MIDDLETOWN – Christians and Jews gathered for two hours in what was dubbed “God’s Executive Order Rally,” in support of immigrants. Organized by Rabbi Marcus Rubenstein of Temple Sinai, clergy and lay members of the community shared their thoughts and read Bible verses.
The Greater Middletown Interfaith Council and Caring for Our Neighbors Coalition held the event on Saturday at Ebenezer Pentecostal Church in Middletown.
Middletown Alderwoman Vanessa Morales-Cid, podium, shares her thoughts as the other panelists, both clergy and lay persons, listen
There was a universal call for unity. “We are all part of one human race,” said Pastor Mother Ruth Anne Garcia of Grace Episcopal Church.
“God made the Heavens and Earth, but God did not make Australia; or Chile or the Congo or England or France, Spain or Syria, Uganda or the United States, we did,” Garcia said. “We live in an uncertain and frightened age.”
Middletown Alderwoman Vanessa Morales-Cid, 20, said she grew up with the fear that her immigrant parents might be taken away. And when Donald Trump was elected president last fall, “I almost cried. I thought we were better than that.”
Concerns about immigrant rights have been heightened since Trump took office with his efforts to deport immigrants who are in the US by without documentation.
Maria Christina Martinez, who was Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s Middletown representative for three years, knows the heartache of deportation firsthand. Several years ago, both parents, Martin and Julia, were detained by immigration authorities and in 2013, her father was taken into custody again and this time, deported to Mexico. Her silver lining is that she can talk to him on the phone as often as they like.
“We are in a very mean-spirited time,” civil rights attorney Michael Sussman, one of the program participants, told the dozens who attended.
Rabbi Rubenstein emphasized that the rally was only the beginning of the local effort to embrace everyone in the community. “People are staying home; they are afraid to go outside,” he said.
Alfredo Pacheco, a member of Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, said he would like persecution to end “so we can live in harmony.”
Newburgh City Councilwoman Karen Mejia, a native of El Salvador, said the strength of the United States is its diversity. “We are headed toward the biggest test of our democracy,” she said.
