On Friday, July 12, after our Shabbat service, 30 congregants hopped on the subway with Rabbi Reines and Cantor Kipnis to join with crowds of protesters at Foley Square, a small park outside of the largest immigration court in the US. In concert with resisters gathered at sites around the nation and on five continents, we demanded an end to the inhumane treatment of migrants and refugees entering our country. The TST contingent performed a sacred act expressing our most fundamental Jewish values. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said after marching with Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, “I felt my legs were praying.”
More Ways to Get Involved
Below, please find other opportunities to fight for the well-being and dignity of those who have come to our shores seeking the security, opportunity, and liberation that we treasure. As Jewish tradition affirms, “It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it” (Pirkei Avot 2:16).
Volunteer
Direct Service New Sanctuary offers trainings for volunteers to accompany refugee seekers to government and court appointments, educate them about their legal rights, and help them access support.
HIAS offers opportunities for volunteers in NYC and at the border.
Advocate
Advocate for a family in our community. Sign a petition and contact ICE to support a stay of deportation for a mother in sanctuary so that she will not be separated from her two young children, both U.S. citizens.
Contact your elected officials. Ask what they are doing to respond to this humanitarian crisis, and demand action.
To engage children, here is the Children’s Letter Writing Toolkit
Gift + Donate
Donate airline miles for immigrants and asylum seekers to be reunited with family or to reach sponsors.
Arizona Jews for Justice is distributing supplies to asylum seekers who are released from detention with nothing in their possession. Order necessary items from this registry.
Make blankets for recently released asylum seekers being resettled by the International Rescue Committee.
Be paired with a newly arrived family through the New Neighbors Clothing Partnership that has children slightly younger than your own to create an ongoing process of gifting hand-me-downs.
Contribute to a Bail Fund – an effective way to reunite immigrant families is to help them pay their bail.
Consider supporting other reputable organizations supporting refugees and immigrants like ACLU Immigrant Rights or RAICES.