Peaceworks
is calling upon our elected officials, whose job it is to represent
we, the people, to refuse to participate in the mass deportation
agenda of the Trump administration. The following is a comment shared
by Peaceworks' Director Mark Haim, during the public comment period
of the CoMo City Council meeting January 21:
Good
evening. We all know many changes are happening now, due to the new
administration.
Some of these changes would likely be very
disruptive to the lives of Columbians.
Most immediately is the
attempt to deport many millions of people, some of whom are members
of our
community.
Most of these folks are law-abiding, hard-working
residents, many of whom have lived in the U.S. for decades.
They
often do jobs few of us native-born citizens would want to.
If
millions are deported, it would be an economic disaster for our
country and a tragedy for those being deported and their
families.
The City of Columbia should not, in my opinion, and
in the opinion of hundreds of Peaceworks members, be complicit in
this matter.
What we are asking of you is to make a policy
that the Columbia Police Department will not collaborate with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); that they will not turn
over to ICE people who have simply been in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
Failing to come to a full stop at a stop sign
should not lead to a full stop in one’s life.
Bottom line:
We ask you to support the safety, integrity and dignity of the
individuals and families who are part of our community.
Peaceworks
is also circulating a petition regarding mass deportation. You can
print a copy—or multiple copies—of the petition and return it to
us signed, or you can come visit us at the Peace Nook and sign it
there. We'd encourage you to collect the signatures of friends,
family, colleagues, neighbors, etc.
You can access to print
the 14 inch form HERE
or the 11 inch form HERE.
