Our Commitment to Hope, Justice & Truth
Words come easy in sound bites, speeches and on social media. In the days following the death of Alex Pretti, everyone has something to say – a quote, a rebuke, a defense. And there are countless videos to see – they have been posted, re-posted, slowed-down, and analyzed.
But words didn’t come easy for me. I’ve struggled to describe the grief and lament in my soul that bubbled up throughout the day in tears, irritability, impatience. A life was taken violently by a Customs and Border Protection officer in the light of day, surrounded by witnesses, in the middle of an American city street. There is no rewinding or undoing something that is real. Preserving and wielding power, absent any and all accountability, is not leadership and certainly does not bring about safety and justice. Rather, it yields division, hatred, fear and sometimes death.
Many of you wonder how you can help RILA staff and clients and are asking what it’s like for us right now. We are deeply affected by the events in Minneapolis – the aggressive and probably illegal immigration enforcement activities and operations and their dehumanizing effects, the apparent contentious and violent treatment of peaceful American citizen protestors, and the near complete absence of basic respect for human dignity. For now, extremely heightened levels of immigration enforcement, like those in Minneapolis, are not present in Northern Virginia. However, these are unprecedented and unpredictable times, and we remain concerned that these kinds of operations, including arresting and detaining refugees lawfully admitted to the U.S., can and will be executed in other American cities, including our own.
Even so, we continue to quietly do the work to advocate for RILA clients. We write briefs and motions, stay up late to meet deadlines, pore over country conditions and case law, go to immigration court, and help parents make plans for their kids in case they are detained. Every day, RILA staff members sit across the table from RILA clients to listen, ask questions, explain, explain some more and work together to prepare their case. We make contingency plans and prepare for any number of possible policy, law and enforcement changes that may come in the future.
We all have a choice in how we use the power we’ve been given and how we provide leadership in our families, communities, and whatever spheres of influence we may find ourselves. And perhaps this moment is more significant than others, and right now our choices are more weighty than before. The stakes are high and divisions are deep.
Together, and often with RILA clients leading the way, we choose humility and service, and to keep our hearts soft. We are relentlessly committed to hope, justice and truth. We invite you to join us in this commitment and in our prayers:
Please pray for the Kingdom of God where the last shall be first to come quickly (Matthew 20:16).
Pray for justice to roll on like a river, and righteousness like a never failing stream (Amos 5:24).
Please pray for all of us, and especially those who consider themselves followers of Jesus, to walk in step with him, defending the weak and fatherless and upholding the poor and oppressed (Psalm 82:3-4).
And pray for safety and protection over the RILA family - every courageous man, woman and child who has come to this country and to our community seeking refuge and peace.