The past year has been particularly challenging given federal efforts to close off opportunities for those fleeing violence and persecution at home and stepped up efforts to detain and deport individuals here without legal status. In the face of these challenges, Temple Sinai has continued its commitment to aiding newcomers with work in four categories:
Since 2017, Temple Sinai has been providing direct support to Afghan families who made their way to our area via Special Immigrant Visas. Our dedicated volunteers have helped furnish apartments, enroll children in school, assist in job search and application for benefits, and cut through red tape to help family members in Afghanistan join their loved ones here. Generous financial contributions from temple members have also enabled us to provide rental assistance while newcomers get on their feet.
We also sponsored an asylum-seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo who was fleeing religious persecution, providing legal assistance, housing, financial support, medical care, and arranging for English language study. His petition for asylum has been granted, and he now has his green card. In addition, we provided comprehensive temporary assistance to his brother and family who have since relocated to Canada.
Most recently we have been working with a young Afghan couple to secure housing and employment commensurate with their professional skills. We also continue to provide direct support for other families on an as-needed basis.
In the wake of stepped up immigration enforcement and stripping legal status to thousands of those here legally, we have reached out to local organizations that serve immigrant communities to find out we can help.
For example, we are renewing our longstanding relationship with Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring whose student body is heavily Latino. After reaching out to Ayuda, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to migrants, we assembled 100 activity bags to keep children busy while their parents meet with attorneys. We are also reaching out to other local organizations with whom we might enter into ongoing relationships.
We are also looking at ways that members of the Temple can provide legal and other support to migrant families under threat. Twenty-five members have been trained on how to fill out standby guardianship paperwork, and we are exploring additional training opportunities for those willing to accompany people to their immigration check-ins. In addition we have been publicizing other ways that members can assist local legal services organizations as they respond to overwhelming demands for help. Some of these opportunities are targeted at individuals with legal experience, while others are open to all who are interested.
In the tradition of past trips to McAllen, Texas and the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, a group of Temple Sinai members traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in February 2025 to learn more about the challenges facing both the community of El Paso and that of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. They shared their experiences with the congregation at a Shabbat service and also created a fund to support one of the schools in Mexico.
HIAS’s Pathways Awards recognized Temple Sinai’s work helping people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes with the Leadership Award (2024) and the Trailblazer Award (2025).
In 2017, Temple Sinai joined the Sanctuary Movement and publicly declared itself as a Sanctuary Congregation, signaling our commitment to offer humanitarian aid to vulnerable immigrants in our community.
Catherine Ribnick, Co-Chair
ca.ribnick@gmail.com
Bob Leibenluft, Co-Chair
robert.leibenluft@gmail.com