| Dear JAMLAC’s friends, This is an important time to update you on JAMLAC’S work, including our work in migrant communities, and the impact of potential government funding freezes and/or cuts on JAMLAC’s operations. -The need for our legal services has and most likely will continue to drastically increase. We have an amazing staff that is committed to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our community, even in challenging times like these. -There have been elevated levels of fear and chaos within migrant communities in the Denver metro area and across the Country, even among migrants who have legal status. -Many of JAMLAC’s clients come from migrant communities. JAMLAC is stepping up to help migrants and non-migrants understand their rights and combat the fear, uncertainty, and negative impacts of these changes in policies in their communities. -Recent executive branch actions to freeze or discontinue funding for certain government programs represent potential threats to JAMLAC’s ability to fulfill its mission. Up to 22% of our budget and 14 staff members may be affected. We’ll keep the JAMLAC community informed as we learn more in the days ahead. -We are and will continue to do the work God has called us to do through our mission of seeking justice for people who are struggling with poverty and oppression. These are difficult and uncertain times for our staff and many people in our community. We appreciate your prayers and continued support for this work, our clients, our staff’s secondhand trauma, and the growing need for legal aid. We continue to lean on Scripture to encourage and motivate us in this work caring and serving the “quartet of the vulnerable” as summarized in Zechariah 7, who are close to God’s heart – the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, and the poor. Please reach out to me or Sulma, JAMLAC’s Immigration Director, if you’d like more information about how JAMLAC is responding to these and other issues that communities who suffer from poverty and oppression are facing. Here are some resources for you to understand more about the tangible experiences of the migrant community. Pastor Juan Pena opinion article in Denver Post – firsthand experience at an ICE raid in Denver Next Immigration Discussion – Thurs, March 6th at 6pm Resources – https://jamlac.org/resources/ Peace of Christ, Steve Thompson, Lead Servant, JAMLAC |
| “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’” Zech 7:9-10 |