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As Biden Pauses Deportations, Faith and Community Leaders Submitted Applications for Stays of Deportation in Support of Edith Espinal and Miriam Vargas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 21, 2021

MEDIA CONTACT

Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, (202) 735-7123

Austin Schuler, aschuler@faithinpubliclife.org, (540) 280-3393

Rev. Dan Clark, dclark@faithinpubliclife.org, (614) 648-3663

As Biden Pauses Deportations, Faith and Community Leaders Submitted Applications for Stays of Deportation in Support of Edith Espinal and Miriam Vargas

Columbus, OH —  On Thursday, January 21st faith and community leaders joined in solidarity with immigrant mothers, Edith Espinal and Miriam Vargas, who have submitted updated applications for stays of deportation to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Columbus. 

For video of the event, click here.

For photos of the event, click here.  

Shannon Hardin, President, Columbus City Council:

“It is on all of us to make sure Edith and Miriam are not forgotten. We get to go home tonight to our homes, we get to see our families. This has not been the case for years for these women in our community. It’s time for us to continue to stand up and get this done and get them home.”

Rev. Joel Miller, Columbus Mennonite Church:

“The new executive order is a good start, but it doesn’t give Edith and Miriam the ultimate security they need. It is time for those with the power to do so…to use the discretion granted to them…to use the moral courage granted to them by God… to remove the deportation orders of these mothers and let them go home. It’s time.” 

Rev. Sally Padgett, First English Lutheran Church:

“We are here to declare God truly is the God of all people… Let’s stop putting an asterisk next to this important word. Let’s stop offering this word for ourselves. Let all mean all.”

Morgan Harper, Columbus Stand Up!:

“This is about defining and recommitting to who we are as a country. Are we a place that is going to be welcoming of immigrants and really mean it? Are we a place that is going to be about freedom for everyone, regardless of where you come from? This is our chance to do that.” 

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Faith in Public Life is a national movement of clergy and faith leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice, equality and the common good. Together, we are leading the fight to advance just policies at the state and federal level. Our network of 50,000 leaders engage in bold moral action that affirms our values and the human dignity of all.

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