from parents of Dr. Scott Warren, No More Deaths

May 13, 2019

Dear Sylvia,

thank you so much for signing the petition for our son, Dr. Scott Warren.  Will you take the next step and call the US Attorney's Office and demand they drop all charges?

Today we head to Tucson Federal Court for a pre-trial hearing in which our son's lawyers will argue that all charges stemming from his January 2017 arrest should be immediately vacated due to the selective nature of Border Patrol’s enforcement activities and that his arrest was a targeted act of political retaliation resulting from No More Deaths’ open criticism of Border Patrol’s human rights abuses.  Read more here.

In response to the growing evidence that Scott was clearly targeted by the US Border Patrol, we are asking supporters to call the U.S. Attorney’s Office and demand they drop all charges.  You can call today and every day between now and May 29th, the first day of Scott's trial.  For an up-to-date phone number and script, visit bit.ly/scottwarren.

Thank you for your continued support,

Pam & Mark Warren

From No More Deaths/ No Más Muertos, May 12, 2019

Call the US Attorney’s Office

MAY 12, 2019

From May 13th to May 24th, No More Deaths is asking all supporters to call newly appointed US Attorney Michael Bailey and demand that he drop all charges against Dr. Scott Warren

520.620.7300

Use the sample script below or create your own.  After you call, let us know and sign our petition.

I am calling to demand USDOJ drop all charges against Scott Warren. This is in reference to case 4:18-cr-00223-RCC-BPV.

Given the crisis of death and disappearance of undocumented people on the border, humanitarian aid workers must be allowed to perform their life-saving work without government harassment and prosecution. I oppose the intimidation of aid workers.  Humanitarian aid is never a crime!

including Washington Post article about tear gas

Spent a week at a hospitality house in El Paso at Tepeyac Institut, a seminary, volunteering through Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.  (El Paso is in an archdiocese with no Catholic Charities of its own.)

These children spent 5 days sleeping on floor before ICE brought them to Catholic Charities hospitality center at Tepeyac Institut in El Paso where they and their parent(s) rested up for their travel to sponsors (usually extended family members) somewhere in the United States.

Returning by bus this last Sunday, November 25, got a text that migrants had been tear-gassed over at Tijuana.  Today have received a Washington Post article worth putting here by way of link:



Only realized today that Tijuana is almost Aunt Janey.  Tia Juana would be appalled, wouldn't she?

Hope to go down to volunteer with Las Tías y Abuelas Enojadas in the Rio Grande Valley in December.  Maybe Tía Juana is among them?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2018/11/26/why-tear-gas-lobbed-migrants-southern-border-is-banned-warfare/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.502174305cbc&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

I'm proud of Bernie's statement toward refugees.

In this hysterical xenophobia following the Paris terrorist attacks, it's good to be able to read the following from Seven Days, a weekly tabloid distributed from Burlington, quoting Bernie Sanders:

"During these difficult times, as Americans we will not succumb to racism," Sanders said.We will not allow ourselves to be divided and succumb to Islamophobia.  And when hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything.  And when hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything -- have nothing left but the shirts on their backs -- we will not turn our backs on the refugees from Syria and Afghanistan.

The full statements from him and Shumblin is at sevendaysvt.com.

The First Universalist Parish in Derby Line

V on a ladder painting First Universalist Parish on November 5, 2015, Derby Line, Vermont

Allen Yale, Derby Line, Vermont, UU church, Nov. 5, 2015, putting primer on bare wood on a wonderful November afternoon.

Yesterday I went to Derby Line and was able to help V and Allen paint, some; then went to the Haskell and was able to speak a little French with the library staff person, probably walking over into the Canadian side of the library.

from Barton, Vermont, November 4, 2015

 Are these different, these photos, from each other?  Are morning waves in Crystal Lake, moved by a northwestern soft wind, different from one another?  The leaves, the maple leaves?  Even Colleen, in whose house I wake, a third morning ... are we altogether different, distinct?  Twenty-five miles south of the Canadian border, beside a lake filled with Canadian geese trying to decide, I think, if they are altogether for the journey south, or not.  Route 5 traffic interrupts thoughts, but a still photo is a still photo still.  Early November.  Barton.

¡VIVA!

¡viva México!

16 de Septiembre: Mexican Independence Day

PROVIDED BY UNC INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF THE AMERICAS

Parades, fairs, dancing, and fireworks mark the celebration of Mexican independence. (Image source. More about the photograph)

SLIDESHOW

View a slideshow of photographs from celebrations of Mexican Independence Day.

Every year on the 16th of September the President of Mexico addresses the Mexican people from the balcony of the National Palace with the modern version of the famous Grito de Dolores. He shouts Vivas! to the leaders of the Mexican Revolutionand ends with a cheer echoed three times by the huge crowds that have gathered: “Viva México!” His cry is echoed throughout Mexico by the governor of each state. The Grito, or shout, caps a day of festivals in Mexico City and other urban areas and ushers in a new year of independent Mexico. Perhaps most importantly, it reminds the people of the origins of their nation and those that fought and died so that Mexico may be free.

The Grito commemorates 16 September 1810, when a parish priest in the town of Dolores in the State of Guanajuato, Miguel Hidalgo, rang the church bells and called his parishioners to fight for independence. The movement for Mexican independence, officially proclaimed in 1821, had several precursors. In the eighteenth century there were over 100 small, ill-advised rebellions, but none came close to realizing the goal of a Mexico independent of Spain and rule by criollos, or people of Spanish descent who were born in the colony of Nueva España, or New Spain. The movement that began in 1810 was the first that attracted large numbers of the population, most notably the indigenous peasants.

Miguel Hidalgo was a criollo who was more concerned with the daily needs of his parishioners than their spiritual ones. He was tired of the constant poverty and mistreatment the people received from the peninsulares, or the Spanish administrators who came to New Spain for profit. Hidalgo introduced new industries such as wool weaving, carpentry, and bee keeping to help the economic condition of the peasants and started a reading group with like-minded criollos.

The Interfaith Welcoming Coalition in San Antonio

So far as I know, the White House has not appealed the final decision for the Flores case.  The for-profit detention centers for women and children from Central America must shut down.  I'm going to try to post a short video here from the house in San Antonio where mothers just released from these detention centers were given respite and resources for their long bus journeys across the country to reach sponsoring family and friends.   It shows Melanie, who is barely 5 years old, dancing.  Her mother Yanira is nearby.  Yanira brought two teenage boys and little Melanie out of Guatemala, went straight to ICE to ask for asylum, and then was put into detention for several months.  Yanira and her children were asked to stay on at the hospitality house in San Antonio maintained by the Interfaith Welcoming Coalition to assist in helping others released from Karnes City and Dilley.     Below is a recent e-mail

Updates and Urgent Needs We have recently seen a significant increase in the number of families being released and needing overnight hospitality. In the past two weeks, we have provided overnight housing to over 300 people. One night last week, we housed 56 people! We are very excited that more families are being released and hope this trend continues until family detention is ended. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee recently found that family detention violates the Flores settlement - read more here! As a result of this increase, we have a high need for volunteers at La Casa. We have four shifts - morning, afternoon, 7:30pm-11pm, and overnight. We have a new full-time volunteer through the Mennonite church - Luz Varela. We are very happy to have her! She has been here a week and has already become a vital part of the work we do. She will be at the house in the mornings and evenings this week to train new volunteers. To sign up to volunteer with Luz, please email sanantoniowelcome@gmail.com with your preferred day and time. If you are not fluent in Spanish, daytime volunteering is a great option. Morning and afternoon volunteer times are flexible.

Copyright © 2015 Interfaith Welcome Coalition, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 300 Bushnell Ave. San Antonio, TX 78212 sanantoniowelcome@gmail.com