Saturday, December 26, 2009

Dear Friends,

Thank you for those that made the call this past Wednesday regarding the Fast For Our Families. We wanted to summarize the details and the asks that we had from the call for the Fast For Our Families. We also wanted to have a follow-up call next Wednesday December 30, 2009 at 5:30 (info below).

Summary of the Fast For Our Families

On January 1st, a half dozen community members including people facing deportation will enter a church in the South of Miami Dade county and begin an indefinite, sustained fast. This means that they will take their last meal on December 31st and consume only liquids until the Obama administration responds to two overarching asks:

1) That the Administration acts in its Executive Authority to SUSPEND raids, detentions, and deportations against families with US citizen family members until their is a legislative resolution to our broken immigration system

2) That the Administration sends the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano down to South Dade to meet with the fasters to discuss their asks

Until there is a sufficient response to these asks, the fasters will continue the Fast For Our Families indefinitely and ask all who have watched families and communities be torn apart by raids, detentions, and deportations to join in the Fast.

Ways to join the fast:

If anyone feels so moved, they may join the fast as an indefinite faster (if so please contact us directly). Otherwise, we ask that you support the fast by hosting a solidarity event for the Fast For Our Families.

A. If you are sponsoring a solidarity Fast, we ask that you email fastforfamilies@gmail.com with the following information
1. Location
2. Name of fasters (or alias)
3. Reasons for fasting (if affected by deportation, a short testimony)
4. Date and duration of fast
5. Pictures, logo or any other graphic you wish to include

Once our website and other media is up and running, we will post the information about your solidarity fast, and welcome you to publicize your solidarity events in anyway you think necessary.

B. Action Alerts

As the fast progresses, it will be incredibly important to circulate action alerts to the Administration and the Department of Homeland Security to ensure constant pressure. We ask that as action alerts are drafted, you circulate them as widely as possible and help us ensure that calls/faxes/email to DHS and the White House are being made.

For info re: the call please contact: fastforfamilies@gmail.com
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