Join Reform Jews of Massachusetts to Support the Dignity not Deportations Campaign!

Join the Massachusetts Religious Action Center-MA (RAC-MA) effort to pass the Dignity Not Deportations bill currently before the Massachusetts legislature. 

Our tradition teaches that all humans are created b'tzelem Elohim, in the divine image of God. Along with that, we are explicitly directed 36 times in Torah to welcome the stranger. Protecting and caring for our neighbors and our larger community is core to who we are and who we are commanded to be as Jews.

Jewish history has taught us what it is like to flee hardship and persecution to seek better lives for ourselves and families. As we celebrate the beginning of the Jewish year, we start the Torah again and read the stories of our ancestors in Genesis. They are called Ivrim - Hebrews, or literally - "people who crossed over from other places." Throughout most of our history, from our ancient ancestors to those fleeing the Holocaust, our people have sought compassion and justice in foreign lands. We are now called to protect others in precarious and sometimes dangerous situations. While we understand and affirm that deportation, done justly with due process, has always been a part of law enforcement, what is taking place on our streets today is not justice; it is persecution.

The Dignity Not Deportations Act (H.1588 & S.1122)

Currently, Massachusetts allows local or state entities to rent detention space and sign contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Commonwealth must put a stop to the use of our state and local resources to support deportations without due process. The Dignity Not Deportations Act would: 

• Prohibit Massachusetts entities from voluntarily renting beds or entering contracts with ICE. By eliminating detention space available to ICE in state and local facilities in Massachusetts, the Act will limit Massachusetts' role in indiscriminate mass deportations.
• Prohibit Massachusetts entities from donating time and volunteering their resources to ICE by signing 287(g) agreements that deputize local officials as ICE agents. This would prohibit deputizing local officers to identify and process undocumented immigrants who have pending or active criminal charges and prohibit local officers from enforcing immigration as part of their routine police duties or an ICE-led task force.

To learn more details about the bill, read this fact sheet created by the ACLU, one leader in the broad coalition supporting passage of this bill. 

Stepping forward together as a community to support this bill is one way that we can bring the Prophet Micah's voice clearly into focus, calling for justice and mercy in the face of the chaos and fear that ICE harassment and deportations without due process have brought to our communities.

We hope you will add your voice to this united effort of Reform Jews across the Commonwealth.