“Deport him! Deport him!”: The Gospel according to Saint John, chapter 19 (Good Coyote version)

[Insert President] then had Jesús detained at the North Georgia Detention Center that is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA); and after this, the detention center guards stripped him of his garments and put him in color-coded prison garb.  They kept coming up to him and saying, ‘¡Viva Mexico!’ (not realizing he [...]

The Good Coyote: A Good Friday prayer

O God, you sent Christ Jesus to be my “Coyote” and scapegoat. Help me to embrace the mystery of salvation, the promise of life rising out of death. Help me to hear the call of Christ and give me the courage to follow it readily that I, too,may lead others into this new land against [...]

Where the sidewalk ends (injustice begins)

The most difficult leg of the pilgrimage had to be Buford Highway in Atlanta’s DeKalb County.  The main drag of this polyglot commercial area interestingly enough called “International Village” is a clear example of what social work theorist David Gil calls “structural violence” or what others like my friend and President of Flourish, Rusty Pritchard, [...]

Roadblock of Love

During one of our days of the pilgrimage I was approached by a handful of concerned immigrants.  We were in a 287(g) county (a county where law enforcement are authorized to act as immigration officers) and the immigrant pilgrims were troubled because they alleged that one of our police escorts was a “racist cop” who [...]

Vigil for immigrants

By América Gruner The Coalition of Latino Leaders (CLILA) held the Vigil for Immigrants Tuesday evening in Dalton where community members prayed together for dignity and justice for immigrants, and for the passage of a comprehensive immigration reform. The Vigil was part of the Pilgrimmage for Immigrants –an effort coordinated by Alterna and various religious [...]