23 Nov This #GivingTuesday, Fight for Mississippi’s Immigrant Communities
On August 7, 2019, Juan Gomez went to his job at a chicken processing plant outside of Carthage, Mississippi, leaving his wife and 4 children at home. He had no way of knowing it would be 13 months before he would see his family again. Juan was swept up in the largest statewide ICE raid in US history, despite the fact that he and his wife are both longtime Mississippi residents with an American-born child together.
So here at MCJ, we went to work – as we do whenever we see an outrageous injustice like this. Our immigration team, assisted by wonderful pro bono attorneys, worked tirelessly on behalf of Mr. Gomez and more than 60 others like him. Fortunately, Juan was reunited with his family, now with work authorization and a pathway to permanent residence in the land he has called home for over a decade. And the good news didn’t stop there. As a result of the incredible work of our immigration team, every Mississippian arrested and released in the raids who asked for legal help was able to receive it. Every single one.
But here’s the thing: the need for our immigration work won’t disappear when the Biden administration takes office. On the contrary, our efforts must accelerate. MCJ will need to remain on the frontlines fighting for people like the Mississippi Dreamers, who are asking only for the simple right to stay in the only country they know and call home. We’re committed to doing everything we can to stand with them, but that work is expensive, and we need your urgent assistance.
#GivingTuesday is the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It was created as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, GivingTuesday has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. This GivingTuesday we need to raise $50,000 to support MCJ’s immigration program so that we can not only continue to fight for Juan and other victims of unjust ICE raids, but also help asylum seekers and ensure that Mississippi’s Dreamers get the legal assistance they need to apply for, and receive, DACA status.
If the abuses of our broken and racist immigration system make you as angry as they make me, please help us reach our goal by making as generous a donation as you can: $500, $250, $100, $50, $25 or whatever you can afford at www.mscenterforjustice.org/donate.
Your support is critical to our ability to continue fighting for Mississippians like Juan and his family, for the Dreamers who deserve a fair chance, and to fighting injustice wherever we find it. It’s an urgent, vital battle, and we need you to stand with us.