Members of the LA Welcomes Collective have been preparing to receive migrants since politicians began shipping them across state lines in busses last fall. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
“I am a veteran of the 1980-90’s Sanctuary Movement. It shaped my meaning of hospitality by opting for the struggling migrant. Those who welcome our beloved brothers and sisters now are like a shelter, a place that reflects the spirit of hope and compassion and a welcoming embrace that inspires their dreams and lives to the fullest,” said Father Richard Estrada, Church of the Epiphany and member of Clergy and Laity United for Justice Los Angeles (CLUE-LA).
Father Richard Estrada, Church of the Epiphany and member of CLUE
July 13, 2023 – A third bus, of 35 migrants bound from Brownsville, Texas, arrived in Los Angeles this afternoon. And the LA Welcomes Collective*–a coalition of faith and immigration groups including CLUE–was on-hand to receive them with open arms.
Since last fall, when the governors of Florida and Texas began sending refugees across state borders, CLUE Immigration Director Guillermo Torres has been coordinating with faith and immigration partners across Los Angeles to welcome with dignity the migrants arriving here.
“These are our siblings,” he said. “They have traveled, sometimes across continents, fleeing violence and economic devastation in their home countries. They arrive with only the clothes on their back. Many are children. God calls us to welcome them as members of our family, so we do.”
The LA Welcomes Collective provides food, water, shelter, clothing, and legal assistance for arriving migrants.
When you support CLUE, you make this kind of coordinated and humane response possible.
* The members of the LA Welcomes Collective are: Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA), Central American Resource Center-Los Angeles (CARECEN), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), and Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef).
Solidarity is Sacred
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice educates, organizes, and mobilizes faith leaders and community members to walk with workers and immigrants in their struggles for good jobs, safe workplaces, and healthy communities.
We can accompany low-wage workers—mostly immigrants and communities of color—because people like you support an organized, connected interfaith movement for economic justice.
Please join the movement to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.
