Dear John,
My heart is broken and my spirit is deeply challenged as I write to my brothers and sisters of our great GAMALIEL Network. This morning, January 7th, another life was taken on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota as a result of the brutal actions of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Many of you have likely already seen reports of this tragic event in the news, so I will not repeat the details here.
These actions by ICE demonstrate a growing pattern of violence carried out by the current federal administration with alarming ease and without remorse. Lives are being lost, and the human cost of these practices is becoming increasingly clear. If this is happening in public view, we must ask ourselves how immigrants are being treated when no one is watching.
We were once told that enforcement actions would focus narrowly on individuals who posed a danger. Instead, we have seen hardworking, contributing members of our communities targeted. Now, this escalation has led to the loss of life. Similar incidents have already occurred in Tennessee, Iowa, Illinois and California, and now in Minnesota.
As Chair of the CRI – Civil Rights of Immigrants within the GAMALIEL Network, I urge you to join or form a local CRI team and take action if you, too, have had enough of this ongoing display of impunity and harm carried out against immigrant communities.
History reminds us of the dangers of silence in the face of injustice. In that spirit, I recall the words of Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemöller:
“First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
May we choose to speak, act, and stand together—before it is too late.
Sincerely,
Pablo Tapia Mendoza
Chair, CRI – Civil Rights of Immigrants
GAMALIEL Network
