"Representative Goodlatte is a politician, we all understand that," said Lisa Sharon Harper, a member of the Christian social justice organization Sojourners. "But fundamentally, this is not about politics, this is about people."
Fast for Families
4-16-2014
The two-hour rally featured a variety of religious leaders who said their faith demands reform. Jim Wallis, founder of the evangelical Sojourners, described how Catholic Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, held a mass at a border fence in Arizona this month and called immigration reform “another pro-life issue.”
Jim Wallis Speaks at Fast for Families Rally. Kara Lofton/Sojourners
Washington, D.C.—The national “Fast for Families Across America” bus tour campaign ended their journey yesterday in front of the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall where hundreds gathered in support.
The buses, which returned to Washington after covering more than 90 congressional districts during a seven week tour, joined a female immigration advocacy group, We Belong Together—Women for Commonsense Immigration Reform, whose members have been fasting and praying for the House to pass reform that’s needed to keep their families together.
4-07-2014
Michel Zajur, CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Virginia, lauded the entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants and Jim Wallis of the Christian social justice organization Sojourners stressed the religious aspect of immigration reform.
4-07-2014
Last November, Fast for Families drew national attention when some of its leaders and supporters fasted for 22 days in a tent near the U.S. Capitol. Lisa Sharon Harper, of Sojourners, a Washington social justice group, was one of them and was on the bus Wednesday. She grew up in Philadelphia.
4-07-2014
“We’ve been calling on people to fast because now is the time,” said Lisa Sharon Harper (at lectern in photo), who works for the DC-based Sojourners.
Ivone Guillen 3-24-2014
On Friday, Eliseo Medina, a prominent immigration rights activists was arrested after trying to peacefully deliver a letter to Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) district office. Eliseo, who is part of the “Fast for Families Across America” bus tour advocating for Congressional action on fair and commonsense immigration reform was denied entrance by local police into the Congressman’s public office.
The arrest comes on the heels of constructive meetings with Minority Leader Nancy Peolosi and Rep. Joe Garcia in Miami.
Read detailed events here.
Rev. Eunsang Lee 3-18-2014
Vice President Joe Biden visits the Fast for Families tent in November. Courtesy Fast for Families
I became a member of Young Koreans United (YKU), a Korean American grassroots group providing solidarity to the people’s movement for democracy, human rights, and reunification of Korea in 1986. YKU was instrumental in forming the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC); established 20 years ago to build a progressive Korean American voice on major civil rights issues. I joined the NAKASEC board a few years back. Throughout this time, I have tried to provide a clergy presence whenever I can to show that ending the suffering of immigrant families, including that of the 1 out of 7 undocumented Korean Americans, is also a concern of persons of faith.
3-18-2014
High profile leaders such as SEIU labor organizer Eliseo Medina and faith leader Jim Wallis of Sojourners were among those fasting.
3-12-2014
3. The “Fast for Families” participants mobilize on behalf of immigration reform legislation. Of the various faith-led protests for immigration reform in 2013, few garnered as much attention as the “Fast for Families” campaign. Organized as a partnership between labor groups, religious organizations, and immigration advocates, a rotating band of participants fasted for weeks in a tent on the National Mall to pressure the House of Representatives to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Led by the storied labor organizer Eliseo Medina, fasters hailed from a variety of professions and backgrounds and included several undocumented immigrants and DREAMers. But organizers also listed a fair number of high-profile religious leaders as participants, such as Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition; Sister Simone Campbell, the executive director of NETWORK; Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; and Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners.
3-05-2014
But there is no doubt about it, according to Jim Wallis, founder of the faith in action group Sojourners. "I think he will raise this tonight,” Wallis says. “It's a high priority for the president, and I think it's a social movement now. “Doing something right, doing something for the common good and doing it together – I think that's very possible now." Wallis says he expects the faith community in New York and the nation to play an even greater role this year, and he believes a comprehensive immigration reform plan will be passed in the next six months.
3-05-2014
The Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, says the campaign for immigration reform unites people of faith.
3-05-2014
The Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, says the campaign for immigration reform unites people of faith.
3-05-2014
The Rev. Jim Wallis, president and founder of Sojourners, said the campaign is for all immigrants.
“This is not just about Latino communities,” Wallis said. “It’s about all of us.”
Wallis said the movement is important and requires a group of people to change the broken political system and the broken immigration system.
“We are a wind changing group,” Wallis said. “We are a social movement changing politics.”
3-03-2014
On Nov. 12 on the National Mall, Medina began his vigil, officially called the Fast for Families, along with Dae Joong Yoon of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, Cristian Avila of Mi Familia Vota and Lisa Sharon Harper of the Christian social justice group Sojourners. They were joined by more than 100 supporters over the course of the fast, including Rudy Lopez of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, who started later but also fasted for 22 days total. During the day, they would share their own personal immigration stories with visitors and lead prayers for immigration reform. At night, since National Park Service regulations prohibit sleeping on the Mall, volunteers would man the tent so Medina and the others could rest at a nearby hotel.
3-03-2014
“This is a moral issue for us. We also say it is a gospel issue. For evangelicals, we have been converted by Matthew 25 and we realize now, how we treat 11 million undocumented people is how we treat Christ himself,” said Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, a Christian social justice organization.
2-28-2014
“I can think of no better way to stand in solidarity with Jesus during this Lenten season than to stand with immigrant families, said Sojourner’s Senior Director of Mobilizing Lisa Sharon Harper. “Now is the time for common sense immigration reform. Now is the time for Congress to do right by 11 million of the most vulnerable people in our land. This is why we fast.”
2-28-2014
“I can think of no better way to stand in solidarity with Jesus during Lent than to stand in solidarity with immigrant families,” said Lisa Sharon Harper, senior mobilizing director for the Christian organization Sojourners.
2-28-2014
With twin “Fast For Families” buses as their backdrop and news media cameras in front of them, the crowd was represented by a lineup of speakers which included Lisa Sharon Harper (Sojourners), Dae Joong “DJ” Yoon (NAKASEC), Congresswoman Judy Chu, and Eliseo Medina who spoke of comprehensive immigration reform as a pressing issue of the present.
2-28-2014
With twin “Fast For Families” buses as their backdrop and news media cameras in front of them, the crowd was represented by a lineup of speakers which included Lisa Sharon Harper (Sojourners), Dae Joong “DJ” Yoon (NAKASEC), Congresswoman Judy Chu, and Eliseo Medina who spoke of comprehensive immigration reform as a pressing issue of the present.