Lawful Assembly Podcast - Episode 29: Gratitude for those who labor and those who have labored.

Episode 29: Gratitude for those who labor and those who have labored.

09/02/22 • 12 min

This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of the DePaul University’s College of Law, Refugee and Forced Migrations Studies Program and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast celebrates all those who worked to defeat the amendments that tried to codify Title 42 in August, 2022. In addition, as we celebrate Labor Day 2022, we give thanks for all those immigrants who came to our nation, offered their skills and fostered families that have contributed to the common good.

ACTION STEPS

Thank your Senator(s) if they voted to defeat the anti-immigrant amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. If your Senator(s) voted for an amendment, redouble your efforts to urge them to convince them to end Title 42.

Urge Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. Church World Service provides you with a link to send your email at: https://cwsglobal.org/action-alerts/take-action-urge-congress-to-swiftly-pass-the-bipartisan-afghan-adjustment-act/

Faith leaders are invited to urge the Biden administration to increase the number of refugees to be resettled in the next fiscal year to 200,000. Church World Service provides you with a link to send your email: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScphVDWU93gJA5Q6ZLYcYyCbDsFwPYKjCindlkhO2Bz-dgC9Q/viewform

All are urged to encourage Congress to increase refugee resettlement to 200,000. https://cwsglobal.org/action-alerts/take-action-urge-congress-to-welcome-refugees-rebuild-the-u-s-resettlement-program/

To be most effective please respond prior to Tuesday, September 6. Thank you.

RESOURCES

Information on the efforts to amend the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 came from Greg Chen’s “Senate Passage of Legislation Without Immigration.” You can find additional information on the congressional action in his post: https://thinkimmigration.org/blog/2022/08/08/why-were-celebrating-the-senates-passage-of-legislation-without-immigration/

Find John McCutcheon’s research about the deportees who died in 1948 and his version of Woody Guthrie’s song, “Deportees,” at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxsPL4uEo34 Visit his website at: https://www.folkmusic.com

Find Emma’s Revolution song, “Bound for Freedom” at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo9PVE_RxMI Visit their website at: https://www.emmasrevolution.com

We welcome your inquiries or suggestions for future podcasts. If you would like to ask more questions about our podcasts or comment, email us at: [email protected]

ACTION STEPS

To be most effective please respond prior to Tuesday, September 6. Thank you.

RESOURCES

Find Emma’s Revolution song, “Bound for Freedom” at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo9PVE_RxMI Visit their website at: https://www.emmasrevolution.com

We welcome your inquiries or suggestions for future podcasts. If you would like to ask more questions about our podcasts or comment, email us at: [email protected]

Previous Episode

Episode 28: Do Not Let Summer Daze Convert Pretense Into Law: End Title 42

SHOW NOTES

This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of the DePaul University’s College of Law, Refugee and Forced Migrations Studies Program and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast examines new attempts to codify the harmful effects of Title 42 through amending the Fiscal Year 2023 spending bills currently before Congress. Please email or call your elected representative and oppose all of these amendments.

ACTION STEP

1. Email your Senators and Representative to oppose these amendments. The National Immigrant Justice Center provides information and a simple link to register your voice: https://immigrantjustice.org/staff/blog/5-facts-about-title-42-why-congress-should-not-codify-trump-era-expulsion-policy

2. You can call your elected representatives with this helpful script and background information provided by the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies: https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/our-work/action-center-tell-congress-reject-anti-asylum-amendments

Resources:

Our previous podcast on Title 42’s bad science and bad law, Episode 25 “Stop the Pretense That It Is Just About Public Health,” can be found at: https://lawfulassembly.buzzsprout.com/1744949/10595081-episode-25-stop-the-pretense-that-it-is-just-about-public-health

The source of Yogi Berra’s “It’s déjà vu all over again” can be found at: https://yogiberramuseum.org/about-yogi/yogisms/

The National Immigrant Justice Center webpage includes additional background information and resources at: www.immigrantjustice.org

We welcome your inquiries or suggestions for future podcasts. If you would like to ask more questions about our podcasts or comment, email us at: [email protected]

Next Episode

Episode 30: Who Is My Neighbor?

This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of the DePaul University’s College of Law, Refugee and Forced Migrations Studies Program and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast examines the recent bussing of asylum applicants to northern cities. Through exploration of the Good Samaritan Parable, the podcast invites listeners to ask the question how can we each be a neighbor to a vulnerable person.

ACTION STEP

1. Read the Good Samaritan Parable, Luke 10:25-37, and engage in a conversation with someone regarding how it applies to the efforts to send asylum applicants away from the border.

2. Encourage Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

RESOURCES

Sara Baielles’ “A Safe Place to Land” with John Legend is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht2NCrlghS4

For an expanded discussion of Dr. André LaCocque’s interpretation of the Good Samaritan Parable, including citations to his works, see my article on “Constantine's Legacy: Preserving Empire While Undermining International Law". https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3960335

at pp. 390-91.

Mayor Sean McDermott’s quote can be found in “Texas Gov. Abbott sends asylum seekers here to sow chaos, but Illinois is better than that,” (September 15, 2022) at: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/9/15/23355440/texas-gov-abbott-asylum-seekers-venezuela-immigrants-countryside-mayor-sean

Paul Wickham Schmidt, "Opportunity Knocks," (September 16, 2022) at:

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2022/09/17/

You may find Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman’s book, All Are Neighbors at: https://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/book/9780593429983

The budget for the federal government support of refugee resettlement came from: Todd Miller, “More Than a Wall: Corporate Profiteering and the Militarization of U.S. Borders,” Transnational Institute (TNI), September 16, 2019) at https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/more_than_a_wall_-_executive_summary.pdf