Latest news with #nonviolentResistance


Fox News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Rep. Jayapal calls it 'inspiring' when she sees groups obstruct ICE
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said in a new interview that she is most inspired when she sees people obstructing ICE. "Some of the most inspiring things have been when people encircle courtrooms and refuse to allow ICE agents in," Jayapal said during a conversation with Joy Reid on Friday's episode of "The Joy Reid Show." "There are all kinds of nonviolent resistance tactics that we have to use," Jayapal added. "And I've started something called Resistance Lab… It's a training on really the documented most effective ways to counter democratic backsliding, nonviolent resistance tactics to build that movement." The Resistance Lab website, which includes a page on Jayapal's new book, "USE THE POWER YOU HAVE: A Brown Woman's Guide to Politics and Political Change," is advertising a "Virtual Organizing Training 1.0" on July 13. The website says that Jayapal "knew we need a way to turn our anger, fear, and frustration into action and progress. That's exactly why she launched The Resistance Lab, an in-depth organizing training to build our movement and give you the tools you need in this moment. The scary truth is that democracies fall in a matter of months. So this is an immediate, urgent matter – and we need to quickly build our capacity to resist." "We've already trained over 10,000 people in all 50 states," Jayapal told Reid. "And the next one's coming up on July 13. So, we're going to keep doing those, because that is what we have to realize is the United States has been complacent for too long. We think that maybe these checks and balances were supposed to keep us safe, but we're seeing that they assume that people on the other side also care about the Constitution. Not the case right now." The Washington State lawmaker has been critical of ICE, calling it a "terrorist force" in a recent Instagram post. She then defended the comment during an interview with CNN, where she was asked to respond to the White House's criticism of her post. She retorted the White House "owes an apology" to Americans. Jayapal also called ICE's immigration enforcement "outrageous," "unconstitutional" and "illegal" during her CNN segment defending the comments she made, calling ICE a "terrorist force." ICE Acting Director Todd Lyon responded to Jayapal's comments. "Rep. Jayapal's glorification of the harassment of law enforcement officers and of ignoring our nation's laws is particularly concerning coming from a sitting congresswoman. Moreover, these comments came on July 4, just hours before a coordinated attack at an ICE facility in Texas, during which a local law enforcement officer was shot," Lyon told Fox News Digital. "And today — also in Texas— a violent attacker shot a U.S. Border Patrol officer. Inciting activists is not a game; there are very real consequences. I'm relieved that both these officers are expected to recover, but how much more dangerous rhetoric can we as a nation tolerate before it's too late?"


The Independent
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
US faith leaders opposed to ICE raids counsel nonviolent resistance and lead by example
When the Rev. Edward Anderson rallied in Los Angeles this week against the Trump administration's intensifying immigration crackdown, he positioned himself between law enforcement and his fellow protesters, serving as a human buffer. Anderson, who leads McCarty Memorial Christian Church in the city's West Adams Terrace neighborhood, believes he was upholding his moral duty to stand against injustice, but in a nonviolent manner that his faith demands. 'It is imperative that people of faith speak out because silence in the face of injustice is complicity,' he said. U.S. religious leaders are taking a stand about President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, with some citing Scripture to explain their support for his policies and others citing it to explain their resistance. For many of those condemning how federal agents are rounding up and deporting people who are in the country illegally, though, nonviolent resistance is the best — and only — way to effect positive change. State and local leaders have accused Trump of inflaming tensions and raising the risk of violence by deploying National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles in response to the protests, which have been daily since last week. Although most have been peaceful, some have resulted in clashes between protesters and law enforcement. Elected officials, including LA Mayor Karen Bass, have called on protesters to remain peaceful, saying violence will only inflame the situation. It's a message religious leaders can get behind. 'The moral message is clear: we do not accept the world as it is. We respond to cruelty with courage, to hatred with love,' Rabbi Sharon Brous said this week at an interfaith vigil in Los Angeles, where the mayor imposed a downtown curfew. The Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior pastor of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, said nonviolent resistance is a core belief of her congregation, which has been feeding and helping newly arrived immigrants and demonstrating to support them. 'We're like Jesus — nonviolent,' said Lewis. But nonviolence isn't silence, she said, adding that it 'often means confronting people with the truth. ... We understand that social change has happened because people of faith and spiritual imagination guided the streets peacefully.' Her flock plans to take part in one of Saturday's 'No Kings' rallies, which are happening in cities throughout the country to protest Trump's policies and which will take place during a military parade in Washington. Nonviolence and a slow path to change Nonviolent protest has a proven track record in the U.S., having been successfully used by, among others, the Rev. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights movement. However, Michael Nagler, co-founder of The Metta Center for Nonviolence, a California-based nonprofit involved in education and advocacy, cautioned that nonviolence and civil disobedience come with suffering and sacrifice. He pointed to the sacred Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita, which advises practicing action without getting attached to the result. 'Principled nonviolence comes from this awareness that the divine resides in each and every one of us and every life is precious,' he said. 'You believe that a solution can always be worked out where all parties have their legitimate needs met.' Nonviolence might not yield immediate results, but it eventually has a deeper impact and fewer casualties than the alternative, Nagler said. In the context of the current struggle, a positive result might mean getting the administration to deal with immigrants more humanely, he said. Faith leaders can play a crucial role in the demonstrations, said the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president of Interfaith Alliance. They can provide 'a sense of shield' and a 'spiritual force' for demonstrators, and inspire 'a reduction of harm and nonviolent presence ... in a space where it appears that there's only a spiraling of violence.' Partnering with local Los Angeles organizations and labor unions, Anderson said his congregation has led prayer vigils, helped migrants learn about their rights, and advised other faith leaders about what to do if ICE shows up at their houses of worship. 'As clergy and community leaders, we are not only called to preach justice but to embody it, to be present in the pain of our people, and to lift up the sacred worth of every human life,' he said in an email. Anderson said he draws strength from the Bible's calls to welcome the stranger, defend the oppressed and love thy neighbor. Views among faith leaders are hardly uniform, with others citing the Bible as a reason for supporting Trump's crackdown. There are many faith leaders, notably in the evangelical ranks, who support the immigration crackdown. 'I support 100% President Trump's goal of protecting our country from evildoers, whether from within or without,' said the Rev. Robert Jeffress, a longtime Trump supporter who is a Southern Baptist pastor at a Dallas megachurch. 'The president has authority from the Constitution and the Bible to do exactly what he's doing.' Regarding the protests, Jeffress said, ' People have a right to be wrong. But they don't have the right to be wrong in a violent manner.' Committed to interfaith action and working together The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which participated in an interfaith prayer vigil in Grand Park on Tuesday, said it plans to remain engaged. That gathering showed that people of different faiths can unite and pray for a compassionate way forward, said the Rev. Parker Sandoval, the Catholic archdiocese's vice chancellor. 'A lot of people are living in fear now, whether it's fear of violence or the fear of being separated from their families,' he said. 'God insists that we are not alone or without hope. Evil, no matter what form it takes, does not have the last word.' Seth Zuihō Segall, a Zen Buddhist priest affiliated with the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy, said he and his colleagues are appalled by images of masked, armed federal immigration agents 'whisking people off the streets and into cars.' He stressed via email that opposition to these developments should be nonviolent. 'Non-harming, non-hatred, and nonviolence are at the very core of the Buddha's message,' he wrote. 'We strive to treat all people — even those whose actions appall us — as buddhas-in-progress.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.