Bending the Arc

Ma Yang was born in Bangkok, Thailand, the daughter of Hmong refugees after the Vietnam War. She was 8 months old when her family resettled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and she has lived there ever since. She is now 37 years old. In 2020, she pleaded guilty to taking part in a marijuana trafficking operation and served 2-½ years in prison for counting and packaging cash that was mailed to suppliers of the drugs. Her attorney told her the plea deal would not affect her immigration status as a green card holder, but her legal permanent residency was revoked. She was deported to Laos earlier this month, a place she has never been, does not know the language, and has no family or friends. She has limited resources and dwindling medical supplies for her health conditions. She is now stranded in a rooming house in the capital of Vientiane, surrounded by military guards, with little idea of what to do next.

Ma is a mother of five. Her partner of 16 years, Michael Bub, has disabilities and is struggling to sleep and take care of their children. Their story has struck a chord with so many across the nation, especially those in the Hmong American community who have built lives in the U.S. and could not imagine returning to Laos. Ma’s case is almost unheard of since few people have been deported to Laos in recent years as the U.S. had designated Laos an “uncooperative” country that did not receive its deportees. Read the full Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

The family is seeking donations at gofundme.com/f/support-ma-yangs-return-to-her-kids.

The Independent picked up this story and has recently reported some updates to Ma Yang’s situation. Read that article.

Additionally, note these hotlines to report suspected unjust ICE encounters:
CASA (National) - 1-888-214-6016
UndocuProfessionals Network (National) - 1-844-500-3222
Voces de la Frontera - 414-465-8078
Forward Latino - 888-238-9473
Marathon County has a line to report ICE encounters at 715- 551-2552
ACLU Wisconsin - https://www.aclu-wi.org/en/about/contact-us 

Visit https://www.csasisters.org/our-values/trafficking.cfm for a more extensive list of immigration services. 

World BEYOND War is offering a six-week online course that features six core modules, three interactive Zoom sessions, and a strong emphasis on reflective practice, collaborative learning, and community building throughout. As the world races to prevent climate collapse, finding solutions to today’s unprecedented socio-ecological challenges has never been more urgent. While discussions on climate change continue, it is crucial to address the elephant in the room—war. The call to end war is not just about peace and security: it is essential for the survival and flourishing of humanity and the planet.

War and the Environment starts Monday, March 24, 2025. This online course runs for six weeks with an approximate 3 to 6 hours per week commitment. Cost is on a sliding scale from $25 to $100, more if you can afford it. 

Learn more about the course modules and/or register here

Mass terminations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are “crippling” the agency, upending federal workers’ lives and leaving farmers and rural communities without needed support, according to interviews with 15 recently fired employees stationed across the U.S. Read more here.

A February 28, 2025 farmer press conference in South Portland, Maine featured farmers who are directly impacted by the federal funding freeze on payments from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Their stories must be heard. No doubt they represent the concerns of farmers in every state. You can read the press release and watch the full press conference on the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) website.

Millions of dollars in USDA funding, including funding for a variety of innovative, science-based programs that support farmers across the country, is now in question. Despite USDA stating that some payments are moving forward, the farmers who spoke last week have not had their payments resumed. 

Nearly every farmer in the U.S. works with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), on a regular basis, and every single American benefits from the programs of USDA. For the last month, freezes on payments at the federal level have impacted farmers throughout the country. Despite being told that once Secretary Rollins was confirmed the payments would quickly resume, farmers are still waiting for payments, many of which are for reimbursements on signed contracts, for work that has already been done.

“Taking these funding opportunities away from farmers, breaking existing contracts with farmers — it affects all of us,” said Janelle Plummer, co-owner of New Spoke Farm in West Paris, Maine, at the Feb 28 press conference. “In the same way that food starts in a farmer’s field and ends on your plate, the repercussions of these political decisions will ripple out into all of our communities. The effect of this doesn’t end on my farm, it only begins there.”

Farmers face incredible uncertainty every season, but one thing that has always been stable — until now — is USDA contracts. The farmers who spoke in this press conference work hard day in and day out to grow healthy food that feeds our communities. We need them.

ACTION: Please call on your congressional leaders to ensure that the USDA honors the contracts and pays our farmers.

UPDATE: Read this March 11, 2025 press release from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/3d65c65 
The Trump Administration has indicated it plans to renege on its contractual obligations and intends to terminate critical federal funding that supports Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) programs designed to strengthen food supply chains, support farmers and producers, and distribute locally grown food to local communities.

Late last month, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip. Mr. Glossip’s case attracted broad support after the state’s top law enforcement official revealed prosecutorial misconduct. What’s even more incredible about this case is that Glossip had been scheduled for execution nine times. He was hours from being executed in 2015 when prison officials discovered they had received the wrong lethal drug, a mistake that led in part to a six-year moratorium on executions in the state. Read the full story here: https://archive.ph/HjiHm 

In response to the overturning of Mr. Glossip’s execution, Abraham Bonowitz, Executive Director of Death Penalty Action, issued a powerful statement for us all to think about. He wrote, “Richard Glossip had three last meals. We must not forget how close he has been to an execution. The courts in Oklahoma were perfectly fine with killing Richard Glossip. Numerous others have been executed with evidence of innocence even more compelling. This is a remarkable rebuke to the ideas that new evidence is irrelevant and there comes a time when finality is more important than getting it right.

However, the truth is that for this moment to come, it took a film to catch the eye of someone with the ear of right wing pro-death penalty legislators who put their careers on the line once they understood the truth. It took numerous long-form journalists writing about this case over the years.  It took massive resources, including a private law firm tasking dozens of lawyers reviewing every shred of evidence in the case. It took unusual voices like those pro-death penalty legislators, Dr. Phil, the pro-execution Oklahoma Attorney General and at least one major political donor influencing whether that AG would even take the meeting ("you are the only reason I'm here," said OK AG Gentner Drummond). Truly, it took an alignment of the stars.

Good for Richard Glossip and his family. We applaud and congratulate the legal team and everyone involved in reaching this moment. But we must also ask, what will it take for every other death-sentenced prisoner with a reasonable innocence claim to get a similar level of intense scrutiny?  How many innocents have been killed or will be killed because no filmmaker happened upon their case?  What is there for Rocky Myers, Toferest Johnson, Thomas Lane and others in Alabama, Anthony Apanovitch and the Lucasville Five in Ohio, Tommy Ziegler in Florida, David Wood, Rodney Reed and others in Texas, etc?

Some will say this proves the system works, but that's the wrong lens.  It proves the system is broken, but less so if you get lucky and attract the massive support necessary to overcome injustice. Given that, how long will we allow executions?  We must abolish the death penalty. Just sayin'.”

You are encouraged to follow the work of Death Penalty Action. Sign petitions, call Governor’s offices, join prayer vigils. HELP ABOLISH THE SENSELESS, INHUMANE, UNJUST DEATH PENALTY.

UNANIMA International’s newest publication, "The Hidden Faces of Homelessness, Global Insights and Pathways Forward" has been released! In celebration of this occasion and in recognition of World Social Justice Day, the publication was launched on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at the Baha'i International Community Office in New York and streamed online. The event included a panel discussion on the topics covered in the publication, presented by some of the multi-stakeholder experts who contributed to the publication. You can watch that recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlGcX4hHCuk

UNANIMA International (UI) truly appreciates the continued support from its contributors and the colleagues who joined them for the public launch, including several CSA sisters, associates, and staff.

This publication is available now with this digital publication link: https://tinyurl.com/yj7rywkv

You can also download the publication from the UI website here: https://unanima-international.org/resource/the-hidden-faces-of-homelessness-global-insights-and-pathways-forward/

Additionally, the CSA JPIC Office has two hard copies that may be borrowed. We encourage everyone to find some time to read and share the great work done in this publication, and consider expressing your appreciation to the UI staff by sending an email to director@unanima-international.org  

The Interfaith Peace Working Group (IPWG) of Wisconsin invites you to a presentation - “To Whom Does the Land of Israel/Palestine Belong: A Biblical Perspective” with Dr. Dennis Olson.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 7 pm CT via Zoom

As the scene of important encounters with God at the origin of their religions, Jews, Christians, and Muslims all claim a special relationship with the land of Canaan/Palestine. This raises a theological question: "To whom does this land belong?”

This question has become an important dimension of the political debate about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Based on their understanding of certain texts from Jewish scriptures, some biblical scholars claim that God gave this land to the Jews, and they have the right to remove all non-Jewish inhabitants. Many others interpret these texts differently and reject that claim. In this Bible Study, Dr. Olson examines and evaluates this interpretation with reference to the debate between Palestinian theologian Mitri Raheb and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman. This study will also examine biblical texts that appear to encourage work for a peaceful or multi-state solution for this conflicted land and suffering land and People.

Following the presentation, participants will be able to engage in conversation with Dr. Olson and one another about the use of these biblical texts to support political violence in the Middle East struggle and how other texts might be used to support peace-making going forward.

REGISTER HERE

Dennis T. Olson served as Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology and Chair of the Biblical Studies Department at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is currently the Pentateuch general editor for a thirty-volume project titled The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (Walter de Gruyter).
 

The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission (JPIC) and Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, Joliet Franciscans, invite you to a series of four monthly Zoom gatherings for the purpose of better understanding persons of cultures other than our own.

Tuesday, March 25 Wednesday, May 28 
Wednesday, April 30 Wednesday, June 25
6:00 - 7:30 pm CT

TO REGISTER FOR ONE OR MORE and GET A ZOOM LINK, Email: tpmarciani@gmail.com with your name, email address and phone number.

May we have a deeper appreciation of people of all cultures so we more fully grasp how each person can live to her/his full potential and all of us can live well together.
 

If you watched the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2, you may have heard one of the most powerful speeches in years when the film, “No Other Land,” won the Oscar for Best Documentary.

The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four activists - Adra, Hamdan Balla, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. It tells the story of the destruction of Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli military. The title, “No Other Land,” comes from a woman in the film who asks where else the Palestinians of the West Bank are supposed to go.

Abraham, in his acceptance speech, not only highlighted the “ethnic supremacy” instituted by his country in the Occupied Palestinian Territories but also challenged the destructive role of the United States: “I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path [to peace].” You can watch their acceptance speeches in full here.

No Other Land is available to watch online for about $4 USD on Microsoft.com.

Details here 

The CSA JPIC Office will be showing this movie on Monday, April 21 at 6 pm.  Please join us in person or online! 

REGISTER HERE

Watch the trailer here: