This past weekend I attended Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington D.C. It was an inspiring weekend full of people of faith who are concerned about fixing our country's broken immigration system. I learned a lot this weekend about immigration, displaced persons, and refugees.
There were excellent workshops offered linking immigration issues with the environment. One of them pointed out the environmental issues that many of the United State's free trade agreements bring to other countries. For instance, since the advent of NAFTA, farmers from other parts of Mexico have been forced to turn to the factories, or Maquiladoras, in northern Mexico for low paying jobs. Having been displaced from their farms, these economic migrants find work in factories that often do not grant them adequate protection from hazardous materials. These same factories leave an incredible environmental impact on the area.
What can we do to protect the workers of Mexico and the environment? We can ask our representatives to support the TRADE Act, which has been introduced in the House. The TRADE Act would review our country's current trade agreementsand set standards for future trade agreements in the areas of environmental, labor, agricultural, and food safety, among others. The TRADE Act would set the stage for future trade agreements that would value human rights and the environment. Go to the PC(USA) Washington Office's website to send an email to your representative asking him or her to co-sponsor the TRADE Act.
