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When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the Lord am your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)
Greetings JCA Members, Volunteers and Leaders!
In response to the immigration raid that happened one month ago in Postville, Iowa, we are dedicating the majority of this action alert to explaining the circumstances of the raid, the aftermath, and what Jewish Community Action is doing.
On May 12, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the federal government, conducted the largest single-site immigration raid in this country’s history. The raid was at the Agriprocessors plant, the nation’s largest kosher meat supplier. Over 390 people were detained, and over 250 arrested and charged. The majority of those swept up in the raid were from Guatemala and Mexico. This raid is not the first of its kind, but is unique because those arrested were charged with felonies and sentenced to five months in prison before being deported. This is the first time undocumented people have been criminally charged in the aftermath of a raid. Prior to this raid, they were instantly deported. This raid, like all raids, has torn families apart and has violated our own laws regarding due process of law and humane treatment of residents, whether they are citizens or non-citizens.
Postville is a small town and the raid has had, and will continue to have, a devastating effect on this rural community. In addition to those in jail, women with children who were arrested were sentenced to five months of house arrest. Because they are unable to work during this time, it is nearly impossible for them to support their families. In the aftermath of the Postville raid, Jewish Community Action has fielded numerous calls and emails:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. “Why did the raid happen?”
A. The raid happened because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is trying to show that it is tough on those who violate U.S. immigration law. ICE is using intimidation and fear to scare immigrants and harm legal citizens as well.
Q. “I heard the raid happened because of poor treatment of workers in the Agriprocessors plant, is this true?”
A. No. It IS true that there have been allegations of worker abuse at the Agriprocessors plant; however, the raid was not in response to these allegations.
Q. “Are raids really that bad?”
A. Raids separate families and violate our own laws regarding due process of law and humane treatment of residents, whether they are citizens or non-citizens. Raids harm legal citizens as well as non-citizens and turn rural towns upside down. Raids intimidate and harm legal citizens and employers who are trying to do the right thing. Additionally, raids hurt the US economy and attempt to enforce a broken system. As an organization based in Jewish values, Jewish Community Action holds that raids violate the Torah’s mandate of just treatment of the “stranger who resides with [us].”
Q. “How can we stop the raids?”
A. Comprehensive immigration reform is needed to protect the rights of people and to create a true and accessible path to citizenship. Raids are not a solution to our broken immigration system. Unless the system is mended, Postville will be just another in a series of false attempts to solve the immigration “problem” in America. As well, raids are a bad use of taxpayers’ money and an inappropriate use of police power.
Q. “What would Comprehensive Federal Immigration Reform (CFIR) do?”
A. CFIR would provide a path to citizenship, emphasize family reunification, legalize future migration, protect human rights, ensure dignity and due process, and protect workers and employers.
Q. “My Jewish grandparents waited their turn and came here legally. Why can’t new immigrants do the same?” A. Until we have CFIR, there is virtually no path to legal residency and citizenship available to the majority of new immigrants. Q. “Why are there so many people coming here now from Mexico and Central and South America?” A. U.S. trade policy, specifically the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, 1994) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA, 2005) has made it extremely difficult for people to survive in their home countries. NAFTA and CAFTA have created greater wealth disparity, destroyed agriculture as a means for income, and reduced wages in all countries involved. Economically, NAFTA, CAFTA, and other U.S. trade policies have proven disastrous for our country’s neighbors to the south.
Q. “As a Jew, why should I care about immigrants?”
A. Our history compels us to stand up for justice, whether it affects us directly or indirectly. Jewish Community Action has long stood by immigrant communities who—much like our own—come to this country seeking a better life for themselves and their families, oftentimes escaping violence, war, and crushing poverty. We are also directed in the Torah to stand up for the strangers in our midst and to treat workers justly.
Q. “This is horrible! What is JCA doing about it?”
A. Jewish Community Action is working with other organizations to come up with a response to this disastrous situation. We are thinking about the short term: meeting the needs of the people now by raising money. We are thinking about the long term: how to organize communities to stop future raids. As these plans evolve, we will provide continuous updates and ways for your to become involved.
Q. “I understand that we need to work for immigrants’ rights, but what about the workers’ rights?”
A. The two concerns intersect. Immigrants work, and until there is comprehensive federal immigration reform, the national immigration debate should not be fought out in the workplace on the backs of workers.
Q. “What is JCA doing about workers’ rights?”
A. We are working on a new initiative called Hekhsher Tzedek. The Hekhsher Tzedek Campaign would improve the working conditions, treatment of employees, environmental standards, and business practices in kosher food-producing businesses. The campaign, led by Rabbi Morris Allen and the Conservative Movement of Judaism, will eventually be national in scope.
In Minnesota, Jewish Community Action educates and engages the local Jewish community in moving this project forward. By definition, kosher food is in compliance with Jewish dietary and ritual laws. This campaign would bring kosher food into compliance with Jewish ethical law and social justice values, allowing us to fulfill the ethical, ritual, and dietary dimensions of kashrut, and ethical laws throughout Torah.
Q. Would the Hekhsher Tzedek replace the existing kosher certification?
A. No. It would be used in addition to traditional kosher certification. Only food already certified as kosher would be eligible to receive a Hekhsher Tzedek, even though workplace problems extend throughout many industries, including production of non- kosher food.
Q. Why should we care about this as Jews?
A. As Jews, we are in a unique position to advocate for improved working conditions, environmental standards, and business practices in kosher food-producing businesses: · Kosher food is produced in our name, for our community. We are the consumers of kosher food. We are in a great position to help kosher food producers meet the desires of their customers, make their products more attractive to customers, and become more just in their practices. When consumers come together and ask businesses to make change, businesses listen.
· Quick Facts on Jewish Immigration to the United States
Jewish Community Action has long stood by immigrant communities who, much like our own, come to this country seeking a better life for themselves and their families, oftentimes escaping violence, war, and crushing poverty.
As U.S. immigration policies have shifted over the years, oftentimes shutting out different groups, waves of undocumented immigrants have entered the country. Current policy restricts new immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America.
Not long ago, Jews were in a similar situation. In the 1920s, the U.S. passed unprecedented immigration laws that created nation-based quotas, to slow Eastern and Southern European immigration and eliminate Asian immigration. The idea was to keep out those deemed “undesirable,” such as Jews. This legislation kept many Eastern European Jews from coming to the U.S.; however, it did not stop them entirely.
Therefore, Jews too came here “illegally,” for similar reasons and with similar methods including: · Using fake papers or someone else’s papers. · Crossing the Canadian and Mexican border by train, car, foot, or plane, sometimes alone and sometimes with the help of smugglers. · Entering from Cuba by boat to Florida or Louisiana Due to their immigration status many Jews kept a low profile, so it is difficult to know the exact numbers who came through improper channels. Estimates are that at least tens of thousands arrived this way between 1921 and 1924 alone.
Then, as now, the U.S. government and citizenry reacted strongly to these undocumented Jewish immigrants. The government investigated smuggling rings involving American and foreign-born Jews and detained and deported undocumented immigrants. The U.S. media provided extensive coverage of the “flood of illegal immigrants,” feeding the U.S.-born population’s fear of communism, disease, crime, and other ills supposedly tied to immigrants.
Additionally, when the U.S. tried to pass laws requiring that foreign non-citizens register with the government, the Jews led the charge in calling them “un-American,” and condemned the quota laws, as well.
The same restrictions on Eastern and Southern European immigration were still in place in the 1930s and 1940s, when many Jews tried and failed to enter the U.S. Many other groups have been excluded from immigrating to the U.S. for various reasons, and like the Jews, have come despite the unwelcoming atmosphere.
As Jews, we cannot now turn our backs!
Please Help Now · Money and food are the biggest need for the families affected. Please send checks to:
Jewish
Community Action/Attention Postville
100 percent of your
donation will be directed to the families in Postville. · Write a letter to the editor of any newspaper denouncing raids and calling for comprehensive federal immigration reform. · Attend the next JCA Immigrant Rights Leadership Team meeting to help plan our response. · Demand comprehensive federal immigration reform from your legislators! Call, email, or write them today. Keep Reading This Weekly Action Alert in Weeks to Come for: · · JCA's long term and short term responses. · · Links to news articles and letters on the Postville raid. · · A report on Agriprocessors published by the United Food and Commercial Workers.
FFI: 651-632-2184, lauren@jewishcommunityaction.org, vic@jewishcommunityaction.org
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JCA NEWS
Postville Donations: Please Send Checks to: Jewish Community Action/Attention Postville 2375 University Ave W. Suite 150 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55114 100 percent of your donation will be directed to the families in Postville. (Please do not donate online through JCA's website for this purpose.)
Letter from Rabbi Kravitz regarding Postville
Coalition for Permanent Residency To get involved, contact vic@jewishcommunityaction.org.
Mount Zion Temple / Jewish Community Action Children’s Initiative Launched Mount Zion congregant and JCA leader Joan Ostrove delivered a beautiful d’var torah. Congregants learned more about the problems facing struggling families and children, and they committed to contacting legislators about the need to expand coverage for the state’s uninsured children. Join this exciting work, which will connect struggling families and their children with programs that can help! Take action now:
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Content updated 6/20/2008 |
