Who We Are
The Immigration Action Coalition (IAC) was formed in 2014 in response to the 150th Anniversary Service, “Welcoming the Stranger.”
Email ImmigrationAction@uuaa.org to request information about our next meeting.
PLEASE HELP BY MAKING A DONATION
In February, 2025 we launched a fundraising campaign, which will support three refugee families, local rapid response efforts, and families seeking to return with dignity. Our ambitious goal is $30,000.00. You can donate to this fund using Realm (you don’t need a Realm account):
Click on the DONATE button below and select “IAC – Family Resettlement Support” from the drop down list of Fund choices.
Or you can also drop off checks, made out to “UUAA”, with “IAC Action” in the memo line of the check.
Purpose of IAC
We the members of the Immigration Action Coalition covenant to work together to educate ourselves and others about immigration issues; to advocate for immigration policy reform; and to act in support of justice for our immigrant community. We pledge our energies and our resources to creating a world where the inherent worth and dignity of every person, regardless of immigration status, is respected and all are welcomed. We will follow the lead of the immigrant community in prioritizing actions and will collaborate with other community organizations working for immigration rights.
Covenant
In carrying out the work of the Immigration Action Coalition we agree to respect each other and to listen when others speak. We acknowledge that although mistakes will be made, our joint intentions are good. We agree to hold sensitive information, both personal and case-related, in confidence among us. We agree to express our discomforts and disagreements promptly and thoughtfully, and we will support, inform, and guide each other with kindness and love.
Since 2014, the Immigration Action Coalition has been advocating, locally and nationally, for immigration reform. We also support our local immigrant community with direct actions including financial assistance, demonstration participation and volunteering/participating in related local organizations.
The Immigration Action Coalition partners with organizations already working in our community such as the Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Washtenaw County, and Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (WICIR). If you are interested in joining us, please send your name and contact information to ImmigrationAction@uuaa.org.
Our Path to Becoming a Sanctuary Congregation
On Sunday, October 22, 2017, our congregation voted to become a level 1 hosting sanctuary congregation, volunteering to shelter immigrants who receive deportation orders but need more time to get their status re-evaluated. The IAC worked with many other groups to plan for this program that puts our values in action.
The resolution reads:
We, the members of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, believing in the worth and dignity of every person and the importance of compassion in human interactions, do hereby resolve to become a Sanctuary Congregation.
We are ready and willing to physically host an individual or family in imminent danger of unjust detainment and deportation until their legal options are carried out.
We will not do this work alone. We will join congregations across the country that have declared themselves Sanctuary Congregations, and will work with local congregations through Washtenaw Congregational Sanctuary to support, advocate for, and contribute to the safety and well-being of individuals or families in Washtenaw County who are invited into sanctuary.
(The resolution passed by 98% of the members who attended the October 22, 2017 Special Congregational Meeting.)
IAC and UUAA’s Vision 2050 Work
Since 1865, UUAA has served as a sanctuary to many different groups of people. In our current turbulent times, the concept of Sanctuary unites all of UUAA’s Vision 2050 work on Anti-racism/ Anti-oppression, Climate/ Environmental action and Radical Welcome. The IAC is putting our congregation’s Vision 2050 goals into action. Email ImmigrationAction@uuaa.org to learn more.