Interfaith Group Addresses Council on “Due Process” Rights for Immigrants

Clergy and members of the New Britain Area Interfaith Conference (NewBAIC) attended the July 9th New Britain Common Council meeting to share their concerns about the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants and actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that are not in accordance with “due process under the law.”

Rev. Dr. Jonathon D. Counts, Pastor of Spottswood AME Zion Church, read a joint statement on behalf of the conference during public participation that preceded the regular council meeting.

“The New Britain Area Interfaith Conference, mindful that each person is made in the image of God, urges respect for all immigrants. Immigrants should not be slandered, devalued, or demonized,”. Dr. Counts said. “They should not be made scapegoats for unresolved, divisive political conditions. Their rights should not be determined by whim or fiat. We stand behind the entitlement of each person who has reached these shores to have due process under the law. We hold it to be the responsibility of the government to follow and enact this process.”

The statement of concern from New Britain’s interfaith conference mirrors the concern taken by other religious leaders including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in June.

“No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear heard in communities throughout the country in the wake of a surge in immigration enforcement actions,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the leader of the U.S. military archdiocese and the president of the U.S. Conference.

“In the context of a gravely deficient immigration system, the mass arrest and removal of our neighbors, friends and family members on the basis of immigration status alone, particularly in ways that are arbitrary or without due process, represent a profound social crisis before which no person of good will can remain silent,” said Archbishop Broglio. His statement was reported by The National Catholic Reporter.

The Interfaith Conference is a coalition of faith-based communities in the New Britain area that organizes vigils, prayer services and similar events with participation from members of churches, mosques, synagogues, and other organizations