United Women in Faith Speaks Against ICE Raids, Militarized Federal Response to LA Protests

For Immediate Release

Contact: press@spotlightpr.org

NEW YORK – United Women in Faith today expressed alarm over the recent ICE raids and the current administration’s response to pro-immigrant protests in Los Angeles. It released the following statement, which can be attributed to Sally Vonner, General Secretary and CEO: 

“United Women in Faith is firmly opposed to the recent deployment of National Guard troops and Marines against pro-immigrant protestors in California. The federal government is taking extreme, militarized action against civilian protestors on its own soil, rather than addressing the underlying issue: the inhumane cruelty of our immigration system.

“Protestors in Los Angeles are expressing understandable outrage at recent ICE raids and the resulting suffering in their communities. Families are being separated. Children are being deported to countries that they have no memory of. Rightly, people are raising their voices and protesting these harms. Immigrant communities and their allies, in Los Angeles and across this nation, are crying out for justice. They are being met with pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber bullets – but no justice.

“Immigrants are a vital part of our communities, in Los Angeles, and all across the United States of America. As women of faith, we know that the love of the Lord does not stop at any border, God’s justice is not limited to those with a certain legal status, and we are all neighbors in the eyes of God. As it says in Exodus 23:9, “Don’t oppress an immigrant. You know what it’s like to be an immigrant, because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt.”

“As such, we must treat each other with dignity and respect. We must stop escalating violence and stop criminalizing communities of color. Instead, with God’s help, we must seek the peace that comes with true justice.

“May the voices speaking out for immigrants be heard and heeded, in Los Angeles and around the nation, this week and always.”

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United Women in Faith, the largest denominational organization for women, is a sisterhood acting in faith to tackle the hard work of the world without hesitation.