With all the news coverage coming in on Yader and his family, I thought it would be nice to have a page dedicated to this ongoing issue and for everyone to easily access the videos and articles we are seeing. This is not over, but at least they/we see a path forward.
CBS News Story (External Link)
Episcopal Diocese of Long Island (External Link)
I write to you today with urgency and a heavy heart. Our brother in Christ, Yader Salgado, who has faithfully served this parish as our sexton, has been ordered to leave the country in the coming month. His asylum parole will be terminated, and now he and his wonderful family face an unimaginable separation. This separation is one that would tear him from the community he has worked so hard to serve. America has always been a land of hope – a place where dreams take root, where hard work is rewarded, and where families can build a future in peace and dignity. That dream is now under attack, for Yader, who has given his heart and hands in service to this church and community.
Now is not the time for partisanship, but for action. Yader is the American Dream. He and his family waited, worked and prayed for the chance to legally come to this country. From day one, he has been nothing but the best. His family is a shining example of what it means to be an American. He embodies the values of faith, family, and hard work. To send him and his family away is not justice. It is a betrayal of the very principles upon which this nation was built. This is wrong and I will not stand by quietly. The Salgados deserve our support as they have supported us and our parish. Over the last 10 months, there has not been one moment where I doubted my decision to welcome this family into our parish family.
As people of faith, we are called to stand together, to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to seek justice for the oppressed. Yader is not just an employee, he is family. His presence among us has been a blessing, and we cannot sit idly by while he is taken from his new home. Enough is enough.
LET ME BE CLEAR: This is about our faith, about compassion, about standing together in the face of injustice. Scripture calls us to welcome the stranger, to protect the vulnerable, and to uphold the dignity of every person. This is our moment to live out that call. Let us not allow this moment to pass without standing arm in arm for Yader and his wonderful family.
– Fr. Andrew Garnett
