Religious organizations around New York State are renewing their support for the DREAM Act by participating in the New York State Congregations in Solidarity with Dreamers. They are asking congregations to “preach and teach” about the importance of the DREAM Act at one service between September 16 and October 16. The New York State Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform launched the campaign as part of the national DREAM Sabbath effort.
Interfaith Network Director Diane Steinman highlighted the need for such a program in a recent press release:
President Obama’ s new policy on deportations, announced on August 18th, will save many DREAM’ers already in deportation proceedings from being deported, and we applaud his action. But young undocumented immigrants not in deportation proceedings may not be helped by the new policy – young people who must continue to live in the shadows, ineligible for citizenship, and unable to fulfill their dreams and help build the America of tomorrow. The shared values of our diverse faith communities – the values of justice, of compassion, of fair and generous treatment of the strangers among us – require us to be part of the solution by helping to build support for the DREAM Act.
The network can help you organize a DREAM Sabbath with a toolkit full of ideas as well as with speakers.
Religious leaders who want to get involved in the DREAM Sabbath initiative should contact steinmandm@gmail.com.
