The Church Council has been working closely with Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, AID-NW, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, and communities of faith all over the region to provide safe passage, hospitality, and humanitarian aid to our beloved neighbors as they are released from immigration detention in SeaTac and Tacoma. We have supported over a dozen asylum-seekers as they journey to be reunited with their families and children, and we honor the witness of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in their sanctuary hospitality for Jose Robles as he seeks a just remedy from deportation.
One father said, upon his release from detention, that he felt he was on a camino, a long spiritual journey home. He expressed his gratitude for the safe harbor of waystations along that path, like the Church Council; like the guest rooms of community members’ homes; like the smiling face of a trusted ally after so much hardship; like the promise of hope that blooms when compassion is shared between human beings as the larger systems of our country seek to divide and discourage us.
We are grateful for the support of the Church-Council-convened “For Such a Time As This” network, and for all the ways you are supporting immigrant and refugee people in this critical moment. The strength of your love is rending the path of history toward justice. Your faith is unbounded – we are blessed to be walking together on this camino.
“It takes us all to get these parents one step closer to reuniting with their families and children. We know they are strong and courageous and that God is with them every step of the journey. Our hearts are broken open.”
-Briana Brannan
Immigrant Accompaniment Organizer
Many are still asking how they can financially support this effort. Our primary need at this time is organizational support for the costs of continuing to build this network that made a timely and coordinated response to this humanitarian crisis possible; they are gratefully accepted here. If you would like to donate directly to support asylees, please donate here and indicate which fund.