What Can Catholic Lawyers Do?
What can Catholic Lawyers do to stem the tide of deportations, which are tearing families apart, and causing horrific suffering to our immigrant brothers and sisters?
- Pray—Come to our weekly prayer vigil at the ICE Detention and Staging Center in Broadview, every Friday morning at 7:15. Hold regular prayer vigils in your parish for immigrants. Pray with your families. Have intentions for immigrants and refugees included in the masses at your parish.
- Learn—more about the current situation. American Immigration Council, the Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, National Immigration Law Center, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, National Immigration Justice Center, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law are all great resources.
- Advocate—Contact your elected representatives repeatedly, by email and phone and let them know your position. Silence is acceptance!
- Volunteer to take on a case through NIJC or CVLS. Be a court watcher. Volunteer at one of the houses of care of the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, and/or donate to ICDI and support their work to provide pastoral care at one of the jails in Illinois and Wisconsin, where ICE detains immigrants.
- Donate to Archdiocese Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity-Immigration Ministry, ICDI, ICIRR and/or NIJC.
- Educate— Members of your parish, friends, family and co-workers on the issue. Make sure the undocumented in your parish know their rights.