What have we been doing? Even though our priority is still the Dreamers, it was hard to connect with them at the beginning. We prepared, together with the Research Department, a survey to see what their needs were and how IJPA could help them. The survey was a failure because the kids did not reply even though many of them were the children of the DREAMers’ Moms with which we had an established relationship since 2014. On February 17, 2017 we testified before the Miami-Dade County Commission in favor of a Sanctuary County, where undocumented persons arrested for minor violations such as driving without a license, are not reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That day we met many people from different organizations, religions and countries, but all had the same desire, declare Miami-Dade a Sanctuary. Unfortunately, that initiative was not approved by the commissioners but we were able to create bonds of friendship and communication among all those present on that day. From that encounter the “Circle of Protection” was born, where different groups gather every Wednesday in front of the ICE offices in Miramar, FL to protest the abuses committed there against immigrants. That place is where immigrants who do not yet have permanent status in this country have to checkin periodically. Normally, once inside, the process is brief; their documents are stamped and they are ordered to return in a year or in a few months. The wait outside is an abuse to human dignity. People wait for hours on end in line in the open, sunny or raining, excessive cold or heat, without a place to sit, or take refuge from the weather, without even access to rest
rooms. No cell phones are allowed inside or any liquid containers, so mothers with babies have problems with their milk bottles. There are handicapped people, breastfeeding mothers, some pregnant, it doesn’t matter; they have to wait their turn for hours and if time runs short, they are told to return the next day. There are people there from many countries, mostly Hispanics, but also from Somalia, Jamaica, Romania and Haiti. There are also some Cubans who, in general, have been found guilty of some crime committed years ago, and have completed their sentences, but immigration law condemns them to spend the rest of their life without legal status in this country. Some of these immigrants go into the ICE office and never come out; they are detained and sent to the Krome Detention Center to be deported. Others leave with an electronic ankle monitor. The treatment is humiliating. What started as a simple demonstration has become a morning of fellowship. Now we distribute water, coffee, donuts, fruits, juices for the children and everything that volunteers can come up with. Guards do not allow us to mix with the immigrants waiting in line, but they can come to us and there they find, in addition to some light refreshments, shade, chairs to rest for a while and someone to listen. All those who approach us also receive information about immigration clinics, their rights, etc. Their gratitude, in addition to the smile from the children when they get some candy, keeps us firm in our mission. Click here to continue
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