Recognizing and celebrating the inherent worth and dignity of every individual including those seeking asylum in the United States, the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware join with other faith communities in calling on our state to become a sanctuary state. Furthermore, we call on Sussex County and our local incorporated towns to become official sanctuaries.
People make the difficult decision of leaving their own country due to many factors, including but not limited to political turmoil, discrimination, a changing climate bringing about drought and starvation, and economic uncertainties. We should welcome those fleeing for their safety and seeking asylum, rather than treating them as criminals. They should not have to live in fear of deportation back to a place where they feared for their lives.
Throughout the history of the United States immigrants have made major contributions toward building this nation. They built our infrastructure, provided food, and worked in our growing service industry. They are employed, pay taxes, educate our society and are involved in all aspects of what makes the U.S. the nation that it is.
The current policies of banning certain groups from coming into the U.S. are anathema to what we were built on. Until their home countries become more conducive to a better life and we make a serious effort to reduce carbon emissions, we must do the humane thing and provide safe sanctuary for those who cross our borders.
Enlisting local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement violates accepted practices of community policing and erodes trust between police and the communities they serve, sometimes resulting in racial profiling of those who appear to be foreign. Deportation results in destroyed dreams and broken families—partners separated, and children taken away from their caregivers or forced to return to a place they do not know. The perceived and constructed threat of those who are different has led some individuals to meet immigrants with fear.
By declaring itself a sanctuary state, Delaware would join 11 other states in severely limiting cooperation with ICE, and thus honoring the inherent worth and dignity of all those living in the state.
Mac Goekler
Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware
Social and Environmental Justice Committee
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