of crimes, a place to leave behind important information for family members in the event that migrants disappear during their journey, and spiritual support.
It has become a staging ground for numerous protests and has launched Padre Alejandro into the national political fight against human rights abuses in Mexico. Because of his activism, Padre Alejandro has received numerous death threats and was spotlighted on the Amnesty International Urgent Action List.
Despite the danger, he continues his work without fear. “I am reflecting on the meaning of Migration. It is the path of the poor. I am convinced that they are changing the world with their presence… Of whatever culture, politics, religion, or gender, they are constructing a common denominator of humanity.”
Co-sponsored by 13 local organizations belonging to the Greater Rochester Coalition for Immigration Justice (GRCIJ). These include Catholic Charities of Wayne County, Justice Council of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester, Migration Working Group of the Presbytery of Genesee Valley, Rochester Committee on Latin America, St. John Fisher College, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph, Spiritus Christi Church, The Interfaith Alliance of Rochester, Wayne Action for Racial Equality, and Worker Justice Center of NY.
Lift Your Voices to
Trader Joe’s
Migration Working Group sent more than 70 postcards, signed at the November Presbytery meeting, to Trader Joe’s urging the company to join the Campaign for Fair Food by signing onto the historic agreement between the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and nine multi-billion dollar food retailers (including Whole Foods Market, McDonald’s, Subway, and Burger King).
The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which represents 90% of the state's tomato growers, seeks to increase wages for farm workers by paying an extra penny per pound for Florida tomatoes, a strict code of conduct, a cooperative complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program, and a worker-to-worker education process.
This postcard campaign is continuing and the Migration Working Group urges all congregations to join the postcard campaign by requesting postcards from the Resource Center at the Presbytery Office and then sending them to Trader Joe’s. The CIW has been calling on Trader Joe’s to join the Fair Food program since 2007, and now we have the opportunity to lend our voices to the cry for justice and fair food.
In addition, the Migration Working Group invites everyone to attend the Suffer Little Children panel discussion about the effects of immigration practices on children and families at the Church Leadership Development Day, Saturday, February 11, at Perinton Presbyterian Church.
About the Migration Working Group
The Presbytery of Genesee Valley represents sixty-nine Presbyterian (USA) churches in the Rochester, NY and the surrounding five-county area. Our congregations are a diverse composite of urban, rural, and suburban men, women, and children of faith.
There is a calling that unifies us and drives us to push for justice in an important human rights issue of our day. This calling is comprehensive immigration reform. Congress needs to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority and take into consideration the needs of immigrant laborers and our agricultural economy.
The Genesee Valley, a rich agricultural land base, is ripe with family farms growing local vegetables and grains, raising livestock, and milking dairy cows. An adequate, legal and reliable supply of workers is one of the most pressing issues facing farmers in our valley today. Our environment is unique because the work is both seasonal on fruit and vegetable farms, and year-long on dairy farms. Additionally, agricultural products are highly perishable.
Our current immigration policy continues to fail our local economy and our foreign-born neighbors. Reform of our employment-based immigration system is absolutely necessary to readily address the need for workers and to strengthen our troubled agricultural economy. Immigrant labor has become an increasingly important component of many agricultural businesses.
- As Christians we are called to continually show love for the stranger.
- As people of faith, we perceive immigrants differently.
- We are called to care for the poor and welcome all of God’s people.
- The hospitality Jesus taught is not a decorative add-on to our beliefs, but a central tenet.
- This means keeping children and parents together, and establishing pathways by which our immigrant sisters and brothers may seek a better life for themselves and their families.
- We also believe that showing compassion to the immigrant does not require abandoning fairness and safety.
- We understand the need for our country to control its borders, and we see the need for real enforcement at the workplace to protect against unscrupulous employers who lower the bar for all workers.
- We also understand that the situation of the 12 million undocumented immigrants who are already living in this country must be honestly addressed.
- Finally, we understand that valuing families means we must not tear spouses apart or parents away from their children because of their citizenship status.
Comprehensive immigration reform is the solution to many of these issues. It is both practical and just, and reflects the direction and goals we should desire for our nation.
Most importantly, it will begin to liberate us from the divisions we currently face so we can turn our attention to the real challenge—how to build an economy and society that integrates and rewards anyone who wants to make a positive contribution to our nation’s welfare.
It is our responsibility to hold our nation’s leaders to a higher calling. We pray that
- President Obama and Congress will do all in their power to bring about comprehensive immigration reform.
- Our continued efforts in our churches, our communities, and in Washington, will help supply our leaders with the will to do what is right for all people who call this country home.
The Presbytery’s vision is to Know Christ, Live Christ, and Share Christ—with all people.