Sojo Action, the advocacy division of Sojourners, invited Anyra Cano to join a group of Latino faith leaders for advocacy in Washington, D.C. early this week, to share about their immigrant communities. Anyra is the Fellowship Southwest director of programs and outreach and has organized dozens of trips for churches and individuals at the border this year, which are followed up by advocacy actions. One such recent advocacy activity was a Christmas postcard which children at two DFW churches colored and filled out to be delivered to Congress during this Sojo advocacy week. You can see the front and back of the postcards here:

Currently, Congress is in the middle of trying to pass an aid package for Ukraine. The bill is coming up against resistance because Republican leadership is holding it hostage unless a border security package is combined with the bill. Alone, the border security bill many Republicans support (HR2) does not have the needed votes to pass. But if it were part of the Ukraine aid package, it has a better chance of getting through. You can read more about this here.

Anyra was part of a small group selected to visit the office of Speaker Mike Johnson to ask that border security be removed from the Ukraine aid bill, and to consider more meaningful immigration reforms as part of their border security efforts. Bethany Molinar, executive director of Ciudad Nueva in El Paso, shared about how migrants are not dangerous to the El Paso community, contrary to what many in Washington are led to believe. Rather, migrants are people desperately in need of support. They want to work and help others. El Paso remains one of the safest cities in the US even though they’ve seen such an increase in immigrants recently.

Anyra shared about the Fellowship Southwest border network and invited Speaker Johnson to come to the border and meet the pastors we work with there. She also shared about the postcards written by children at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas and Iglesia Bautista Vitoria en Cristo in Fort Worth.

“What I’m bringing to you is gold. You have the stories and prayers of two sets of children. One of these piles of postcards are from the children of an affluent predominantly white church in Dallas. And they are praying for their immigrant neighbors. In my other hand, I have the prayers of children of immigrants from all different processes. They are asking that you make decisions that are humane and just for all people. I am entrusting these to you because they believe you will read them and listen.”

The staffer listened closely, and when Anyra spoke about the postcards, his body language and facial expressions changed. He appeared to sincerely understand and be impacted. She told him she will show the kids the picture of her giving him their postcards. “I’m trusting that if I give these to you, you will share these with Speaker Johnson.”

Anyra also prayed for him, that he and the Speaker will receive God’s wisdom and courage to speak truth to power.

We could use your help to piggy back on Anyra’s and the Sojo Action group’s powerful advocacy. Please call your U.S. Representative and your U.S. Senators and urge the following:

• Please separate border security from the Ukraine aid package.

• Improve HR2 to include more just and humane immigration reforms in addition to border security measures.