Layer upon layer upon....

I spoke at my church last Sunday, and then sent out this email for those who weren't there.  Here's what I shared:

Hi friends,

Thank you for giving me the chance to speak at church today.  Thinking about what to share, and then having that opportunity was a good way to process my experience in San Antonio.  Your support and kindness mean the world to me!  I am also including a bible verse that feels meaningful to me, and connected to this issue in ways I can't totally put words to.  

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

-Jen

Matthew 6:24 

 Nadie puede servir a dos amos al mismo tiempo, porque aborrecerá al uno y apreciará al otro; será fiel al uno y del otro no hará caso. No pueden servir al mismo tiempo a Dios y al dinero.

“You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around.

Elizabeth asked me to speak for a few minutes about my experience in San Antonio.  As many of you may already know, I was a volunteer for RAICES, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.  My job was to serve as an observer in immigration court, take notes about significant interactions and outcomes to share with RAICES.  Originally I was going to be volunteering at the Karnes detention facility, however, because of the current administration’s fear and intolerance around refugees, there were not people at the detention facility that needed the support I could provide.  Currently, people fleeing their home country, many from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, in search of a safe haven are being forced to wait in border towns in Mexico while they await outcomes of their asylum hearings.  Keep in mind, this process is long-going on for months and months on end.  I could talk on and on about the many reasons this is a terrible policy that hurts people, but in my short time I want to share what I witnessed in person.

As a court observer, I was often the only other person besides the judge, DHS Department of Homeland Security lawyer, and the interpreter in the courtroom.  Where were the refugees you might wonder?  They were present on a screen, over short circuit TV, and very very few had lawyers.  Some were in detention facilities, and others presented from a tent court, in Brownsville, the refugees who are forced to remain in Mexico as they seek protection and safety.

I observed six different judges, ½ a day each, and thankfully, most of them appeared to implement the current law in the fairest way possible.  One judge, however, was surly, arrogant, impatient, and appeared to be uncaring or unable to feel the fear or desperation that the refugees clearly communicated even in the sterile environment of a courtroom, even over short circuit TV.  I found myself wishing HE could live through some of the experiences the refugees were describing, kidnapping, witnessing murders of friends or family, and living in constant fear.  I wished that he could try living in a Mexican border town with little money, nagging hunger, and lack of bathroom or shower facilities.  And would you figure, I just keep thinking about Judge Adams.  I continue to puzzle.  I’ve written him letters in my mind, had many imaginary conversations with him since sitting in his courtroom.  And, at some point, I will write him a note of some sort.

But for now, I continue to puzzle.  I puzzle over the capacity for humans to be resilient and for kind people to stand up to unkind people in small and in large ways.  I puzzle over the meaning of being witness to other people’s suffering face to face, and also from a distance.

During my time, one thing I witnessed again and again, were people who aren’t going to give up and who hold hope for change.  For every judge Adams, there are hundreds of people giving every amount of energy they have toward helping refugees.  In every situation, from the bailiff who handed people tissues, the Lyft driver who asked with genuine curiosity about my volunteer time, and the kind Texan gentleman who bought me lunch after hearing about what I’d witnessed.  There are children donating stuffed animals, college graduates doing legal research and on the ground grunt work, and SO many pro bono lawyers with savvy and grit and big hearts.  There is “Team Brownsville”, a group in Texas delivering meals across the border to the tent cities of waiting refugees.  And many many more people doing work that is seen and unseen.

I may never know the motivations of Judge Adams.  But, I will not be in doubt of the motivations and intentions of so many people using their voices, money, education, and privilege to help refugees.  And thanks to this community, I was able, and will continue to educate myself and share with others about the plight of those seeking asylum and ways we can all be a support.

And I will pray for Judge Adams.  I hope you will too.

Thank you.