Geez, it’s November already. I am reminded of this each day as I leave for work and pass the once beautifully (visibly) detailed jack-o-lanterns on our front porch, which need to be composted ASAP. Those poor guys have definitely seen better days. And for anyone who knows me well, yes- of course my jack-o-lantern was a little… different than the rest. This year it had a mustache. And my housemates will tell you that it is modeled after Grijalva, a local politician who quite possibly has the biggest mustache I’ve ever seen. I mean, that mustache is 100% contest-worthy. No joke, his election posters have a nose and mustache in the background because he is associated with that thing. I’ll post a photo here soon of one of his posters for proof just in case you don’t believe me.
But enough about mustached pumpkins. It’s crazy just how fast time flies when you’re keeping busy. And this past week has been insanely busy. My housemates and I just got back from a delegation (which is sort of like an educational mission trip) focused on border issues. Along for the experience with us were a few other groups of YAVs (and a few “Dwellers”, which is are are from an organization called DOOR that is similar to YAV) from Denver, San Antonio, Austin and Hollywood. Going into the delegation, I thought that I was beginning to understand the general idea of what is going on down here with SB1070 the “show me your papers” law), Border Patrol, immigration policy, etc.
As you may have guessed by how I worded the last sentence, I thought wrong. It’s one thing to hear about a topic of concern. But it’s a whole other thing to actually experience it. For me, that is when a topic goes from just being something you’ve learned to being something that you actually understand.
We began our delegation by visiting the courthouse downtown to witness Operation Streamline. This is an extremely controversial use of our judicial system. The state of Arizona played copy cat with Texas’ version of this and came up with a slightly different version a few years back to deal with the high volume of immigrants who come through Tucson each month.
I won’t go into detail, but basically, the idea is that people who have been arrested for “entering without inspection” (or crossing somewhere other than a border checkpoint) go through court in groups of around 10 at a time instead of one by one. In exchange for pleading guilty, they give up their right to a trial and agree to a shorter sentence than that of which they would otherwise receive (up to 6 months instead of to 2-3 years). Then they are deported after they serve their time… dropped off in Nogales, Mexico often hundreds of miles from their homes.
These human beings are no longer seen as individuals, just another face in a large group appearing before a judge. The notorious Magistrate Bernie Velasco has been quoted saying that his “personal best is to handle about 70 cases in 25 minutes, but it can take up to 45.” When I went to Operation Streamline in September with Stephanie, we watched as a man said “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. I know I am guilty and I want to apologize before you and before God.” Magistrate Velasco did not look up, he simply waved his hand and responded “Good for you” as the U.S. Marshals walked the man back into the holding room.
We arrived just as the process was beggining. The courtroom was almost silent, aside from the shuffling of lawyer’s papers and the whispers of U.S. Marshals and Border Patrol agents amongst one another.
And then there was sound of clinking metal. A sound that we would quickly become accustomed to as the minutes progressed. The men and women (about 70 in all) were handcuffed and shackled. All of their belts and shoelaces had been removed and they had headphones in their ears for translation purposes. Most looked beyond exhausted. They were still wearing whatever they had crossed the desert in, and many limped up to the front of the courthouse as their name was called.
Again, even though I could go on and on- I’ll just summarize what happened for space’s sake. An example round would go something like this:
The Judge calls up about 10 individuals. A U.S. Marshal (he never once spoke, simply pointed and forcefully motioned to them where to go) leads them to the bench. He checks to make sure everyone’s names are correct, then proceeds. He asks the group questions in which they all respond together- “Si, Senor” or “No, Senor”. Then he has them plead guilty (they are only allowed to speak in Spanish even if they know English) and several times it was found out that the translation headphones hadn’t been working the whole time. They are then walked back into the holding rooms, never again eligible to enter or apply for a visa in the U.S. Their “American Dream” is over before it has even begun.
The next day, we looked at the “journey” aspect of immigration with a humanitarian aid group called the Samaritans. We were shown artifacts discovered in the desert. I think that what many people don’t know is that it is not simply men looking for work that are crossing the desert, it is women and children. It is families with no where left to turn. Among these objects found was the Mickey Mouse hoodie of a toddler and a small dinosaur toy. There were sun-damaged photos of smiling children, a purse and a worn copy of “Alcoholicos Anonymous”. We were told that in most cases, these people were forced by coyotes (a coyote is someone whom a migrant pays to get them across the desert) to drop what little belongings they had left when the Border Patrol flies overhead doing what is called “dusting”. This is when they turn the helicopters sideways, flip on the searchlights and stir up dust, disorienting people and making them run in all directions.
Coyotes almost always leave behind the weak or wounded, no exceptions. Recently, there was a 14 year old girl who was crossing with her 10 year old brother. She got sick and couldn’t keep going. The coyote told her and her brother he would go get help. Her bones were later discovered beneath a bush. These are the stories the rest of the world don’t hear about. For example, 179 remains were found in the desert this past year near Tucson alone. For every one body found in the desert, there are around 7 that are never found.
Later on that day, we went with the Samaritans out on a “desert walk”, walking one of the trails many migrants take. We were told that the footprints we saw were from within the past day. By chance, one of the girls in our group was taking a picture of a highway underpass and noticed that her camera flash had illuminated something way back in the tunnel. She said it looked like a man sleeping. And sure enough, it was. We left him alone with one of the Samaritans so that we wouldn’t attract Border Patrol and so that he wasn’t overwhelmed.
Later on, she told us about what had happened to him. She had approached him, saying in Spanish that it was ok, that we were a church group and he had nothing to worry about. After that one sentence, he burst into tears. He must have been truly exhausted not to have even moved from that spot even when he had heard a (loud) group of people nearby. People often only think of the physical tole days walking in the sun without food and water, but emotionally it has to be just as bad. He had been alone for several days, and so we gave him some food and water. He had the phone number of a friend in the U.S. that he was trying to reach on the inside of his belt so that it wouldn’t be taken from him.
We weren’t told much else, but that was more than enough to impact us as as it was. I pray that God was kind to him and that wherever he is right now, he is safe and better off than when we found him. I pray that the hundreds of people to come after him that are suffering just as bad might be fortunate enough to be found by a Samaritan like he had. These people are human beings. No human being should be labeled “illegal”. More importantly, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. I’ll end my post today with a verse from Matthew 25, which is the way I believe we should be approaching this issue:
” For I was hungry and you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Let this be your food for thought.
Some Might Say I'm Crazy 