A note here to say that I still haven't quite processed my experience and I don't claim to be any kind of expert on immigration policy so this might be a scattered post, or several shorter posts, or just links to relevant articles and books -- or it may just devolve into "places to get good enchiladas in El Paso." Please read with patience.
I mean, even the use of the word "refugee" rather than "immigrant," "migrant," or "asylum seeker" is a very specific choice. According to the International Rescue Committee, a refugee is "someone who has been forced to flee his or her home because of war, violence or persecution, often without warning." This is an official designation decided by the government or the United Nations Refugee Agency. An asylum seeker is someone who requests this status. The vast majority of refugees from Central America and Mexico are fleeing daily violence (and the threat of violence) from gangs, corrupt police, or military and extreme poverty. It is worth noting, however, that gang violence is not currently recognized among the "reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group" that are used to define refugee status. But almost all of the people who come across the border request asylum and, not to put words in Annunciation House's mouth, their use of the word refugees recognizes the true struggle that the families and individuals they serve are facing in their home countries.
How do these families and individuals get here? Here I'm just going to lift entirely from Annunciation House's fabulous volunteer guide: "Upon arriving in Juarez, the Mexican border city across from El Paso, refugee families cross the border in one of two ways. Some climb the border metal fences that separate the two countries and end up being detained by Border Patrol (BP). Others walk into Ports of Entry, turn themselves in to a Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officer, and ask for asylum. However these families cross, they end up in the custody of Immigration. "Once in Immigration custody, refugees are processed - they are fingerprinted, photographed, interviewed, screened through security databases, and officially charged with having entered the U.S. illegally."
Lenni here. Two very important things:
1. Requesting asylum from inside of the United States is a perfectly valid way to do it.
2. Being prosecuted for having entered the US illegally has increased drastically under Trump. But asylum seekers are not to be penalized for how they arrived in the US. Read this: https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/trump-and-criminalization-asylum
Ok back to the process: "After being processed, families are turned over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), the department that makes the determination of releasing the family, or a part of the family, on parole, Orders of Supervision, or recognizance. Not all families are released. Some are placed on buses or planes and sent to family detention centers like those in Dilley and Karnes, Texas. Some are being sent to Mexico to await future court dates. In addition, some families are separated with part of the family being detained and the other part released. Separation and detention is most frequently seen with the dads of families as well as the young adult children of families being separated and detained."
One more time: "the young adult children of families being separated and detained." And I saw this. And it was crushing. Imagine. You flee your country with your daughter and your 16 year old nephew and they take your nephew away. You have no idea where he is or how to contact him or even how to tell your sister. What the mother F-ing F?
And then after all this trauma, ICE releases these families to the street. With no money. No ID. No phone. No food. (And a mandatory court date in two weeks). That's where Annunciation House steps in. A Catholic shelter in existence since 1978, they welcome, house, clothe, and feed refugees and help them contact their families or sponsors in the US and organize their transportation. And for a little over a week in December 2018, I had the great privilege of volunteering with some rabble-rousing Unitarians, some bad-ass Maryknoll nuns, and the warm, open-hearted, and extremely generous people of El Paso to help make that happen.
How do these families and individuals get here? Here I'm just going to lift entirely from Annunciation House's fabulous volunteer guide: "Upon arriving in Juarez, the Mexican border city across from El Paso, refugee families cross the border in one of two ways. Some climb the border metal fences that separate the two countries and end up being detained by Border Patrol (BP). Others walk into Ports of Entry, turn themselves in to a Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officer, and ask for asylum. However these families cross, they end up in the custody of Immigration. "Once in Immigration custody, refugees are processed - they are fingerprinted, photographed, interviewed, screened through security databases, and officially charged with having entered the U.S. illegally."
Lenni here. Two very important things:
1. Requesting asylum from inside of the United States is a perfectly valid way to do it.
2. Being prosecuted for having entered the US illegally has increased drastically under Trump. But asylum seekers are not to be penalized for how they arrived in the US. Read this: https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/trump-and-criminalization-asylum
Ok back to the process: "After being processed, families are turned over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), the department that makes the determination of releasing the family, or a part of the family, on parole, Orders of Supervision, or recognizance. Not all families are released. Some are placed on buses or planes and sent to family detention centers like those in Dilley and Karnes, Texas. Some are being sent to Mexico to await future court dates. In addition, some families are separated with part of the family being detained and the other part released. Separation and detention is most frequently seen with the dads of families as well as the young adult children of families being separated and detained."
One more time: "the young adult children of families being separated and detained." And I saw this. And it was crushing. Imagine. You flee your country with your daughter and your 16 year old nephew and they take your nephew away. You have no idea where he is or how to contact him or even how to tell your sister. What the mother F-ing F?
And then after all this trauma, ICE releases these families to the street. With no money. No ID. No phone. No food. (And a mandatory court date in two weeks). That's where Annunciation House steps in. A Catholic shelter in existence since 1978, they welcome, house, clothe, and feed refugees and help them contact their families or sponsors in the US and organize their transportation. And for a little over a week in December 2018, I had the great privilege of volunteering with some rabble-rousing Unitarians, some bad-ass Maryknoll nuns, and the warm, open-hearted, and extremely generous people of El Paso to help make that happen.
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