GENERIC STATE SIGN-ON DECLARATION (PETITION)

THE [YOUR STATE] SANCTUARY COMMUNITY

Private Citizens Resisting Intimidation by ICE Agents

The ICE murder of 37 year-old mother, Renee Good in Minneapolis changed everything. As residents of [Your State], we are horrified that masked federal agents are invading our towns and communities, snatching unsuspecting people off the streets, shoving them into unmarked vehicles and throwing them into jails and detention centers without charges. These police-state actions threaten the tranquility and safety of our communities, especially as many of our state and local leaders permit federal ICE agents to intimidate us.

We now step forward to protect our neighbors and ourselves by forming the [Your State] Sanctuary Community. We call ourselves a “sanctuary,” an ancient and sacred concept whereby people of conscience and compassion protect those who are being targeted and persecuted. We create circles of support to alleviate suffering and to insist that the values of fairness and human dignity apply to all people, especially the most vulnerable among us.

ICE raids on businesses, attacking elderly people, handcuffing young children, and throwing legal immigrants -- even U.S. citizens -- into detention centers, are brutal actions that terrorize and cause suffering among hard-working families. The sheer cruelty of ICE policies has led to a broad-based national condemnation from faith leaders and human rights groups– all demanding an end to the current assaults on fundamental human dignity.

We [residents of your state] will stand up for justice even though many of our political leaders haven’t the courage to do so. As people of many faiths and political persuasions, we will provide assistance to friends, neighbors and the “strangers among us.” We will monitor and videotape ICE raids and ICE brutality; we will report ICE actions to local police and to state and national media. We will testify in court about ICE cruelty, and we will work with houses of worship and our neighbors to protect the vulnerable in our communities.

As [residents of your state] of faith and conscience, we join together to uphold democratic principles and protect people who are being unjustly assaulted and terrorized by federal government brutality.

We all are Renee Goods. We are not afraid.

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NOTE: We will not share endorsers’ names, but will tally the number of endorsers’ signatures, and their city/town.