Press release provided by Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE).
Decry Deplorable Conditions and Deaths at Detention Centers throughout California and Across the Country
Los Angeles, CA – The Lord says: “Build up, build up a highway! Clear a road! Remove all obstacles From the road of My people!” (Isaiah 57:14)
Los Angeles clergy members from different faith backgrounds will embark on a week-long, 96 mile pilgrimage to draw attention and call for an end to cruel immigration policy and a close to all detention centers. These religious leaders and accompanying community members will walk to bring awareness for the targeted immigrant community, and to serve as a voice of protest for those for whom it is not safe to speak out.
Reverend Canon Jaime Edwards-Acton of St. Stephen’s Hollywood shared, “In my 30+ years of ministry, I have buried many people. It is one of the hardest and most sacred things a priest does. Ismael Ayala-Uribe was thirty-nine years old. Gabriel García-Avilés was fifty-six. They died in Adelanto, a facility that the private company GEO Corp. is paid by the head to operate, and most people in this state have never heard either name. We are walking ninety six miles, so those names are spoken somewhere other than a court filing — and because nearly two thousand people are still inside who have not died, and whose lives are still ours to fight for.”
Rabbi Susan Goldberg of Nefesh shared: “It is on purpose that Adelanto is so far from Los Angeles. It is to keep the public’s focus away from the horrible conditions and deaths of those detained, and to hurt the families of the disappeared by keeping their loved ones so far out of reach. In the Ten Commandments and throughout the Torah we are told not to be ed sheker – a false witness. To be a true witness, a faithful witness, we pay attention and we act. In Los Angeles and all around the world, people of faith care for the most vulnerable and believe with great heart that we can transform society through compassion and love. We will walk these miles to let those being detained and their families know that they are not forgotten.”
“Fathers, mothers, children, our neighbors and friends are being ripped from our communities,” Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez, Executive Director of CLUE concluded, “A whole generation of children are being traumatized, separated from their families. We invite all people of faith to join us in demanding their release.”
About CLUE: Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) educates, organizes, and mobilizes religious leaders and community members to walk with low-wage workers, immigrants, and communities of color while advocating for dignity, fair work, and healthy communities.
About Nefesh: Nefesh is an open-hearted Jewish spiritual community welcoming all of the identities that make up who we are and who we love. Born in the multicultural beauty of LA’s east side neighborhoods, Nefesh cultivates empathy, love, and justice. Nefesh is a doorway to the wisdom, ritual, and melodies of the Jewish tradition – a place to find and be found. Nefesh actively pairs with our interfaith siblings in tikkun olam: repairing the world.
About Sacred Resistance: Sacred Resistance is a social justice, solidarity, and accompaniment ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, rooted in our baptismal call to stand in resistance to the systemic evils that oppress, exploit, and marginalize any member of our human family. Our ministry is holistic in its approach and integrates pastoral presence with faith-rooted organizing and mobilization.
For more information to participate, donate, or volunteer, visit: Sacred Resistance: Interfaith Pilgrimage of Witness and Solidarity