Minute of Support for the Protection of Rights for All People (December 2025)

 

We express concern for persons who are being targeted, detained, abducted and deported, and other groups of persons who also face actions contrary to the Constitutional rights granted citizens and non-citizens in this country. We wholeheartedly reject the recent actions of the Federal government to detain and remove non-citizen and citizen immigrants from this country without accountable record-keeping of individuals and without due process. Families belong together; we express deep concern that children be protected from separation from their parents by authorities. We denounce the increase of hateful and violent attacks by members of the public and by government employees alike. We affirm our commitment that no human being is illegal. As Quakers, our social action is a result of our faith. In this Minute we are guided by testimonies of integrity and equality.

 

Regardless of citizenship status the U.S. constitution grants the right of due process to all individuals on American soil. The current mass detention and deportation deny equal human rights, thus violating the doctrines of due process and “innocent until proven guilty” found in the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 14th amendments. We decry the cruel and unusual punishments the detained and deported people, their families, and community members are experiencing now. Provisions have not been made for all people to challenge their deportations within the United States and the countries where they have been deported.

 

We express our concern for the growing number of groups of people who face and who have faced a denial of Constitutional and Human rights. These people include but aren’t limited to:

1. Hispanic and Latine community members. 
2. Haitian, Venezuelan, Palestinian, and Afghan refugees who have lost temporary protected status. 
3. International students who are losing their Visas because of U.S. immigration policy.
4. Refugees facing blatant racial discrimination in their acceptance statuses, including non-White South Africans.
5. Immigrants, International Students, and U.S. Citizens from all backgrounds who have voiced opposition to President Trump’s policies and have been targeted for intense political repression, which contradicts their 1st Amendment rights.
6. A variety of immigrants who were previously granted legal status, who are now being retroactively revoked of that status, and whose due process is being taken away. 
7. Cuban doctors on medical missions in the U.S. whose program has been abruptly ended.
8. People on B-2 Medical Visas for healthcare who are facing increasing restrictions.

Quakers rely on the guidance we receive from God. Quakers affirm that there is that of Spirit in each one of us. This is implicit in The Golden Rule which says we must treat others as we wish to be treated. The testimony of equality applies to all, regardless of gender, nationality, age, or race. Injustice arises when we don’t see that of the Light in others. The Quaker testimony of integrity tells us that rights ought to be respected, both by individual persons and the officials of our various governmental bodies. We encourage volunteerism and donations in support of those facing injustice. We promote peaceful protest and peaceful demonstration. We encourage and support people to take peaceful action and work for justice. 

 

O Brother Man, fold to thy heart thy brother: Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there; To worship rightly is to love each other, Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer. – John Greenleaf Whittier, Quaker poet 

“Hey Brother, Open Your Heart

Hey brother, pull your people close—

where there’s compassion, God’s peace lives.

True worship isn’t just words or rituals,

it’s loving each other for real.

Every smile is a kind of song,

every good deed, a quiet prayer.”