Contact: Ana Garcia-Ashley, 414-708-3777; Gordon Mayer, 312-307-0133
ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 18, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- Starting Sunday in Sonoma County, California, women across the country are sacrificing food and taking action to protest the moral crisis caused by those blocking immigration reform and the epidemic of deportations tearing families apart.
With "Act.Fast: Women's Fast for Families" women remind Americans that Congress has more than the 218 votes needed to pass an immigration bill if the House leadership would only call it to the floor and that deportations under President Obama will reach the 2 million mark this week -- the largest number of deportations under any U.S. president.
Leaders from the Gamaliel community organizing network in 11 states -- one for each million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. today are joining the National Fast for Families during Lent by pledging to fast for at least one 24-hour period to pray for enlightenment of the handful of people blocking immigration reform.
In addition to the National Fast for Families, Gamaliel affiliates in several cities are supporting the Fast4Families bus tour, a traveling crew with the same mission of raising awareness about the need for immigration reform. Activities include:
March 16, North Bay Organizing Project/Graton Day Labor Center, Sebastopol, Calif.
March 17, Indiana Organizing Project, South Bend
March 18, ESTHER, Fox Valley, Wis.
March 19, Metropolitan Congregations United, St. Louis
March 20, Gamaliel of Metro Chicago
March 21, United Congregations of the Metro East, East St. Louis
March 22, Asamblea De Derechos Civiles, Minnesota
March 24, Metro Organization for Racial & Economic Equity, Kansas City
March 25, Racine Interfaith Coalition
March 26, Hawaii Coalition for Immigration Reform
March 27, Quad Cities Interfaith, Illinois/Iowa
Fast for Families Bus Tour
March 24, South Bend (district of U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind.)
March 26, Action of Greater Lansing (district of U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.)
Ana Garcia-Ashley from Gamaliel will join in a 48-hour fast of 100 women in Washington DC from April 7-9. These women will be joined by the caravans from the National Fast for Families bus tour, arriving in Washington, D.C. on April 9.
More information about We Belong Together is at webelongtogether.org/fast; more about the bus tour is at fast4families.org.
Gamaliel (Gamaliel.org), a 25-year-old group known for building strong community organizing groups across the country and developing powerful leaders, helped train Pres. Barack Obama among many other community and civic leaders.
We Belong Together is a national campaign to bring forward the priorities of women in immigration reform, co-anchored by National Domestic Workers Alliance and National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum with participation of women's organizations, immigrant rights groups, children, and families across the country.
