How do we stand up to racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric and orders coming from Washington? By showing up in Trenton.
This month, UUs have been joining our coalition partners at the State House in Trenton, lobbying our lawmakers to advance the Immigrant Trust Act.
In the current climate of fear and retaliation, immigrant communities are exercising greater caution around participating in-person actions. Allies are being called upon to step up.
“It’s all about learning the ropes, allies, and small steps,” reflected Rev. Mary Tiebout, one of our volunteer lobbyists. “There’s a long politically pot-holed road ahead for the
Immigrant Trust Act, but showing up in person is one way to make a difference.”
“It has felt so good, in an environment where our partners are asking ‘where are our allies?’, to instead be hearing ‘our allies really showed up,‘” reflected Rev. Charles Loflin, Executive Director of UU FaithAction NJ. “I’m very proud of our lobby day volunteers.”
The Immigrant Trust Act is a top-priority of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, the largest immigration coalition in the state. The Immigrant Trust Act provides critical privacy protections that allow New Jerseyans to seek public services, stand up for their rights, and participate fully in their communities without fear of deportation.
To be a good advocate, you don’t need to be an expert on lobbying or immigration law—you just need to be grounded in our values of love and justice.
“Though I didn’t talk to any of our targeted representatives on our first day, I learned how to ask them to support the Immigrant Trust Act—what to emphasize and what to avoid. Charles provided information to our band of 5 UUs,” explains Rev. Tiebout. “While members of our team were waiting in the hallways for a chance to identify and speak with a senator or assemblyperson, we had a chance to get to know from each other about our UU connections and why this work is important.”
Ready to get involved? Contact Rev. Charles Loflin at execdir@uufaithaction.org to join our next lobby day Monday in Trenton, or join us at our next bi-monthly Friday Action Hour, where we continue to pressure our lawmakers to support the Immigrant Trust Act.
