HfHR Signs Onto Statement of Solidarity with Annunciation House

Last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took action to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic humanitarian organization in El Paso that has provided hospitality and other life-saving services to migrants for decades. In response, Hindus for Human Rights along with 268 faith leaders and 164 other faith-based organizations have signed an interfaith statement to express solidarity with Annunciation House and decry the attempted criminalization of their faith-based work.

As the statement shares:

“Our faith traditions call us to love and serve others, particularly the most marginalized people in society. Many verses in our sacred texts explicitly extend this obligation to immigrants and teach us to love and care for people from outside our home society. The Hebrew Bible says that ‘You shall love this person as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt’ (Leviticus 19:34). Annunciation House’s work is rooted in Catholic social teaching, which tells believers that they must seek justice in solidarity with the marginalized, ‘feed the hungry and welcome the stranger’ (Matthew 25:35). AG Paxton’s actions are an affront, therefore, to our faith traditions and our religious call to serve our neighbors.

Tragically, these legal actions come amid a broader escalation of tactics and rhetoric that vilify migrants for seeking safety, even though the right to seek asylum is recognized in U.S. and international law. Our society has often failed to foster hospitality and a welcoming environment for immigrants. The ideology animating such hostility has led to violence against immigrant communities and their allies. We call on Attorney General Paxton to immediately halt his attack on faith groups serving immigrants. In an atmosphere of increasing criminalization of migration and border militarization in Texas and beyond, we must remain steadfast in our solidarity with our migrant siblings and the organizations that support them.

Annunciation House is a model of service and a beacon of hope for people of faith who put their values into action. Together in one voice, we will continue to loudly proclaim that every person is created in the image of the Divine and deserves safety and respect.”

The complete statement with the list of signatories is available here.