We Were Strangers, Too: the Jewish Campaign for Immigration Reform
HIAS and our national and local Jewish organization partners have launched We Were Strangers, Too: the Jewish Campaign for Immigration Reform. This campaign calls on Congress to make immigration reform a priority in the 111th Congress.
The We Were Strangers, Too campaign calls for immigration legislation that:
- Keeps families united and decreases the waiting time for family re-unification.
- Creates pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
- Creates a plan for future migration flows in order to protect all workers' rights.
- Empowers immigrants to fully integrate by providing financial support to local governments and community organizations that offer classes and services.
- Establishes border protection and enforcement policies that bolster our national security, while balancing enforcement with economic development and human and civil rights.
Become a part of the campaign!
Contact Congress: Schedule an in-district lobby visit with your Members of Congress or contact your legislator to urge them to prioritize fixing our nation's broken immigration system.
Educate: To Educate leaders in your community, host a Rabbinical Roundtable discussion in your city, which will engage Jewish leadership on the topic of immigration from the Jewish perspective. To educate the general Jewish community, host Welcome the Stranger, HIAS' 90-minute educational program focusing on immigration from a historical and values perspective.
Spread the Word: HIAS offers religious materials on immigration, including sample D'Var Torah and Jewish holiday guides focusing on immigration.
Stay In Touch: Contact Liza Lieberman with any questions, to join the national Jewish Task Force for Immigration Reform listserv, or to sponsor the We Were Strangers, Too campaign.
We Were Strangers, Too is endorsed nationally by the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), B'nai B'rith International, Hadassah, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (JRF), National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), the Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbis for Human Rights- North America, Union for Reform Judaism, Uri l'Tzekek: The Orthodox Social Justice Movement, Women of Reform Judaism, and Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring. We Were Strangers, Too is endorsed locally by Am Kolel Jewish Renewal Center (Rockville/Beallsville, MD), Baltimore Jewish Council (Baltimore, MD), Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, HIAS and Council (Philadelphia, PA), Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Justice (JALSA) (Boston, MA), Jewish Community Action (St. Paul, MN), Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (Rockville, MD), Jewish Community Relations Council of Durham-Chapel Hill (North Carolina), Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit, Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco (CA), Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (Chicago, IL), Jews United for Justice (Washington, DC), and Progressive Jewish Alliance (Los Angeles, CA).
To learn more about national or local We Were Strangers, Too efforts, contact Liza Lieberman at HIAS.