A federal judge refused to block key parts of Alabama's new law targeting illegal immigrants, including its requirements to check the immigration status of juvenile students in public schools and for police to verify the status of those they suspect of being in the county illegally.

An immigration raid on the grounds of a Detroit church during religious services is the latest incident of profiling of the Latino community, advocates and religious leaders said Wednesday as they announced details of the incident.

Several United Methodist agencies and groups have helped fund a faith-based curriculum designed to guide groups with immigration discussion. The curriculum from the Colorado Council of Churches is called "Who is my neighbor?" and includes a DVD with four one-hour sessions, class activities and discussion suggestions. The curriculum costs $20.

"Troy Davis has become an incredible symbol of everything that is broken, everything that is wrong" with the capital punishment in the U.S., said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International's U.S. branch.

The Immigration Task Force spent a day focused on Global Migration realities, looking at Biblical and theological themes, and explored how migrants within the Church are taking leadership in their communities and in revitalizing the Church. The work of the task force is based on "Global Migration: A Quest for Justice," Resolution #6028, Book of Resolutions 2008, which guides the work of the Church on this issue.

United Methodist agencies, churches and individuals are participating in DREAM Sabbath, a national campaign to dedicate time during regular weekly worship services between Sept. 16 and Oct. 9. The purpose is to inform and advocate for passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which gives undocumented students a chance to earn legal status.

For church members involved with food pantries and after-school programs, the Casey Foundation’s report of “a significant decline” in the economic well-being of low-income children and their families “is consistent with what they’re seeing,” said the Rev. Mary Ellen Kris, a consultant on ministry with the poor for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Georgia's pardons board rejected clemency for Troy Davis on Tuesday, one day before his scheduled execution, despite high-profile support from figures including an ex-president and a former FBI director for the claim that he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989. Davis is scheduled to die Wednesday by injection for killing off-duty Savannah officer Mark MacPhail, who was shot dead while rushing to help a homeless man being attacked.

A month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Linda Bloom attended a meeting in the Los Angeles area designed to encourage communication between United Methodists and Muslims. Today, many United Methodists remain committed to interfaith dialogue. But how much progress has been made?

Hannah Hanson, a mission intern assigned to work with Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON), reflects on the impact of  the Drop the I-Word campaign.