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Temple Beth El’s Immigrant Action Team: Where We’ve Been and Where We Are

10/24/2018 12:17:48 PM

Oct24

By Erica Serlin and Howard Rosen

In 2017, the URJ’s Religious Action Center (RAC) launched the Urgency of Now (UON) initiative to support the sacred work of tikkun olam in three areas: criminal justice, transgender rights, and immigrant justice. Temple Beth El has agreed to support all three initiatives and is doing so via the creation of three separate committees. The UON Immigrant Action Team  is committed to working toward comprehensive reform of our immigration system, needed now more than ever.

Even though the policy of separating families at the border has officially ended, several hundred children remain separated from their parents. Some parents who have already been deported have been impossible to find to reunite with their children. In other cases, officials have been unable to locate the children. Some parents left the U.S. under the impression it would expedite reunification, but that is not the case.

In addition, in September ICE arrested 88 undocumented immigrants throughout Wisconsin, including 20 in Dane County. The trust of local law enforcement officials was eroded because that action broke a previous agreement to provide notice in advance of the time, location, and date of planned arrests as well as information regarding the charges. ICE claimed that 44 of those arrested had serious criminal convictions, but without providing evidence, a frightening and false narrative about our immigrant neighbors was raised. Also, once again, parents were separated from their children in the process.

As co-chairs of the UON Immigrant Action Team, we seek to provide TBE members access to resources and opportunities in support of immigrant rights. In addition, we facilitate coordination with community organizations working to assist and advocate for undocumented immigrants.

We held several educational meetings at TBE, with presentations by our own Rabbi Bonnie Margulis along with speakers from the Dane Sanctuary Coalition (DSC), Voces de La Frontera, the ACLU, and a local immigration attorney to inform our Temple community about the tremendous challenges facing undocumented immigrants and advocacy efforts at the local, state, and national level.

In February 2018 the TBE Board voted unanimously to join the DSC as a supporting congregation. In May of 2018, we held a planning meeting to hear about a wide range of volunteer opportunities with the DSC. In addition, we have attended regular meetings of the DSC Community Resources Team and assisted in the development of a multi-congregation volunteer data base.

We created a listserv to be able to quickly inform Temple members of events and opportunities to help support immigrant rights. Along with other TBE congregants, we have attended rallies and press conferences supporting undocumented immigrants, proudly carrying our Jews for Justice banner!

In addition, Erica has spoken publicly about the traumatic impact of family separation and detention and written a letter to the editor, published in the Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal, on behalf of TBE supporting two law-abiding Wisconsin undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation.

Read the Letter to the Editor.

Read Erica’s speech here.

Erica also attended an excellent advocacy training on refugee rights jointly sponsored by HIAS and JSS and learned about the commonalities between refugees seeking resettlement and undocumented immigrants seeking asylum at the border.

In our next article, we will outline the next potential directions and actions to take as a congregation, and we are looking for input from you, as we learn more about interest and priorities from TBE members.

An important event is coming up at the Community Immigrant Legal Clinic. Don’t miss screening the documentary, Inside the Trauma of Family Separation and Q & A with Attorney Jodi Goodwin Tuesday. December 4, 7:00-9:00 pm.

Please feel free to contact either of us with questions, comments, or other ideas. We welcome your feedback.

Click here for an Immigrant Rights Resource Guide

Erica Serlin (ericar.serl@gmail.com ) & Howard Rosen (hrosen@wisc.edu)

Co-Chairs UON Immigrant Rights Team

 

May 11, 2025 13 Iyar 5785