by Bob Leibenluft, co-Chair, Refugee and Migrant Support
As we approach the year-end, it’s a good time for a recap on our recent work expanding the range of Temple Sinai members’ work to support the immigrant and refugee community.
Since 2017, the Temple has provided direct support to families of refugees and asylum-seekers, primarily from Afghanistan, with one from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This important effort, involving a team of dedicated volunteers led by Catherine Ribnick, continues with the recent arrival of the Paiman family from Afghanistan.
This past spring, a group of Temple members who had accompanied Rabbi Roos on a trip to the El Paso/Juarez border in February, began meeting to plan an extension of our work with the refugee and migrant community. Our group met regularly to consider additional ways to make an impact.
What we’ve done and what’s coming up
- Standby Guardianship (SBG): Standby Guardianship refers to forms that can be filled out by immigrant parents that designate a guardian for their children (most of whom are US citizens) if the parent is detained or deported. Cam Crockett, Temple member and attorney, conducted two training sessions about SBG at Temple Sinai this past spring and fall – the session was open to everyone (not just lawyers!). We now have more than 30 TS members who have received initial training. We are organizing a small cadre of volunteers who can meet with immigrant groups and assist parents in completing these guardianship forms. We will start with a “pilot” engagement with a health clinic in Gaithersburg (see below) in the next few weeks, and hope to gradually expand during 2026. Naomi Karp is coordinating our SBG work.
- Washington English Center (WEC): WEC has been teaching immigrants English for more than 30 years and now teaches close to 2,000 students a year, in-person and virtually. On December 8 we held an information Zoom session with WEC for about 20 TS members who may be interested in volunteering for WEC’s winter session. We plan to work more with WEC in the spring, and will be considering other ways that we can support WEC and its students. Felice Friedman, TS member and long-time WEC volunteer, is coordinating our work with WEC.
- Medical Clinic in Gaithersburg, Maryland: We are currently exploring opportunities with a free medical clinic in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The clinic provides free medical care to about 2,200 low-income individuals who lack any health insurance coverage; most of the clients are immigrants. We are exploring ways to support the Clinic and its clients, starting with guidance on Standby Guardianship. TS member Tiernen Mennen is serving as liaison to the clinic. Special thanks to Dr. Jack Summer, TS member and regular Clinic volunteer for introducing us to this great organization.
- Help needed! This organization is also seeking support in the area of employee wellness. A big challenge facing organizations that work with the immigrant community, and one not often discussed, is supporting their employees who are extremely stressed by the current immigration enforcement environment. It is unclear what, if any, support TS can provide in this area, but we are looking for someone with experience in providing employee wellness assistance or related work to help us consider this further.
- Sneak film preview and discussion: On Sunday, February 1, 2026, 3pm – 5pm, the Davis Center will be hosting the latest in our “Davis Center Docs” series – a screening of several scenes from “Credible Fear”, a work-in-progress documentary about immigrant rights. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion of immigration experts including the film’s director, local DC Filmmaker Gabrielle Ewing, and the attorney featured in the film, Amy C. Roma, and more. The panel discussion will be moderated by Royce Murray, TS member and Former Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at Department of Homeland Security. Thank you to Michelle Engelmann for helping to put this program together. Learn more and register here
- Refugee Shabbat: This special Shabbat service is scheduled for Friday, March 27, 2026, 6:30pm and will include meaningful liturgy as well as a guest speaker in place of the regular sermon. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details!
Other accomplishments
- On August 5, we hosted “Bystander Training for Allies”, a presentation by CASA designed to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others during immigration enforcement encounters. Over 80 people attended this Zoom program.
- Michelle Englemann helped raise more than $3,400 for Abara, the organization that hosted the TS border trip. The money was used to buy uniforms for migrant children so they can attend the local school, and for a leg prosthesis for a woman we met who experienced an accident on her journey from Venezuela to the US.
- Elizabeth Roos led an effort to raise $10,000 to fund the summer day camp tuition for four students at Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring, a school with a predominantly low-income immigration population and with which the Temple has worked in years past through “Project Mensch”.
- In May, Carolina Ayala organized a briefing with the Mexican Consul to learn how the Consulate serves the Mexican community in the United States.
- In June, we created 100 “busy bags” to benefit Ayuda. The bags were designed to keep children busy while their parents meet with their pro-bono attorneys. Thank you to Marilyn Goldhammer for her work on this project. We will duplicate this project as part of Temple Sinai’s MLK Mitzvah Day on January 18, 2026.
- We printed over 1,500 Know Your Rights packets and/or legal resource fliers for CASA to help reduce their costs in providing these important materials to their clients.
Thank you to all those mentioned above (and many others) for their work this year! Special thanks also go to Sue Levine for her work on communications within the group.
Interested in getting involved? There will be a lot to do in 2026, and many ways to help. Please email Bob Leibenluft or Jenny Cohen if interested or to learn more. You can also email Jenny to be added to the Refugee and Migrant Google group to stay informed on all of our activities.
