In photo, Dallas Area Interfaith teaches attendees about habeas corpus at St. Ann's Catholic Parish in Coppell, Texas.
[Excerpt]
After the Communion rite at Mass at Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos-Santa Teresita Catholic Church in Dallas, parishioners might hear announcements about prayer groups, community events or religious education. Lately, they also have heard something else: If a loved one has been detained by immigration authorities, call us.
The parish's pastor, Fr. Ángel Ríos, is a leader with Dallas Area Interfaith, whose recent efforts have centered on immigrants and refugees as the Trump administration has enacted its mass deportation agenda. Over the last two years, it has built a network of clergy, organizers and volunteer lawyers trained to challenge immigration detentions in federal court through habeas corpus petitions, or judicial orders that compel law enforcement to bring a person they are detaining to court to justify the prisoner's confinement.
"The judicial system in this country is something completely unknown for immigrants," Ríos said. "It's something that is often unfamiliar even to those of us accompanying them."
Dallas Area Interfaith, comprising clergy from various faith traditions that work together on shared civic issues, has partnered with the Industrial Areas Foundation, a network of local faith- and community-based organizations, Texas A&M Legal Clinics and others on what it calls the Immigration Detention Project.
[Photo Credit: Silvia Manzano, Dallas Area Interfaith]
Dallas Faith Groups, Volunteer Lawyers Amplify Legal Support for Detained Immigrants, National Catholic Reporter [pdf]
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