SEATTLE – As many as 200 Catholic representatives and parishioners are expected to walk from the steps of St. James Cathedral to downtown Seattle’s Federal Plaza January 29 to stand in solidarity with families seeking asylum in the U.S.
“We will be praying and acting to restore asylum,” said Will Rutt, executive director of the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center, in an email.
The event, called “Walking with Holy Families, Save Asylum!” begins at 3 p.m. and will culminate with a vigil at the plaza.
It is sponsored by IPJC, the Archdiocese of Seattle, the Washington State Catholic Conference, AGAPE Service Project, Kino Border Initiative and parishes including St. James Cathedral, Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joseph.
The organizers say it’s an opportunity for Catholics to pray, reflect, hear stories of migrants waiting at the U.S.-Mexico border and take action to end policies like Migrant Protection Protocols, which sends migrants seeking asylum back to Mexico to wait for their U.S. immigration court hearings, and Title 42, which allows the federal government to bar noncitizens entry into the U.S. for health reasons.
Rutt said participants in the walk will be invited to send electronic letters to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well make calls to the White House switchboard.
From a faith perspective, he said, the event will be grounded in the story of the Holy Family “as they fled the dangerous and vindictive King Herod; [they] would be considered asylum seekers by today’s standards.”
“The families on the border are Holy Families, they have a right to flee violence,” Rutt said. “We have a responsibility as a country and as a Church to be hospitable, acknowledging the full human dignity of our siblings migrating.”