The County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations honored One LA-IAF with its John Anson Ford Human Relations Award for their work organizing Freedom Schools that bring faith and community institutions together to strengthen civic belonging, protect human dignity, and build solidarity across lines of race, faith, language, and immigration status.

[Excerpt by Joe Rubio, National Co-Director, Industrial Areas Foundation]

Lament demands a response. In John’s gospel for this Sunday, we find the passage where collectively expressed grief makes such a claim. “Jesus wept” is often cited as the shortest biblical verse, but it may also be the most poignant. The scripture recounts the story just prior to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem when he learns that his beloved friend Lazarus is ailing in Bethany.... 

[Excerpts]

When the Rev. Joey Evangelista saw immigration agents wearing “full battle gear,” their faces covered by masks, just two blocks from St. Kevin Catholic Church, he froze. The Catholic priest, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, said he still has trauma from facing military intimidation while in ministry in the Philippines and Congo. 

Evangelista said the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions reminded him of former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte’s tactics during his war on drugs. The priest told RNS, “It’s the same playbook, and it’s scary.” 

Although Evangelista admits he’s “scared” as a priest in the United States on a religious worker visa, he’s using his “privileged position” as a clergy member to work with a local interfaith group that wants to defend democracy.

One LA, a local coalition of religious groups and other community institutions, has been convening civics meetings, which the group refers to as “freedom schools,” since the summer in response to immigration raids. They also work with local elected officials to hold public hearings about the impacts of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, seeing both efforts as helping protect democracy…

Months after the nation's first sustained immigration raids hit Los Angeles and surrounding cities, the City of Angels hosted the first congressional field hearing on their impact -- a process set in motion after One LA-IAF leaders met with Mayor Karen Bass and pressed for public hearings to document widespread civil rights violations.

Before the hearing, Mayor Bass marched with One LA leaders, clergy, and families to the LA Metropolitan Water District, where the hearing convened. LA Auxiliary Bishop Matthew Elshoff, OFM Cap. also joined the procession.

Crediting One LA with the idea, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Congressman Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced a broad congressional investigation into civil rights abuses, with the first field hearing to take place in Los Angeles.

Amid a growing climate of fear in Los Angeles, One LA-IAF launched its "Freedom School" strategy to respond to recent immigration raids and undermining of civil liberties that have terrorized communities throughout Los Angeles County. Hearkening back to the civil rights movement, 200 leaders spent July 4th reflecting on their faith traditions and American constitutional principles, while learning concrete organizing skills to safeguard their communities.

After California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed to drop undocumented immigrants from the state health insurance rolls, 120 California IAF leaders and allies traveled to the capitol by bus and persuaded legislators to restore access to the program.

“Immigrants pay taxes. They work in our communities with no safety nets," said COPA (Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action) Leader Mary Litel Walsh. “We came hundreds of miles from all over the state...took time off of work and away from our families to be here today. Why?

Because we need our legislators to fight for us.

One LA-IAF hosted its inaugural Labor Seder at member institution Temple Isaiah, joining in solidarity with over 150 leaders from labor unions, faith organizations, and nonprofits to take part in the annual Jewish tradition of the retelling of the Exodus story.  SEIU Local 2015 was honored for their organizing work on the "Quality Wages for Quality Home Care" campaign, with workers at the center of an evening about interfaith solidarity.

[Excerpt]

Ortencia Ramirez, a member of OneLA (a local IAF group) started organizing in her parish because “all my life, I saw the struggles in my community,” she says. One day at church, a man who was involved in organizing made an announcement that resonated with Ramirez: “He said, ‘I wanted to make a difference, I just didn’t know how. I knew in my faith that I should be doing more for our community, but I didn’t know where to start.’ ”

Ramirez has been organizing for close to 20 years. “What’s kept me interested after all these years in organizing is the difference that I see that it makes in our community in L.A. County. I see the fruits of our labor,” she says. “The leadership training has helped me listen to people and take their issues on. It’s made me more of a public person because I’m very shy. Without my faith, I wouldn’t be doing community organizing.”....

Community Organizing Is Synodality in Action, US Catholic [pdf]