Asserting that anyone under 18 years must have an attorney and should never be subjected to expedited processing, hundreds of bishops and clergy from every major religious denomination in Texas denounced proposed changes to the Trafficking Victims Act of 2008 and called on the White House for a better approach to the humanitarian crisis at the border.

In El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Fort Worth and Dallas, religious leaders preached about the crisis at the border, organized relief efforts and held press conferences reminding the White House and Congress of the Judeo-Christian admonishment for nations to "show kindness and mercy to one another, not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner or the poor (Zechariah 7:9-10)."

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Bishops, and clergy from congregational members of Border Interfaith and El Paso Interreligious Sponsoring Organization (EPISO), are calling for additional protection of the tens of thousands unaccompanied Central American children that are at the Texas border.

In a press conference in El Paso, Bishop Mark Seitz walked through a letter signed by hundreds of clergy and addressed to the President and to Congress, that details specific recommendations. Clergy leaders want the White House to preserve the protections established in the Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Act of 2008 for those that arrive on our border seeking refuge, provision of legal assistance to any minor under 18 years of age, and attention to the religious needs of the children and family by granting clergy access to US Border Patrol detention facilities and the US Office of Refugee Resettlement.

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With 52 thousands of Central American children currently detained at the Texas-Mexico border, religious leaders of Allied Communities of Tarrant (ACT) banded together to call on their Congressional representatives to protect all the legal protections made available for such kids in 2008.

One parishioner, Lorena Hattarki, shared her story as a young girl fleeing cartel violence in Colombia decades prior: "My experience was very different... When I got off the plane, no one was there to say, 'Get out. Go back.'"

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Clergy and leadership from Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Lutheran, Catholic and Muslim congregations of COPS / Metro delivered a joint statement calling on the President and Congress to demonstrate hospitality to children arriving on the border from Central America.

"Don't send them back as if they were animals," argued Fr. Walter D'Heedene of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Speakers underscored that each child should have an attorney, get thorough processing (accorded in the 2008 Wilberforce Act) and have more exposure to vetted religious and social service organizations so that they do not become isolated.

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In defiance of legislative efforts to denude the Trafficking Victims Act of 2008 of legal protections for unaccompanied minors, Dallas Area Interfaith congregations and bishops called on the White House and Congress to do the opposite: to ensure legal protections for children arriving on our border and stop speed processing of children through immigration courts.

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Ofelia Zapata of San Jose Catholic Church and Austin Interfaith reported to the Austin American Statesman that the organization teamed up with judges to build a hybrid model that would improve indigent defense. She lobbied County Commissioners to support the establishment of a defender's office that would assign lawyers to the cases of poor defendants. The first year, Travis County would receive about $700 thousand to establish the new office, which would ensure that indigent defendants would have an opportunity to meet with their lawyers so that they understand their situation before going to trial.

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At a press conference organized by The Metropolitan Organization of Houston (TMO), religious leaders from Lutheran, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, COGIC and Baptist denominations called on the President and Congress to "welcome" unaccompanied children from Central America and guarantee protections afforded to them in the Trafficking Victims Act of 2008.

Nineteen local clergy signed the letter, including former Catholic Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, Episcopal Bishops C. Andrew Doyle and Jeff Fisher, Lutheran Bishop Michael Rinehart, General Presbyter Mike Cole of the Presbytery of the New Covenant and Bishop Rufus Kyles Jr. of the Church of God in Christ.

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Dallas Area Interfaith, with member institution Workers Defense Project, has proposed a City ordinance that would mandate water breaks for workers every four hours, bilingual signs explaining the ordinance posted at work sites and a fine levied on employers for every day there is a violation. Said Fr. Joshua Whitfield with Santa Rita Catholic Church, "a city ordinance would be creating a culture of safety and health in the Texas heat."

Last month, 500 DAI leaders unleashed a tidal wave of pent up energy with the public launch of a campaign zeroing in on what Dallas-area residents can do about immigration reform in the Dallas area. Catholic Bishop Douglas Deshotel and dozens of clergy from Catholic, Jewish, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations blessed the campaign, kicking off a summer of action to address key pieces of the DAI immigration agenda.

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Austin Interfaith is calling for an organized, coordinated effort to receive a large number of unaccompanied minors. This, they say, shouldn't be subject to partisan bickering. For Ofelia Zapata, a strategy team member of the organization, the future of migrant children hits close to home. She sees the face of her own grandchild when she looks at the children.

In a presentation to the Travis County Commissioners Austin Interfaith described the arrival of unaccompanied children a humanitarian crisis that requires a thoughtful and proactive response. Specifically they are asking the County to coordinate the use of public buildings to temporarily house children before they are sent to relatives or a foster family and wait for their day in immigration court.

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Valley Interfaith leader Eddie Anaya, organized a forum in Las Milpas to identify the concerns of colonia residents of Pharr. He brought 20 leaders with him to a city-sponsored forum later that week to relay their priorities: a satellite library on the Southside of Pharr, public transportation, improved police response, and identifying an alternative water supply.

"The most important thing about this is teaching our people to voice their opinion and understand the process," said Anaya.

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