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One chilly evening last December I was privileged to stand inside a white tent on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. where a diverse group of people who had been fasting since Thanksgiving was seated. A Hanukkah candle was being lit as we nudged our way into the tent to witness the Fast for Families.

These fasters gathered to highlight the moral crisis and suffering caused by our broken immigration system.

Immigrants are dying in their attempts to reach America and more than 1,100 people are deported daily, tearing apart thousands of families and depriving young children of basic safety and nurture.

High profile leaders such as SEIU labor organizer Eliseo Medina and faith leader Jim Wallis of Sojourners were among those fasting.

Some members of congress joined the fasters for a day before passing the baton to their colleagues.

The fast on the mall has concluded, but organizations and individuals across America renewed their commitment to pass commonsense immigration reform with an earned pathway to citizenship by launching the next phase of the campaign Fast for Families Across America (F4F).

The campaign also calls on President Obama to use his executive authority to stop deporting non-criminals and keep families together. F4F bus tours have set out from Washington state and California and are making their way across America, stopping at congressional headquarters along the way until they meet up in Washington, D.C. for a big rally.

The pressure for reform continues to build.

Out here in mid-Pacific Hawaii, we have the opportunity to join the F4F Across America tour and stand in solidarity with our mainland citizen and immigrant fellow Americans. On Saturday, March 15, Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE) and Hawaii Coalition for Immigration Reform will hold the Fourth Equity Summit, a free community event that gathers different perspectives on a range of issues, immigration reform being one of them.

This year’s Equity Summit will also include an address by Governor Abercrombie and an action dramatizing the brutality of deporting our hard working new Americans, putting their children at risk.

Members of the public are also invited to fast every Wednesday from now until Easter as part of the Fast for Families Across America. Length and method of fasting may be of each person’s choosing. On March 26 hale and hearty persons are invited to join a 24-hour fast with prayer but without food starting the morning of the 26th. This fast will include a vigil for families on the 26th (location to be announced on www.facehawaii.org).

Hawaii has long been a model of a state that welcomes immigrants, and is the most diverse state in the country.

Hawaii has passed state legislation to preserve the safety net for immigrants and has led the states on legislation protecting language rights.

Last year the University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents voted unanimously to extend in-state tuition rates and some financial aid to students who meet certain criteria, regardless of their immigration status.

Also in 2013, Hawaii became the second state to enact a domestic workers’ bill of rights (Act 248) that expands workplace protections for workers who provide the care for that which families value most: children, homes, elderly parents and neighbors.

We celebrate until the morning of the 27th that the Aloha spirit has been extended to immigrants, and proudly stand with the diverse group of partners from the faith, immigrant, labor and civil rights communities and individuals committed to making commonsense immigration reform a reality.

About the author: The Rev. Stan Bain is a United Methodist pastor in Hawaii for 37 years currently serving as a Community Organizer for FACE. He has been organizing for civil rights for immigrants since 2008.

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