{"id":10785,"date":"2025-01-27T21:49:18","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T21:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/?p=10785"},"modified":"2025-05-20T21:53:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T21:53:36","slug":"rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/","title":{"rendered":"RNS: In letter, Jewish groups urge Trump not to enact ‘widespread persecution of immigrants’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally by RNS<\/a><\/p>\n

(RNS) \u2014\u00a0‘Please do not enact policies that would turn places of solace into places of fear,’ the letter reads.<\/p>\n

A broad group of prominent national and local Jewish organizations has sent a letter to President Donald Trump voicing stern opposition to his immigration policies and urging him to abandon plans for what they describe as \u201cwidespread persecution of immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter, provided exclusively to Religion News Service before being unveiled on Monday (Jan. 27), railed against Trump\u2019s immigration policies, which include promising<\/a>to enact the \u201clargest deportation\u201d in U.S. history and largely freezing<\/a> the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 88 organizations that represent millions of diverse American Jews across the country, we write in opposition to your Administration\u2019s plans to launch mass deportations, build massive detention camps, and conduct sweeping raids,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n

The authors pointed to Judaism\u2019s lengthy experience with immigration throughout history, noting Jewish people \u201chave been forced to flee, denied access to safety, scapegoated, detained, and exploited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis history and our Jewish values make immigration policy \u2014 including ensuring a functioning and welcoming refugee program and protection of the right to seek asylum \u2014 deeply personal to the Jewish community,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n

The letter also appeared to reference Trump\u2019s decision to end an internal government policy of discouraging immigration raids on hospitals, schools and houses of worship, a move that has been condemned by a wide spectrum of faith groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring times of uncertainty and vulnerability, the places where people most often turn are our religious institutions,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cProposed changes to the immigration policy, including allowing immigration authorities to enter sacred spaces, only serve to exacerbate feelings of fear, panic, and insecurity. People should be able to come together in peace and worship without fear of deportation, detention, or harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors add: \u201cPlease do not enact policies that would turn places of solace into places of fear. Let us work together to create a nation that continues to embrace religious freedom and demonstrates compassion for those who seek refuge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Signers of the letter include national groups such as the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination in the U.S.; Rabbinical Assembly; Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association; Jewish Council for Public Affairs; National Council of Jewish Women; Bend the Arc: Jewish Action; J Street; T\u2019ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; and HIAS, a Jewish organization that partners with the U.S. government to help resettle refugees.<\/p>\n

Signers also included many local communities and organizations, such as Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.; Temple Israel of Hollywood, Los Angeles, California; the Chicago Board of Rabbis; and several local chapters of the Jewish Community Relations Council in cities such as Boston, New Orleans, Phoenix and Seattle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jewish community knows well not only the importance of welcoming the stranger but also the dangerous path down which scapegoating, fear, and bigotry lead,\u201d Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said in a statement. \u201cThese draconian immigration policies don\u2019t just threaten our core values and freedoms \u2014 they also fundamentally make Jewish Americans, and so many other communities, less safe by normalizing hate and dehumanization and further emboldening violent extremists.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was echoed by Merrill Zack of HIAS, who oversees the group\u2019s global community engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe breadth and depth of Jewish organizations and congregations endorsing this statement signals that there is wide solidarity and support for our immigrant neighbors and friends,\u201d Zack said in a statement. \u201cMass deportation would devastate communities, families, and economies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jamie Beran, CEO of Bend the Arc, was even more strident in a separate statement, arguing Trump\u2019s initial executive orders on immigration were \u201cinspired by antisemitic, racist and xenophobic conspiracy theories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was no accident either that in 1933, Germany also began by targeting 100,000 Jewish immigrants,\u201d Beran said. \u201cAnd it is not by chance that both are designed not only to harm our families, but to test our institutions before attempting to take away more liberties from all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cJewish Americans have a long history of fighting for immigrant rights and this is the time for us to double down on that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter adds to the growing list of religious organizations and faith leaders who have condemned Trump\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n

The morning of Trump\u2019s first day in office, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, made headlines for pleading with the president as he sat for a sermon at the Washington National Cathedral<\/a> to \u201chave mercy\u201d on groups impacted by his policies, including immigrants. The next day, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement<\/a> decrying Trump\u2019s executive orders on immigration and other matters as \u201cdeeply troubling,\u201d saying they \u201cwill have negative consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally by RNS (RNS) \u2014\u00a0‘Please do not enact policies that would turn places of solace into places of fear,’ the letter reads. A broad group of prominent national and local Jewish organizations has sent a letter to President Donald Trump voicing stern opposition to his immigration policies and urging him to abandon plans for what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRNS: In letter, Jewish groups urge Trump not to enact 'widespread persecution of immigrants' - Jewish Council for Public Affairs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RNS: In letter, Jewish groups urge Trump not to enact 'widespread persecution of immigrants' - Jewish Council for Public Affairs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Originally by RNS (RNS) \u2014\u00a0‘Please do not enact policies that would turn places of solace into places of fear,’ the letter reads. A broad group of prominent national and local Jewish organizations has sent a letter to President Donald Trump voicing stern opposition to his immigration policies and urging him to abandon plans for what […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Council for Public Affairs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thejcpa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-27T21:49:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T21:53:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/jcpa-social-share2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jaylan Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jaylan Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jaylan Miller\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/#\/schema\/person\/85e3773418407aab86e9d55ddb93e0a2\"},\"headline\":\"RNS: In letter, Jewish groups urge Trump not to enact ‘widespread persecution of immigrants’\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-27T21:49:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-20T21:53:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/\"},\"wordCount\":813,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News Clips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jewishpublicaffairs.org\/news\/rns-in-letter-jewish-groups-urge-trump-not-to-enact-widespread-persecution-of-immigrants\/\",\"name\":\"RNS: In letter, Jewish groups urge Trump not to enact 'widespread persecution of immigrants' - 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