In-Country Refugee/Parole Processing for Minors in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala (Central American Minors – CAM)

Introduction

The Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee/Parole Program provides certain qualified minors in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States.

The CAM program began accepting applications from qualifying parents in the U.S. for their children on December 1, 2014. The qualifying parent is the U.S.-based parent who may complete the application. Only certain parents, described below, are eligible to be qualifying parents and file for their children. Each qualified child must be unmarried, under the age of 21, and residing in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras. In certain cases, the parent of the qualifying child may also qualify for access if the parent is the spouse of the qualifying parent. See below for eligibility details.

Eligibility

                Qualifying Child

The qualifying child in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras must be:

·         The child of the qualifying parent per the Immigration and Nationality Act (biological, step, or legally adopted);

·         Unmarried;

·         Under the age of 21;

·         A national of El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras; and

·         Residing in his or her country of nationality.

                Eligible Family Members

In some cases, other eligible family members may have access, including:

·         Unmarried children of the qualifying child who are under the age of 21 can be included as derivatives.

Parent of Qualifying Child Who is not the Qualifying Parent

This program is primarily aimed at minors, but a parent of the qualifying child may be included if:

·         He/she is part of the same household and economic unit as the qualifying child,

·         He/she is legally married to the qualifying parent at the time the qualifying parent files the CAM-Affidavit of Relationship (AOR), and

·         He/she continues to be legally married to the qualifying parent.

Qualifying Parent

The qualifying parent may be any individual who is at least 18 years old and lawfully present in the United States in one of the following categories:

·         Permanent Resident Status, or

·         Temporary Protected Status, or

·         Parolee, or

·         Deferred Action

·         Deferred Enforced Departure, or

·         Withholding of Removal

Deferred Action

Parolees and persons granted deferred action must have been issued parole or deferred action for a minimum of one year. For all other categories listed above, individuals who are lawfully present and in a valid status at the time of application (this means the date of CAM-Affidavit of Relationship filing) are eligible.

Application Process

There is no filing deadline for this program, but the qualifying parent must be in one of the current statuses listed above at the time of applying for this program, as well as at the time of admission or parole of the beneficiary of this program.

The qualifying parent in the U.S. files Form DS-7699 Affidavit of Relationship (AOR) for Minors Who Are Nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (CAM-AOR). This form can only be accessed and completed with the assistance of a designated resettlement agency (RA). For additional information and a listing of resettlement agencies where the CAM-AOR may be filed please visit the Department of State, Refugee Processing Center’s website. http://www.wrapsnet.org/CAMProgram/tabid/420/Default.aspx

There is no fee to participate in this refugee/parole program and it is prohibited for anyone to charge a fee for completion of the form.

DNA Testing

DNA relationship testing must occur between the qualifying parent in the U.S. and his/her biological children. The parent in the U.S. will pay the initial costs of DNA testing and will be reimbursed for testing costs ONLY if ALL claimed and tested biological relationships are confirmed by DNA test results.

Refugee Status

Refugee status is a form of protection available to those who meet the definition of refugee and who are of special humanitarian concern to the United States. For a legal definition of refugee, see section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Both the qualifying child and the in-country parent of the qualifying child must establish an independent refugee claim to be granted refugee status.

Eligibility for refugee status is determined on a case-by-case basis through an interview with a specially-trained USCIS officer.

Applicants who gain access to the program, but are found ineligible for refugee status will be considered on a case-by-case basis for parole into the United States.

For more information about refugees, see the “Refugees” section of the website.

http://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/refugees

Parole

Parole allows individuals who may be otherwise inadmissible to come to the U.S. on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.  A separate application for this process is not required.

An applicant found conditionally eligible for parole is subject to the following additional requirements:

·         Medical Clearance and Costs: All applicants for parole will be required to obtain and pay for medical clearance.

·         Travel Arrangements and Costs: An individual who is authorized parole must book his or her travel through an approved USCIS process and pay for the flight to the United States.

USCIS will be updating the CAM webpage to provide updated information on Parole as part of the CAM Program. Please check back periodically to view this updated information.

Programa de Procesamiento de Refugiados/Permisos para Niños Menores en Centroamérica (CAM, por sus siglas en inglés)

Introducción

El Programa de Refugiados/Permisos para Niños Menores Centroamericanos proporciona a ciertos menores elegibles que están en El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras una alternativa segura, legal y ordenada a las travesías que ciertos menores enfrentan al querer llegar a los Estados Unidos. 

El programa CAM comenzó a aceptar solicitudes el 1 de diciembre de 2014. Los padres a quienes se les han aprobado ciertos beneficios de inmigración son elegibles para presentar una petición por sus hijos. Solo ciertos padres, descritos a continuación, son elegibles para ser padres calificativos  y presentar una solicitud por sus hijos. Cada menor cualificado debe ser soltero, menor de 21 años, y residir en El Salvador, Guatemala u Honduras.

En ciertos casos, uno de los padres del menor cualificado podría también cualificar si es el cónyuge del padre elegible. Vea a continuación para los detalles de elegibilidad. 

Elegibilidad

Niños que cualifican

El niño que cualifica y que está en El Salvador, Guatemala u Honduras debe:

·         Ser hijo de un padre elegible  según la Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (hijo biológico, adoptivo o adoptado legalmente)

·         Ser soltero

·         Ser menor de 21 años de edad

·         Nacional de El Salvador, Guatemala u Honduras

·         Residir en su país de nacionalidad.

Familiares Elegibles

En algunos casos, otros familiares elegibles podrían tener acceso al programa, incluidos:

·         Niños menores solteros nacidos del hijo que cualifica menor de 21 años de edad.

Padre de un menor que cualifica  que no es el padre elegible

Este programa está dirigido primordialmente a menores, pero un padre de un hijo que cualifica podría ser incluido si:

·         Es parte del mismo hogar y unidad familiar que el menor que cualifica,

·         Está legalmente casado con el padre elegible al momento de que éste presente el CAM-AOR,  y

·         Continúa casado legalmente con el padre elegible.

Padre elegible

El padre elegible puede ser cualquier persona que tenga al menos 18 años de edad y esté legalmente presente en los Estados Unidos bajo una de las siguientes categorías:

·         Estatus de Residente Permanente,

·         Estatus de Protección Temporal

·         Con Permiso de Permanencia Temporal T

·         Con Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA), o

·         Acción Diferida (No DACA)

·         Salida Forzosa Diferida,  o

·         Suspensión de Remoción.

Acción Diferida

Las personas con permiso de permanencia temporal y personas a quienes se les haya concedido acción diferida deben tener permiso de permanencia temporal o acción diferida vigente por un mínimo de un año.  Para todas las demás categorías listadas anteriormente, son elegibles aquellas personas que están legalmente presentes y en un estatus migratorio válido al momento de presentación de la solicitud (esto significa en la fecha en que se presente la Declaración Jurada de Relación – CAM).

Proceso de Solicitud

No hay una fecha límite para presentar solicitudes a este programa, pero el padre elegible debe estar en uno de los estatus vigente listados anteriormente al momento de solicitar a este programa, así como al momento de admisión o permiso de permanencia del beneficiario de este programa.

El padre elegible que está en los Estados Unidos presenta el Formulario DS-7699, Declaración Jurada de Relación Familiar (AOR) para Menores que son Nacionales de El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras (CAM-AOR). Este formulario solo puede ser accedido y completado con la ayuda de la agencia de reasentamiento designada (RA, por sus siglas en inglés).

No hay tarifa para participar de este programa y se les prohíbe a las personas cobrar tarifas u honorarios por completar el formulario.

Pruebas de DNA

Deben realizarse pruebas de DNA para comprobar consanguinidad entre el padre cualificado que está en los Estados Unidos y su hijo biológico.  El padre que está en los Estados Unidos pagará los costos iniciales de la prueba de DNA y se le podrían reembolsar los costos de la prueba SOLO si TODAS las relaciones biológicas reclamadas y analizadas medio de pruebas son confirmadas por los resultados de las pruebas del DNA.

Estatus de Refugiado

El estatus de refugiado es una forma de protección disponible para aquellos que cumplen con la definición de refugiado y son de especial preocupación humanitaria para los Estados Unidos.  Para una definición legal del término ‘refugiado’, vea la sección 101(a)(42) de la Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés).

Tanto el niño cualificado como su padre elegible que está en el país deben probar por separado la validez de su petición de refugiado para que se le conceda estatus de refugiado.

La elegibilidad al estatus de refugiado es determinada caso por caso por medio de una entrevista con un oficial de USCIS especialmente adiestrado.

Los solicitantes que obtengan acceso al programa, pero que sean encontrados inelegibles al estatus de refugiado, podrían ser considerados individualmente para obtener un permiso de permanencia temporal en los Estados Unidos.

Para más información sobre refugiados, visite la sección “Refugiados” de nuestro sitio web.http://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/refugees

Permiso de Entrada

El permiso de entrada permite a aquellas personas que de alguna otra forma resultan inadmisibles venir a los Estados Unidos por razones humanitarias urgentes o un beneficio público significativo.

Un solicitante que desee solicitar permiso de entrada está sujeto a los siguientes requisitos adicionales:

·         Autorización médica y costos asociados: Se les requiere a todos los solicitantes de permiso de entrada obtener y pagar la autorización médica.

·         Arreglos de viaje y costos asociados: A una persona a quien se le autorice el permiso debe coordinar su viaje a través de un proceso aprobado por USCIS y pagar por el boleto aéreo hacia los Estados Unidos. 

USCIS está redactando una página de Preguntas Frecuentes para proporcionar información sobre el permiso de entrada relacionado al programa CAM. Por favor, verifique periódicamente para obtener información actualizada.

Para información adicional y una lista de las Agencias de Reasentamiento donde puede presentar el formulario CAM-AOR, visite el sitio web (http://www.wrapsnet.org/CAMProgram/tabid/420/Default.aspx) del Programa de Refugiados del Departamento de Estado.

PRESS RELEASE !

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:      Thursday, 19 March 2015

CONTACT:  Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com

DWN: “New ICE Policy Caves to Radical Anti-Immigrant Lawmakers, Needlessly Restricts Release from Detention”

Detention Watch Network Calls on President Obama to Stop ICE’s Escalation of War on Immigrants

Statement from Silky Shah, co-director of Detention Watch Network, in reaction to ICE’s announcement that it would dramatically ramp up oversight and release procedures for immigrants with criminal convictions: “This announcement is not the result of reasoned policy analysis. Rather it was released the night before new ICE Director Sarah Saldaña was to testify before Congress and represents a preemptive surrender to its most zealously anti-immigrant members. Decisions on immigration policy and the detention of immigrants should never be based on crude political calculations.

During the hearing, lawmakers repeatedly mischaracterized all people in detention with criminal convictions as undocumented and as violent offenders. This ignores the reality that many long-term legal permanent residents are also detained and further that the proportion of people deported whose most serious crime is a non-violent immigration offense or traffic violation has risen significantly over the last six years.

For the minority of people in detention who have past violent convictions, the prevalent anti-immigrant discourse constantly obscures the fact that they’ve already paid their debt to society by serving out their prison terms. We believe that even immigrants who have committed violent offenses shouldn’t be subject to double jeopardy by being incarcerated again for the same offense.

The list of people with no hope of release in US detention centers is growing at an alarming rate: immigrant families, asylum-seekers, and now individuals with prior criminal convictions. Detention, with no alternatives or way out, for such a huge number of people who pose no safety risk to their communities is an outrageous violation of human rights and an enormous waste of taxpayer dollars.

It is increasingly disheartening that the White House, and President Obama continue to pursue and double-down on a failed, inhumane and increasingly punitive response to immigrants and their families living and working in the US.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-announces-enhanced-oversight-and-release-procedures-custody-determinations

For interviews, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.

 2015 Ash Wednesday Vigil      By Allie Tunis

 

The Annual Ash Wednesday Vigil at the Elizabeth Detention Center was similar to the previous eighteen. One can't help but wonder when justice will finally prevail for the detained. The Vigil filled with prayer, song, and symbolic acts, took place on the cold, dark street outside this for-profit warehouse. Everyone knows that the conditions inside are far more dreary, but there is an enduring hope that soon common decency, respect, and compassion will lead to reform. 

The Prayer over the Ashes: "God, we call upon your blessings of mercy and hope on these ashes and the ashes of the lives of all detained in this center and everywhere. Out of all the dying that immigrants endure, may transformation that springs from mercy happen here in this Elizabeth Detention Center and in all places of detention."

Leader: "We invite those with ribbons and locks to please come forth first to receive your ashes and then proceed to the fence. We now invite the rest of you to witness a ritual of locks and ribbons to commemorate the nineteen years of vigils and the names of those we know whose lives locked away in detention languished in ashes." 

The song during distribution of the ashes: Woodie Guthrie's "Deportee."
 

The 19th Annual Ash Wednesday Vigil was held on February 18th. The vigil has always been an educational and emotional event. This year was no exception. Individuals from Saint Joseph, The Elizabeth Coalition, Pax Christi, First Friends, and other local social justice organizations  gathered later at Saint Joseph's to warm up over hot soup, listen to enlightening presentations by speakers, and enjoy upbeat motivational music performed by the Catholic Worker Band.

                                                                                        

Kathy O'Leary and Rosa Santana from First Friends spoke about the financial and social costs of detention centers. They began their talk by telling the story of 18-year-old Edgar. He came to this country as an unaccompanied minor and was shuffled around four centers. He was put up for bail at $1,500. By using Go Fund Me, First Friends raised that amount.  

The financial costs outlined in the presentation were quite substantial. On average it costs the government $150/day to put someone up in a detention center. This teamed with the fact that we have a national quota of 34,000 people in immigration detention per day costs the taxpayers a sizable amount.  Keeping people in detention centers doesn't only cost the taxpayer a pretty penny. Items in commissaries in detention centers are subject to a 10% tax. 

While in a supermarket six packs of ramen noodles, the most popular item in the commissary, cost $3.00, it costs 1.03 for one pack in the commissary. This is particularly harsh, considering detainees have extremely limited access to money for even the barest of essentials. They often must rely on their families who are likely dealing with their own financial struggles. The evening provided a clear overview of the issues surrounding immigration detention. It reinforced the importance of working to reform the system. It was great to participate in such an event with like-minded people. While there is still much work to be done it was refreshing to see so many people energized and concerned about the plight of undocumented people in our country. 

Obama Budget HARMS Immigrants!

For Immediate Release: February 4, 2015 Contact: Molly Haigh, 907-750-1999, molly@fitzgibbonmedia.com. Analysis: Obama Budget Harms Immigrants by Funding Increased Detentions and Monitoring WASHINGTON, DC -- The White House announced it’s proposed budget for the 2015 financial year. In response, the Detention Watch Network released the following analysis of how the budget could affect detention levels in the coming year. The new White House Budget would: Increase funding for immigrant detention to $2.4 billion, up from $2.2 billion in FY2014. Bring the total number of detention beds to 34,040 – 40 beds above the congressionally-mandated detention bed quota. Increase funding for ICE Custody Operations by $435.392 million, including 2,760 family detention beds and a 741 bed increase in adult detention. This increase in detention is alarming given the President’s executive action, which should instead result in reduced detention numbers. Provide $122.5 million in funding for “Alternatives to Detention,” ATD, increasing by 29,807 the number of people under this program. Rather than using ATD to decrease the number of people in detention, this budget instead supplements immigrant detention by expanding the system of custody and surveillance to those who would otherwise have been released. Statement from Detention Watch Network Co-Director, Silky Shah: “We are disappointed to see the Obama Administration doubling down on their mass detention policies for immigrants. President Obama’s funding request for an arbitrary and predetermined number of detention beds, many to be filled by families and children, reminds us just how morally and fiscally ruinous this system is. No one should be held behind bars to meet an arbitrary quota set in Washington by politicians-- and President Obama should be ashamed of his role in this ongoing tragedy.” For interviews with the Detention Watch Network in English or Spanish, please contact Molly Haigh at 907-750-1999 or molly@fitzgibbonmedia.com.

Looking Beyond Our Borders: A Celebration of International Human Rights Day

Looking Beyond Our Borders: A Celebration of International Human Rights Day

Saturday, December 13, 2014

9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

San Damiano Hall

127 W. 31st Street

Free & Open to the Public

First Friends Applauds President Obama's Immigration Action!

FIRST FRIENDS OF NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK

Treating Immigrants with Dignity and Compassion

“Scripture tells us, we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger -- we were strangers once, too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.”

Last night was monumental for millions of families around United States and in New Jersey. President Obama kept his promise and provided hope in releasing his highly anticipated Executive Actions on immigration that will provide much needed, temporary relief for millions of families currently suffering under our broken immigration system. These significant changes include an expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), deportation relief for certain parents,  and an end to the highly-controversial Secure Communities program.

This set of crucial actions will allow millions to come out of the shadows and not live in devastating fear that they will be separated from their families by deportation.

However, with hope there is despair for 6 million people who do not qualify for reprieve under the President’s Executive Order. As such, we need to urge Congress to do their job and fix our nation’s broken immigration system.

We urge Congress to work together with the President to enact comprehensive immigration reform that includes welcoming refugees and asylum seekers arriving at our border seeking refuge and protection.

Please take a moment to use visit www.lirs.org and go to LIRS’s Action Center to urge your elected representatives to stand with the President in promoting family unity. Please also call the White House Comment Line at (202) 456-1111 to thank President Obama for standing firm in his commitment to family unity.

First Friends continues to provide wrap around case management services to asylum seekers upon release from detention. We continue to be challenged by housing which limits us getting more individuals out of detention. Please help us create houses of welcome and host an asylum seeker in your home.We need your help to provide winter coats, hat, gloves and a scarf to 5 men released. (3 large, 2 XL).

First Friends need volunteers to visit immigrants in detention. A special need for Spanish speakers and Bengali. Contact Rosa Santana at 908-965-0455 or visitation and firstfriendsnjny.org. 

First Friends’ 16th Annual Vigil

First Friends’ 16th Annual Vigil

                                                                                   By Edwina Gaiser-Marchev

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp before the golden door.”

These inspired words, penned by Emma Lazarus in 1883 and engraved on the pedestal of the statue of Liberty, have been a beacon of welcome for immigrants since the days following World War II. These are words that express the ideal to which our country aspires. Through the influence of this profound poem, the Statue of Liberty gained a new name. She became known as the “Mother of Exiles.” Her torch became the light that would lead new children to American success and happiness. 

Sunday, October 12, 2014 was a particularly beautiful day. The sunlight was warm on the shoulders of all those gathered for the First Friends 16th annual vigil at the Elizabeth Detention Center. Those who gathered were there to “stand up for dignity, justice, and solidarity” They were there on behalf of the unaccompanied migrant children, our immigrant brothers and sisters.

There was an implicit irony in the day’s purpose: to plead for love and protection for the thousands of immigrant children fleeing organized crime, gang violence, poverty and insecurity in their home countries. We know that every day desperate parents are sending their children alone on a treacherous journey to the borders of our country. These parents are sadly reminiscent of Jewish parents in 1930’s Europe who hoped for mercy and protection for their precious children in the homes of non-Jews even as they, the parents, were sent to their deaths in concentration camps all over Eastern Europe. Emma Lazarus, a young Jewish woman of New York privilege, wrote her poem, “The New Colossus,” in response to the violent injustices suffered by Jews in Eastern Europe. Is that history so far behind us that we fail to see the connections?

The march on October 12th was co-sponsored by Pax Christi NJ, American Friends Service Committee, Action 21, NJAID, Casa Esperanza, St. Joseph Social Service Center, and The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless. One could not fail to be edified and inspired by the group that gathered in the sun outside the Elizabeth Detention Center on 625 Evans street. 

Father Jack Martin, a passionate advocate for our most recent immigrants, offered touching words of reflection to begin the program. “I want the world to change from being a dangerous place to a happy place for all. It’s wonderful to be here again,” he said, “to bring attention to the sad reality of the Elizabeth Detention Center as well as other detention centers around the country. We cannot help but be delighted with the beauty of our country. At the same time we must be repentant that our country, blessed as it is, does not carry out our ultimate imperative to treat everyone as an equal with God-given dignity and worthy of respect.”

The detention center itself is highly inconspicuous. It stands at the end of a street lined with nothing but huge warehouses; a tall red brick building with a row of narrow windows positioned along the top rim of the building so high as to defy anyone’s effort to see the sky from the stinginess of their narrow slits. Barbed wire is laced round the windows as a nasty afterthought. Except for a simple sign designating it The Elizabeth Detention Center, one would be hard pressed to deduce that this building was designed to confine our fellow human beings who are seeking refuge in our midst. 

The building itself is a cruel and uninviting edifice. The conditions inside beg forgiveness of all who administrate them. They beg forgiveness of us all because we, by our ignorance and silence, are complicit in their enforcement. In a litany of prayer for the detained, Rev. William Henkel said “We pray for a peaceful spirit as we work and serve among neighbors whose fearfulness prevents generosity from flowering in human hearts.”…..And, then, “We pray for grace and courage as we seek to live up to our nation’s heritage as a haven for the tired, the poor, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

If there is hope, and, of course there always is, it was fueled by the exuberance of the

participants in the demonstration. There were dancers from the Marinera Dancing School. There was a rousing invitation from the Seton Ensemble from Mother Seton Regional High School who sang out, “Go Make a Difference!” Youth from Don Bosco High School & The Speak Out Club made their voices heard for freedom for the oppressed among us.
A particularly touching presentation was made by Eduardo Murillo, a former detainee and unaccompanied minor. His words were so simple….so direct….so profound! “I am grateful for the support of people who were always by my side. I thank God for the opportunity to be here. It was very difficult for me to get here, but my faith kept me going. I had to walk a lot. I had to pass through many dangerous places, but I got here.” A masterpiece of understatement!

A young family, a mom and dad and their lovely twins, stood out in the gathering. The Dad told his story of being a detainee in prison when his wife gave birth to their two children. They had to leave their native land, Colombia, he said “because of the violence there.” Their journey to our country was fraught with anxiety. Their effort to assimilate into our culture was monumental. To think that such effort would be confronted with hatred or deportation makes one’s heart sink with sadness. The rejection of new immigrants is not new, and it is so often based upon fear and the seemingly primal urge to reject “the stranger.” 

The Catholic Worker Band, Filthy Rotten System (Their name was based on the words of Dorothy Day.), gave a stirring rendering of the Woodie Guthrie song, “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).” The words sear into our consciousness if we let them. 

“Some of us are illegal and some not wanted. ….
We died in your hills; we died in your deserts;
We died in your valleys; we died in your plains.
We died ‘neath your trees and we died in your bushes;
Both sides of the river, we died just the same.” 

Anyone reading this article might be asking, “What can I do?” We can call on our legislators to reach out to the unaccompanied children. We can offer our personal love and respect for all of our recent immigrant friends. We can, as the Seton Ensemble sang to us,….

“Go make a difference. We can make a difference.
Go make a difference in the world.
We are the salt of the earth, called to let the people see
The love of God in you and me.
We are the light of the world, not to be hidden but be seen.
We are the hands of Christ reaching out to those in need,
The face of God for all to see.
We are the spirit of hope; we are the voice of peace.
So…let your light shine on, let it shine for all to see.
Go make a difference in the world!
And the spirit of Christ will be with us as we go.
GO! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Be peace! Be the change you want to see in the world.

Father Martin’s words were a promise of hope to all when he said, “We intend to keep doing these protests until all the detention centers are closed.” 

Do not be discouraged! There may be a great deal of horror in the world. It often feels overwhelming. Our call is to resist it every chance we get….every way we can. There is a continuum of activism. Do something small like giving a dollar to a homeless person, donating clothing and toys, giving your time to visit a detention center. Heroic acts are admirable. We are grateful for a Gandhi, a Martin Luther King, a Mother Theresa, and a Dorothy Day. However, we must not underestimate the collective power of good folks like those who gathered on October 12th to stand in solidarity outside the Elizabeth Detention Center. And we must never underestimate the worthiness of each one of our personal acts of loving kindness. As Mother Theresa so wisely reminds us, “No act of kindness is too small!”

First Friends assists and supports both detained and released detainees. First Friends is a non-profit organization that upholds the inherent humanity and dignity of all immigrants. They provide visitors and non-legal assistance for immigrants held in detention and work for improved conditions. They advocate for the end of arbitrary mass detention, believing detention is morally wrong, legally suspect, and wasteful of taxpayer funds. To become better acquainted with First Friends, visit their website: www.firstfriendsnjny.org. Click on DONATE tab to generously support the work of First Friends !!!