In Florida, the Miramar Circle of Protection gathers each week to help expose ICE abuses and be a support for immigrants who attend their check-ins with ICE. Photo: Maria Bilbao
Dear John,
In the month of May, AFSC is joining partners across the country to bring the power of love to the walls of jails, prisons, and detention centers. Taxpayers in the U.S. spend about $80 billion annually keeping people in cages, and yet violence continues to rise. This diverts funds from essential services and community-led programs that better prevent harm. We believe the U.S. should invest in things that reduce crime—like education and economic opportunities—rather than leading the world in the number of people behind bars.
Here are this week's picks to inform and support your activism:
NH is ready to welcome asylum seekers. Why aren’t our lawmakers?: “Thousands of people have waited years for an opportunity to exercise their right to asylum,” write AFSC’s Maggie Fogarty and Grace Kindeke. “What is needed is increased capacity for compassion and care and adequate resources and policies that can receive people in an orderly and welcoming way.” (Concord Monitor)
Faith leaders join Rep. McCollum in calling for end to child incarceration: AFSC was one of 25 faith organizations and leaders who sent a letter to members of Congress recently. “Our members are increasingly concerned about the deteriorating conditions for Palestinians who continue to live under a brutal military occupation.” This includes the incarceration of children by the Israeli military. (Mondoweiss)
Exploring AFSC’s history: The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was founded in 1917 during World War I to give young conscientious objectors ways to serve without joining the military or taking lives. They drove ambulances, ministered to the wounded, and stayed on in Europe after the armistice to rebuild war-ravaged communities. Visit our timeline to learn more about our 105 years at the forefront of social change movements.
