| The 287(g) program, created in 1996 to allow the federal government to delegate certain immigration enforcement responsibilities to trained state and local officers, has expanded dramatically in the last year, raising concerns about racial profiling and civil rights violations as well as decreased community trust and safety for both communities and police. As proposals to adopt these agreements have increased across the Commonwealth, faith communities have begun to respond, sometimes stopping or reversing such agreements.
To equip local advocates, LAMPa hosted a webinar for those wanting to learn more about the program’s use in Pennsylvania and hear from a Minnesota pastor about the impact of ICE activity in that state, including his small-town community. Recording available here.
More ELCA Resources:
Action Alert: Support Temporary Protected Status Holders
Public Witness and For-Profit Immigration Detention
Join LAMPa’s state advocacy network
Join the ELCA federal advocacy network
Learn more about AMMPARO, the ELCA’s strategy to accompany migrant families with
advocacy, protection and opportunities.
Resources from the ACLU:
Panelists included:
Marlee McCadden — Marlee McCadden is the Managing Attorney of the Removal Defense Programs at the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC). In this role, Marlee manages PIRC’s removal defense programming that provides representation to unaccompanied children, and individuals detained in PA. She provides mentorship, legal, and administrative supervision to attorneys and accredited representatives. Marlee formerly worked as a clinical teaching fellow at the Villanova Law CARES Clinic, and as a removal defense staff attorney at HIAS PA.
Andrew Baranoski — Andrew Baranoski joined PIRC in January 2020 as Executive Director. He has long been committed to refugee and asylee resettlement and access to legal services for all immigrants. Baranoski served as the the Executive Director of the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York from 2008 until 2015. He worked in higher education at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, prior to joining PIRC.
Alex Domingos — Advocacy and Policy Strategist, the ACLU of PA
Pastor Quinlan Koch — A resident of Red Wing, MN, a small river city of 20,000 people along the Mississippi, he has been serving as pastor for First Lutheran Church in Red Wing for 2.5 years. During Operation Metro Surge, Quinlan led faith-based organizing across Minnesota and clergy rapid-response networks. On the Day of Truth and Freedom (Jan. 23rd), Quinlan was one of the 90+ clergy and faith leaders arrested at MSP Airport.
Kate Parsons — Kate Parsons is Program Director for Migration Policy at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Washington, DC, where she supports faith-based advocacy in favor of just and humane U.S. immigration policies. She has a master’s in international development from American University and a decade of experience in policy, advocacy, and humanitarian work, including four years in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and three years on USAID’s humanitarian response roster. |
