Standing Vigil for Immigrant Justice in McHenry County

 

A Prayer Vigil in support of immigrants detained at McHenry County Jail and threatened Dreamers will be held at Bates Park, 1500 North Seminary Avenue in Woodstock this Sunday evening, October 22 from 7 to 8 pm.

The public witness is in response to two events that have highlighted the distress of immigrant families.  

ICE prisoners in McHenry County Jail recieving pastoral care through the Jail Ministry of the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants.

In September Sheriff Bill Prim refused to accept bail for an undocumented immigrant, Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez, and detained him for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in defiance to the newly enacted Illinois Trust Act which forbids local law enforcement agencies from detaining someone solely because of their immigration status.  ICE whisked Macedo-Hernandez to an out of state facility before a court challenge to the Sheriff’s action could be heard.  Prim cited the County Jail’s contract as Immigrant Detention Center as justification for his action and has since continued to refuse bail as required by Illinois law.

Shortly after President Donald Trump issued an executive order reversing the protection to Dreamers under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program for young people brought to the United States as children who have made lives here and are pursuing an education, career, or who are even serving in the military.  Although the order has been challenged in court and the President has indicated he would support Congressional action to protect the Dreamers in exchange for a laundry-list of strict and punitive immigration “reforms”, the future of countless young people has been thrown into question.  Arrests and deportation proceedings have already begun including targeting of public spokes persons for the Dreamers.

Carlos Acosta.

The Sunday vigil was organized by concerned members of the community including Carlos Acosta, former leader of the McHenry County Latino Coalition and a Democratic candidate for County Board; Janie Galarza, the Latino Program Coordinator for the domestic violence agency Turning Point; and Pam Shearman of the Interfaith Committee on Detained Immigrants (ICDI) who oversees the Jail Ministry at the McHenry County Jail ICE Detention unit.  Community supporters include the Social Justice Team of the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

Lou Ness

Lou Ness, a long time McHenry County activist, an ordained Deacon in the Episcopal Church, and a police chaplain will officiate.  Participants are asked to bring candles or flashlights but no signs for this solemn event.

For further information visit the Facebook event page Interfaith Prayer Vigil.

McHenry County Faith Community to Call for Worker Justice at Woodstock Wal-Mart

On Wednesday June 5, members of several local congregations will hold a prayer vigil and deliver a letter and petition to the manager of the Woodstock Wal-Mart in solidarity with the millions of Wal-Mart store and supply chain workers fighting for dignity and respect on the job.

People will gather at the Wal-Mart Super Center, 1275 Lake Avenue from 3:15 to 5:30 to hold a prayer vigil and deliver of letter to manager of Woodstock Wal-Mart.

Among the participants will be Ann Legg, Chair, Compassion, Peace and Justice Team, Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church; Emmett and Nancy Fleming, members, Holy Family Catholic Church, Inverness; and members of other churches in Woodstock, Crystal Lake and McHenry including members of the Social Justice Committee of the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

Through the Organization United for Respect (OUR Walmart), associates have been standing together and speaking up for change. In response, Wal-Mart has retaliated against and attempted to silence those who speak out. But, Wal-Mart workers will not be silenced.

On May 28, hundreds of Wal-Mart workers traveled from their respective cities to Bentonville, Ark., in time for the retail giant’s June 7 shareholder meeting.  As the largest employer in the U.S., Wal-Mart has kept far too many families and communities in poverty with jobs that pay an average of $8.81/hour.  The National Day of Action and the protest in Bentonville will amplify a long-standing call for Wal-Mart to commit to improving wages and working conditions for its store and supply chain workers.

Interfaith Worker Justice, which is supporting the workers in these actions educates, organizes and mobilizes people of faith in support of economic justice and worker rights. Today there are more than 70 affiliated organizations in the IWJ network, including a variety of interfaith groups and more than two dozen worker centers.

For more information, please visit www.iwj.org or contact Ann Legg at 815 338-4838.