“Unshackle Oregon. Let our people go!”
It was one of the chants that could be heard through the rain on the first Friday of October at a rally in Hood River, the sixth leg of a pilgrimage from Sheridan to The Dalles.
The pilgrimage – organized by the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ), the Rural Organizing Project and other organizations – had specific demands: an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s contracts with two Oregon correctional facilities where immigrants and asylum seekers are being detained.
About 40 people made the entire 150-mile trek, with many others joining along the way. They slept in churches and on a farm. They rallied and canvassed against Measure 105, which would reverse Oregon’s sanctuary-state status. They stood outside the facilities where immigrants were being detained, holding worship services and calling for the immigrants’ release.
FURTHER READING: Complaint alleged voters were misled into signing Measure 105 petition
This pilgrimage is the culmination of a coordinated effort by IMIrJ against Measure 105, which would repeal Oregon’s sanctuary law; for ICE to end their contracts with Federal Correctional Institution at Sheridan and Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility, known as NORCOR; and for getting asylum-seekers released from these institutions. In what the organization dubbed “August of Action,” IMIrJ organized a month of demonstrations and vigils focused on the release of immigrants in detention. “September of Mobilization” was about voting no on Measure 105. And the “October Pilgrimage” was the final leg of the journey.
FURTHER READING: A perfect storm: What's wrong with NORCOR?
Since then, one of the goals of the campaign has been reached. In the spring, 123 immigrant men were transferred from the border to FCI Sheridan. Now, only seven remain.
IMIrJ has been engaging faith communities in Oregon since 2006, when it was a subcommittee of the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition called the Oregon New Sanctuary Movement. Back then, the moment that galvanized local faith communities into action was the 2007 raid of the Del Monte Fresh Produce food processing center in North Portland, when ICE detained 168 immigrants. At that time, IMIrJ was working with 25 to 30 congregations in the Portland metro area.
The galvanizing moment for IMIrJ’s work today was the 2016 election.
“We had so many congregations and people of faith who called us and said, ‘Hey, we want to become a sanctuary church. What do we do?’” said Sarah Loose, IMIrJ senior lead organizer.
Many churches would call the organization, eager to make the renovations necessary to create a functional living space for those seeking sanctuary, such as building showers. However, that wasn’t what the immigrants in their congregations and communities were asking for.
“Our message back to many of the congregations and people of faith, in what felt, and was in many ways, a crisis moment, was to say the best thing that we can do right now is not to just up and build showers, but rather to build power,” Loose said.
Their work since then has been focused on building that power. They now work with more than 140 faith communities throughout Oregon, from the Portland metro area to the Gorge to Central and Southern Oregon. In addition, they partner with immigrant-led organizations and other groups fighting for immigrant justice.
“It’s not just the faith leaders; it’s organizing with the local organizing group that is also fighting for immigrant rights,” said Insil Kang, director of communications and community connections at Village Church and an IMIrJ board member.
Kang is the daughter of Korean immigrants. She grew up seeing her parents struggle with the language barrier, with not understanding the unspoken rules of culture, and with the xenophobia and racism of strangers.
“I was always seeing that there was another group coming through, having to start from scratch and figuring out their American way of life when it came to the immigrant life,” Kang said. “So it’s always been very close to my heart to be seen not just as an advocate but as someone who was doing something about helping people be citizens and have access to everything.”
Though IMIrJ has always been an interfaith organization, it was most weighted toward Christian communities in the beginning. It since has increased its work and partnership with non-Christian faith communities, including Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh and Muslim.
“We believe there is an important aspect that Buddhist thought and practice can bring to activism,” said Maila Davenport, an organizer with Buddhist Peace Fellowship Portland. “And I tell you, we are just so welcomed at IMIrJ and extremely appreciative about that, and they have been extremely inclusive in their public services to make sure that there is a Buddhist aspect.”
There are three distinct parts to IMIrJ’s work. Besides policy advocacy, IMIrJ also directly accompanies immigrants needing support, such as to an ICE check-in or a court hearing. The third part of its work is called prophetic action – its term for community action meant to amplify the voices of those most affected by anti-immigration policies and sentiment.
“I think when we think about prophets, we think about those who speak to a different future,” Loose said.
Some of this “prophetic action” has been worship services and vigils at NORCOR, FCI Sheridan, the Washington County Courthouse and the Portland ICE facility, showing solidarity and calling for the release of detained immigrants and the end of ICE contracts.
Some clergy members demonstrating with IMIrJ at the Portland ICE facility have been arrested while sitting and praying, blocking the main gate to the inside of the ICE facility, and refusing to move when ordered by police. One of them was the Rev. Janet Farrell, a retired United Methodist Church clergy member who served from 1985 to 2012.
“As a disciple of Jesus Christ, or my Christ – I think there are a lot of Christs – he set the example caring for the oppressed, and reaching out to people that are on the margins, and including people that society has somehow decided are not worthy to be included,” Farrell said. “To me, that’s the message, is to love others and love your neighbor, love yourself. … It’s sort of expressing the God within you, which is a loving thing.”
IMIrJ looks forward to bringing on its new executive director, Alaide Vilchis-Ibarra, in the new year. Vilchis-Ibarra has fought for tuition equity and has done immigration policy advocacy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The organization also plans to continue deepening its involvement in different parts of Oregon and with more immigrant-led congregations.
“We also know that no matter what happens in the election in November, that immigrants are still going to be living in fear, still going to be exposed to attacks from the administration and from ICE agents,” Loose said. “So I think that even as we approach the election, kind of as the next marker in la lucha (the fight) that we also know that we continue to build power and community for the long haul.”