Creating Justice for Immigrants

Hazon: The Jewish Lab for Sustainability

Please enjoy this third episode, featuring co-hosts Hannah Perez-Postman and Adam Brock and their guest speakers, Siena Mann, Campaign Manager for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, and Rosa Sabido, an activist and leader in the Sanctuary movement and founder of the organization Rosa Belongs Here. This hour-long conversation will be a discussion of immigrant rights work through the lens of Shmita and the Torah's wisdom on treating "the stranger", during which our guests will speak about what brought them to their work as activists and what we all can do to contribute and organize for a more just society for everyone.

In this season, we are sharing the recordings of a six part speaker series called Acting for Change, Creating Justice produced by Ekar Farms, an earth-based Jewish urban farm in Denver, CO. We will look at how to use ancient Jewish traditions, like Shmita, to catalyze conversations that inspire individual and collective actions to work towards justice. Each episode will have a new speaker to explore the interwoven themes of Judaism, connection to land, and modern social justice movements. We hope this series will inspire you to take action on some of these issues during the upcoming Shmita Year. You can learn more about this series and other programs at www.ekarfarm.org/shmita. This series is produced in partnership with the Shmita Project. The Shmita Project is working to expand awareness about the biblical Sabbatical tradition, and to bring the values of this practice to life today to support healthier, more sustainable Jewish communities. Learn more at www.shmitaproject.org.

Featured Guests:

Siena Mann: Campaign Manager, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition

Siena has been active in justice movements since graduating from Haverford College with a B.A. in Spanish Literature in 2014. Siena moved back to Colorado and became an active local organizer in Colorado Springs in the deportation resistance movement. She helped found the Colorado Springs Sanctuary Coalition and was an active member of CIRC’s member group Grupo Esperanza. Siena joined CIRC as the South Regional Organizer from 2018-2019. As one of CIRC’s Organizing and Campaign Managers, Siena's work now focuses on making improvements to the SB251 Driver’s License for All program, coordinating the I Drive/Yo Manejo Coalition and fighting for data privacy for all.

Rosa Sabido: Founder, Rosa Belongs Here.

Rosa has lived in the United States for more than 30 years. She works as the Secretary at the Catholic Church. For the past six years, Rosa has been granted a Stay of Removal by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) until May 11,2017, when the agency declined to grant her most recent request. Facing deportation Rosa sought “sanctuary” while she works to remain in her community in the country she calls home, and to care for her U.S. citizen parents.