About Wake Interfaith Immigration Network
The Wake Interfaith Immigration Network is a nonprofit organization founded in April 2026 to stand with immigrant and refugee neighbors in Wake County. Our network brings together more than 200 individuals from over 50 churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other faith communities across Wake County, united by a shared conviction that people of faith must respond with compassion, presence, and action.
The organization operates with no paid staff and all volunteer help.
Wake Interfaith Immigration Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our Beliefs
As people of faith, we seek to promote immigration policies that uphold human dignity, strengthen families, and welcome those fleeing persecution.
We value the important contributions that immigrants have made and continue to make to the success of our country.
We believe that immigration policies should be humane, fair, transparent, and just.
We believe that the following immigration enforcement practices are abusive, unfair, and inhumane:
- The use of mass detention centers.
- Inadequate medical care of people in custody.
- Excessive use of force.
- Deportation to third countries.
- The use of unidentified enforcement officers and unmarked vehicles.
- Separation of families.
We support comprehensive immigration reform including:
- Expanded lawful pathways to citizenship for those who have built law-abiding, productive lives in the United States.
- Permanent legal protection and a path to citizenship for Dreamers, those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.
- Restoration of refugee admissions to at least 2024 levels.
- A system for considering asylum claims that is properly funded and staffed to ensure fair, timely decisions for those fleeing persecution.
- A humane and orderly process for temporary protection for people fleeing persecution, war, or natural disaster.
We affirm a nation’s right to regulate its borders and enforce its immigration laws, but this should be balanced against its responsibility to uphold the sanctity of human life and respect the God-given dignity of all persons.
As we join together in an interfaith response to the needs of immigrants we commit to carrying out our mission nonviolently, with truthfulness, and with love.
Through education, prayer, dialogue, service, and respectful civic engagement, we work toward the common good for all.
Our Mission
Convene — Bringing people of faith together to provide a coordinated, compassionate response to the needs of immigrants and refugees.
Educate — Offering education, outreach, and public awareness to promote understanding and a spirit of welcome.
Support — Organizing volunteers and community partners to provide practical assistance and relational support.
Advocate — Nurturing interfaith collaboration, resource-sharing, and advocacy that advance dignity, justice, and the common good.
Our Origin
In late 2025, faith leaders across Wake County began hearing the same stories — families afraid to leave their homes, neighbors uncertain about their rights, communities unsure where to turn. Moved by these realities and by a shared sense of moral obligation, congregants and clergy from dozens of congregations started gathering to ask what a coordinated response might look like. Out of those conversations, the Wake Interfaith Immigration Network was born in April 2026.
Our Leadership
The Network is governed by a volunteer board of directors drawn from our member faith communities.
Michael Schley, Board Member and Chair, Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church
Ann Lassiter, Board Member and Vice-Chair, The Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi
Ervin Portman, Board Member and Treasurer, St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church
Desiree Clemons, Board Member and Secretary, St. Paul’s Christian Church
Deborah Goldstein, Board Member, Beth Meyer Synagogue
David Charters, Board Member, Christ the King Lutheran Church
Daniel D’Oleo, Board Member, Iglesia Cristiana Pueblo de Esperanza
Lynn Tovar, Board Member, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Kathryn Mueller, Board Member, Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church