Families separated?!

Lucretia and I have been travelling a lot this summer, as we often do.  But while we were enjoying ourselves we heard news that families seeking asylum at the border were being traumatized as part of the administration's attempt to create enough fear among the immigrants that they would turn back before reaching the border.  A new policy was put in place, and in reality had been in the works for a few months, stating that those crossing with their children were charged with a crime.  Since the children could not be incarcerated with the adults they were separated and the children were housed separately.  The process was horrible in that often the parents were told that they were just taking them for a moment and then when separated not told anymore where they were being held.  Pictures were seen on the news of children warehoused in cages.   We heard that those working with the kids were told not to comfort them even though many were just too young to understand any of what was going on.

So we returned to the bus station after our trips and the reunions of families was a prevalent topic.  Our RAICES volunteers would ask about how long some had been separated.   Mothers and fathers stayed close to their kids.  Some of the kids showed an extra sensitivity about being away from their parent for even a little bit in the bus station.  The parents too were careful to be conscious of their surroundings and were usually in physical contact with their kids.

Letter to a separated Mom

As one of the families was being interviewed by the RAICES volunteer, I noticed the daughter who appeared to be in her early teens had a notebook of drawings and letters that she held in her hands.  I asked if I could take a picture of the letter that she had written to her Mom while they were separated.  I learned that they had been kept apart for what I recall to be many weeks.  The tactic being used was again an effort by ICE to coerce the mother to sign a voluntary deportation request in exchange for being reunited with her daughter.  In part because of the public outcry about this treatment, this mother and daughter were able to get back together and continue their asylum request and journey to a family sponsor.  During this time thousands of kids were separated from their mom or dad with even some being lost in a chaotic system lacking good record keeping.   Others signed the deportation orders in desperation in order to see their kids again even though they may well have had valid claims for asylum.

Her letter says in English:

For you mom,
       I love you very much.  I miss you very much along with my brothers (or siblings).
                                     Affectionately, D.

What can be done with this migration crisis?

The migration issue is back on the political burner with images of a caravan of migrants fleeing desperation in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Although caravans similar to this have occurred over the years to help the migrants resist violence and abuse along their journey this one is being met with a flurry of rhetoric intended to fire up mid-term votes in the United States.

I met a man Tuesday from Cameroon, a country in central Africa which is in the middle of a crisis of its government pitting an English-speaking minority against the ruling majority French speakers.  We talked about his trip from Africa through Panama and all the way to the United States seeking asylum.  After crossing the border at a legal crossing, he was detained and found to have a credible case for asylum.  While waiting to be heard by an immigration judge he won’t be able to have a social security card or a driver’s license.  Without these he won’t be eligible for a good job even though he impressed me as being very able.   His search for a better life took him away from his home, landing him among the many people struggling to provide for themselves in the marginal shadow economy.  He is not among the migrants that we normally think of when discussing our immigration problem, but around the world crisis situations are driving people from their homes in search of peace and security.

In Central America poverty, gangs, and government corruption are causing thousands of migrants to flee north to the U.S. Instead of arming the border or taking away aid to countries I believe that we should do the following:

First, we should join with the global community to lift up the countries where corruption, violence, and poverty are driving people from the homes. Our Federal Aid to Central America and Mexico is largely aimed at improving the conditions that are at the root of the migration problem. We have budgeted 260 million dollars in 2019 for these countries, money that is now being threatened to be cut off because people are still fleeing the conditions it is supposed to be addressing. Instead, we talk of spending up to $24 billion on a border wall. That would be nearly 100 times what we have allocated to assist the countries.

Does the wall help solve the drug cartels or gangs or poverty of our neighboring countries? No. Migrants will be forced to travel around the wall by boat as they have from Cuba and the Caribbean. I have read that 40 percent of our undocumented population were here legally until their visas or green cards expired. The wall won’t solve this.

Second, the young people who were brought to the U.S. as children and have only known this as their home (DACA Dreamers) should be registered as Permanent Residents. They should then be able to seek naturalized citizenship in the same way as others who have migrated to our country.

Third, allow the 11 million undocumented immigrants already working and raising families here to attain some form of legal status in a way that ensures that they pay taxes and have protection as workers.

Let us resolve to make this continent one in which all people can live in dignity, without fear of gangs or violence, where no one is forced to leave their home to be able to provide food and shelter for themselves and their families.

Play in the park

June - August 2018

We took immigrant families to the park to play Duck, Duck, Goose (Pato, Pato, Ganza) and soccer (futbol). Going back to the bus station a young 12-year old, Cristian, picked up some trash in the park and threw it away. I thanked him very much when we got back to the station. Cristian then made Terry and me each a bracelet. We pray for him each time we see it hanging in the bathroom.

During the summer, our daughter, C., started going to the bus station with us. It was so much fun to see her interact with the people. She was especially good with the children.  I am amazed at her Spanish which she learned in high school and only practiced one week in Costa Rica.  I told someone that I had lived in Guatemala 40 years ago. She said, "Mum, it was 50 years ago." She really knows how to make me feel old!!

Terry and another volunteer, A., took several families who were leaving on a late bus, to the riverwalk. She had taken me another day, so it was Terry's turn to go. About 8 families went with them and Terry bought them all ice cream. The attendant gave him a cost break because her family had immigrated and she related to the immigrants. I am sure she did not make much that day, but she certainly will have a crown in heaven.

C. from our family #1 also went with us to the bus station this summer. He is 17. He had never wanted to speak Spanish or learn it well. His parents do not speak English but understand a lot of English, so he speaks only when he has to at home. After using his Spanish that day he said, "i can see why I need to learn Spanish."

It always amazes and thrills me to receive thanks and hugs, but especially from the young children without any prompting from the parents and before hearing it from their parents. One day particularly, I remember, I was walking a mom and her five-year old boy to the bus, when he looked up at me and said, "Thank you for all you have done for us." WOW!

What joy it gives us to serve these loving and grateful people.