"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. . . . Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

- Inscription on Statue of Liberty, 1883 

"Very soon, this facility [Alligator Alcatraz] will house “deranged psychopaths . . . and some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.”

- Donald Trump, July 1, 2025 

The Trump agenda to detain and deport hundreds of thousands of persons of foreign origin without due process violates the very essence of “America” as expressed in the immortal Statue of Liberty inscription. It also threatens to cripple many sectors of the U.S. economy that rely on immigrant workers, including construction, manufacturing, agriculture, health care, and the hotel/restaurant industry. And it inflicts needless fear and suffering upon millions of individuals and families who have come here––whether legally or not––“yearning to breathe free.” 

Drawing on expertise within the Valley and beyond, the forum program will follow this format: 

• Welcome (1:00 pm - 1:15 pm) 

• Panel One (1:15–-2:30) – America’s Immigration Divide: Welcome vs. Exclusion 

• Stretch Break (15 minutes) 

• Panel Two (2:45–3:45) – Confronting the Immigration Crisis in the Valley 

• Keynote Session (3:45 - 4:00). 

  • Speaker: Rev. Cristina Rathbone, author of “The Asylum Seekers,” 

    • Song: “This Land is Your Land”––piano accompanist TBA 

    • Benediction, Pastor Sarah Buteaux, First Churches 

  • Call to Action Fair (4:00 - 5:00+) (Agency tables and staff in Lyman Hall)