Situated in a community that has had more than its share immigration related concerns in recent years, St. Peter Church in Riverside (part of Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish), provided a most appropriate setting to host an interfaith gathering Nov. 23 where people of all faith traditions came together to pray and show their support of humane immigration reform.

The gathering, which had as its theme, Standing in Solidarity with Riverside, was sponsored by the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, in cooperation with faith-based organizations and coalitions from throughout the state, including the New Jersey Catholic Conference.

Representatives led a responsive reading service based on the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King as well as Scripture and writings regarding the treatment of immigrants.

This dialogue, according to NJIPN press materials “comes on the heels of the Obama administration’s announcement that it will move immigration reform early next year as part of ‘Home for the Holidays,’ a nationwide mobilization to hold the administration and Congress accountable to this promise and build grassroots support for reform.”

“Faith leaders from key states and major national faith-based organizations are pushing Congress to pass reform legislation that keeps families together instead of keeping them apart,” according to the NJIPN.

Local religious communities will reach out to Congress in a variety of ways. Interfaith Immigration Coalition members and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are sending a total of 250,000 postcards to people of faith to send to their members of Congress, urging action on comprehensive immigration reform, and faith-based networks will conduct statewide call-in days to Congress in seven key states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Arizona, Missouri, South Carolina and North Carolina.

In addition to the Nov. 23 interfaith gathering in Riverside, similar large-scale events, including town hall meetings and prayer services, occurred in Arizona, Ohio, Texas and Iowa.

Marlene Lao-Collins, director of social concerns for the New Jersey Catholic Conference, said she viewed the interfaith gathering as a way of bringing a diverse group of religious leaders, lay people and immigrants together to demonstrate a common ground for just, humane and comprehensive immigration reform regardless of their status and to bring attention to the “positive contributions that make to our society.”

“If we look at Catholic teaching, it’s all about us being created in the image and likeness of God,” she said. “First and foremost, we want to uphold the dignity of the human person and tonight is an opportunity for us to do that,” said Lao-Collins. “We want to be present to the immigrant community, to pray with them and to make them aware of how much we care.”

Riverside made headline news in 2006 - 2007 when it became the first municipality in New Jersey to enact legislation penalizing anyone who employed or rented to an illegal immigrant.

The controversial anti-immigrant ordinances were passed by the township committee seeking to take action against the large number of immigrants, most of whom were illegal Brazilians that had moved into Riverside. The ordinances stated that employers who hired an illegal immigrant and landlords who rented to them would be fined between $1,000 and $2,000 per incident and could possibly lose their business licenses.

In response to the ordinances, several civic groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way, took or contemplated legal actions against the ordinances.

In August, 2007, however, the ordinances were repealed and some have speculated that the exodus of more than 1,000 immigrants from Riverside to other New Jersey towns was a major factor.

The result of the departure of so many people had a major impact on the local economy. Booming businesses and shops that had catered to the immigrant community, suffered tremendously; some were forced to close.

With the rescinding of the ordinances, Riverside joined a small but growing number of municipalities nationwide that had reconsidered such laws.

Among the folks who came out for the interfaith gathering in support of immigration reform was Maria Elena Landazuri, a member of Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish.

While she said she is supportive of the immigrant population, she does not agree with immigrants being allowed to remain in the country illegally.

“I hear the Spanish speaking people tell about how their families are broken – the adults are sent back to their countries but their kids get to stay here and they do not know what to do,” said Landazuri, who immigrated to the United States from Ecuador in 1964 and received her naturalization papers in 1969.

Landazuri said she also believes that many of the immigrants “suffer from a lack of knowledge” on how to go about receiving their proper documentation once they arrive in the United States.

“I support immigrants and believe that many do try to live up to the best of their abilities and comply with the law of the country,” she said. “We have to try and find ways to help them become legal.”

Nadia Faria of Jesus the Good Shepherd, who came to the United States with her two daughters from Brazil in 2007, reflected that like Dr. Martin Luther King, “every immigrant in Riverside has a dream too.”

“Some dream about returning to Brazil. I have a dream to go back to Brazil to visit my parents, but I love America, this church and getting together with my friends here,” said Faira.

“I want to stay here for a long time, and I hope and pray that immigration reform will happen. But if the immigration reform doesn’t happen, I’m going back to Brazil permanently.”