“Though far from the border, a number of synagogues in #NewYorkCity have joined the New Sanctuary Coalition, which trains houses of worship to accompany migrants to immigration court hearings and assist with paperwork. The congregants and clergy of Lab/Shul, a downtown Manhattan pluralistic congregation, have been accompanying migrants to #ICE hearings over the past year. According to Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, the founder and rabbi of the seven-year-old congregation, seeing people with religious ties in a courtroom can help an immigrant’s case. ‘Having clergy or having people at these hearings makes a difference for the judges and for ICE agents,’ said Rabbi Lau-Lavie.
The synagogue first became involved in immigration advocacy during the height of the Syrian refugee crisis. By the time the immigration crisis became a major domestic issue in the United States, the synagogue was already invested in and focused on immigration. The community is now involved with a shelter for #LGBTQ asylum seekers in Harlem and has connected several lawyers in the congregation with asylum seekers in need of pro bono legal assistance.
‘There is no “us” — that’s not “this,”‘ said Rabbi Lau-Lavie. ‘”This” is something that as humans and as Jews and as activists for freedom, we have to get behind.'”
