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AUSTIN, Texas (RNS) \u2014 A group of religious leaders gathered Wednesday (July 22) at the Texas State Capitol to condemn recent immigration enforcement-related deaths in Texas, Maine and Florida and to demand that federal immigration agents end what one pastor called a \u201cterror campaign\u201d against migrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe grieve every death, every act of violence and every enforcement practice that unnecessarily endangers human life or diminishes the God-given dignity of our immigrant neighbors,\u201d said Bishop Sue Briner of the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.\u00a0\u201cWhen fear begins to shape the daily lives of our neighbors, it is time for the church to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The news conference inside the Capitol brought together about two dozen leaders from the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ, the National Council of Jewish Women and other faith-related groups. Texas Impact<\/a>, an interfaith grassroots advocacy network, organized the event in response to the July 7 fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo<\/a> during a traffic stop by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Houston.<\/p>\n The religious leaders present condemned deportations, detention centers and enforcement-related deaths involving ICE amid the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation efforts.<\/p>\n Federal agents who determine that their actions have been immoral should \u201cresign and find other work,\u201d said the Rev. Jim Harrington of St. James\u2019 Episcopal Church in Austin, where he works with immigrants, and who is also a lawyer who founded the Texas Civil Rights Project.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing orders is never a justification in the Christian tradition \u2014 nor in international law \u2014 to perpetuate evil,\u201d Harrington said.<\/p>\n The Rev. Dan De Leon, senior pastor at Friends Congregational Church in College Station, invoked the Sermon on the Mount. \u201cJesus says, \u2018Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.\u2019 Notice that Jesus does not say, \u2018Blessed are the peacekeepers,\u2019 which is what ICE alleges to be doing in our communities,\u201d De Leon said.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a peacekeeping initiative \u2014 this is a terror campaign with the mission of traumatizing our neighbors until they self-deport,\u201d De Leon said.<\/p>\n Jewish leaders turned to their faith as well: \u201cJewish tradition teaches that whoever saves a life saves the entire world, and conversely, whoever destroys a life destroys the whole world,\u201d said Bettie Forman, with the National Council of Jewish Women Austin.<\/p>\n Others called for accountability and transparency.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCandidates for law enforcement must be properly vetted, fully and carefully trained, and held accountable when they do not meet appropriate standards,\u201d said Elyse Rosenberg, who represented NCJW and is a member of Temple Beth Shalom, a Reform synagogue in Austin.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout our history, we have repeatedly seen firsthand the consequences of governments exercising unchecked power on vulnerable populations,\u201d she said, adding that accountability should include impartial investigations of agent-involved shootings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this week, multiple news<\/a> outlets reported<\/a> the FBI would no longer investigate confrontations with immigration agents. Federal officials denied the change.\u00a0<\/p>\n The religious leaders also pressed for:<\/p>\n Families also deserve to be treated humanely and should never learn through social media that a loved one has been detained, seriously injured or killed, said Grace Bonilla, a policy advocate with Texas Impact.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here today because Texans of faith and conscience refuse to accept what we witnessed in Houston as proper immigration enforcement,\u201d Bonilla said, referring to Araujo. \u201cThat conviction does not conflict with border security. We recognize the federal government\u2019s responsibility to enforce our immigration laws and maintain our borders, but enforcement must never come at the expense of human life.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, attended the news conference, calling the religious leaders\u2019 requests reasonable and encouraging legislators to pay attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think the local or state government can have an impact on federal government by saying, \u2018You\u2019re coming into our state, this is what we want to see here,’\u201d she said. \u201cWe want safety, not ICE agents who are wearing masks, who are frightening our community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a partisan issue; this is a humanity issue,\u201d Goodwin said.<\/p>\n This story is published through a collaboration between Religion News Service and The Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n\n