Immigration – legal and illegal. It is a hot topic in NJ today; but sound bites, ideology, fear-driven responses and violent rhetoric obscure the real conversations that need to happen. What does it mean for us, as Unitarian Universalists, to respond to this complex and emotional issue? What resources are available? How do we even begin, and how can we help here in New Jersey?

As Unitarian Universalists, we have a long history of supporting civil rights, and this includes the rights of immigrants.  We have committed to a national campaign called "Standing on the Side of Love", a campaign focused on telling the stories of individuals and families who have been denied equal rights in our country. We hope that people of all faiths and ethnicities can agree that it is better to act out of love and respect for our common humanity, rather than be guided by voices of fear and hate.  We are here to lift up the voices of those who support the worth and dignity of all people, and to encourage public policy which reflects our commitment to justice and equity.

The Task Force was organized in 2009.  In 2010 we started to focus on educating ourselves. We agreed that many Unitarian Universalists were unsure about immigration policy. It was extremely complex, and even well educated progressive persons were not sure how they felt about many proposals. Issues of economics and law enforcement and rights of native workers all became muddled with progressives' clear concerns about human rights and dignity.

The Immigration Reform Task Force decided to develop several offerings, especially workshops and worship services, to grow awareness and concern about immigration issue. Since we adopted this focus many New Jersey UU congregations have asked for and received significant assistance with this programming, making strong efforts to involve many people, with regular Sunday worship services or with a focus over several months with several workshops, rather than a program that attracts just the already-committed attendees. We are continuing to offer this help.

The Immigration Reform Task Force is also looking at other issues around which to develop workshops and other educational materials, as well as public policy issues with which to become involved.

Please contact Ted Fetter at for more information, or to participate in our monthly conference calls.

Resources

• UUA Immigration News - January 2012: Immigration Advocacy in Our Communities -- It's Working!
• UUA Immigration News Archive
• Welcoming Our Neighbors: A Unitarian Universalist Guide to Immigrant Justice
• The Standing on the Side of Love initiative of the UUA
• The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) position paper on immigration, "A New Path"
• A series of sermons on immigration from UUA
• Immigration as a Moral Issue (Proposed Congregational Study/ Action Issue for 2010-2014)