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WASHINGTON D.C. — Last week, starting on Wednesday, November 26, the Trump Administration launched a series of deeply harmful new actions and scathing, hateful rhetoric directed at our neighbors who are migrants. This was in response to the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, DC, near the White House.

Pablo DeJesús, Executive Director, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, stated:

“All of us condemn the recent shooting in Washington, DC, and all such violence. There is no doubt about that. At UUSJ, and among Unitarian Universalists, more broadly, we respect others and prioritize the peaceful resolution of differences.

"Yet the Administration has opted to use this tragic event as a pretext to go beyond seeking justice, to target instead hundreds of thousands of migrants and asylees who have absolutely no connection to the specific incident of the tragic shooting. We think that is a shameful pivot from tragedy to politics in service to an anti-immigrant agenda that ignores the facts of history -- most Americans are, in fact, immigrants and refugees. Despite the rhetoric, we are, by and large, a nation of immigrants.

"In the main, the refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant people being targeted are hard-working, peaceful residents of the U.S. who have fled from oppression and violence and are trying to establish stability in their lives and raise families. With this new wave of state-sponsored rhetoric and attacks, there is a clear and present danger that many of them, including people who have bona fide protected legal status, will be penalized for the actions of one individual. Now, the few benefits many receive may be cancelled, and many face the very real prospect of family separation, detention, and deportation. That strikes us as a new and fresh moral failure.

“The cruel worldview behind these actions is apparent from the President’s rhetoric. He has singled out thousands of innocent people and has falsely claimed that they are responsible for the dangerous and dysfunctional conditions plaguing our country. He has flatly misstated both the motives and backgrounds of migrants (asserting with no evidence that they are violent gang members) and mischaracterized the detailed, lengthy vetting of the Afghan evacuees.

“As Unitarian Universalists, we honor the inherent worth and dignity of all people, including our migrant neighbors, and we cherish the democratic process. We champion a republic in which no individual can ignore laws and traditions to pursue personal vendettas or normalize hate. We also believe in a free and responsible search for truth, and therefore, we oppose vicious lies meant to divide and demoralize us.

“We encourage all citizens to contact their members of Congress, to strongly urge them to denounce the President’s attacks and prevent the threatened actions.”

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