From the front lines: no invasion of ‘criminal’ refugees

Ispent 2½ weeks from mid-december to January on the border in El Paso, Texas, working in one of the more than 10 shelters run by a charity that provides support to refugees immediately following their release from ICE custody to begin their journey to sponsors to advance their legal asylum claims. My shelter housed up to 80 to 100 people some nights.

I feel compelled to tell the truth about border crossings to dispel the enraging lies of the White House, bolstered by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and harbored in complicit silence by Republicans in Congress, including Sen. Rob Portman.

Shelters receive refugees immediately following their release from 7 to 10 days of Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Volunteers respectfully feed, clothe, provide showers and lodging.

Very importantly, volunteers connect the refugees with their sponsors and coordinate travel to their sponsors to begin the court asylum process. Shelters receive no governmental support, financial or otherwise. This support system exists all along our southern border, generally operated by various religious organizations.

There is a profound border humanitarian crisis, one originated and perpetuated by the White House through its odious nationalistic policies. I met more than 500 refugees and saw no evidence of a crisis spurred by an “invasion” of criminals, adults or traffickers using children as props, rapists or drug runners.

Most crossing are Central Americans seeking compassion and safety from the horrific dangers they face in their countries. According to U.S. law, crossings to surrender to Border Agents and petition for asylum can be made at ports of entry or other points along the border.

The people were gentle, many deeply religious, and the families close and loving. They were hardworking, taking responsibility for, and pride in, cleaning the entire shelter each day. Volunteers ended their day around 10 p.m., but one volunteer each night would sleep in the shelter in case of emergency and to dispense medicine. I spent numerous nights alone on that shift and not for one second feared for my safety.

Many refugees were very sick, especially little ones, not from their journey, but from the torturous conditions of seven to 10 days in ICE captivity. Consistent refugee accounts were that groups of 12 to 25 were held together in overcrowded concrete cells with no heat (it snowed) and only mylar blankets (like aluminum foil) for warmth. They slept on the floor, so close together that walking was impossible.

There were no showers and only communal toilets. The food was cold, generally sandwiches. There is no reason for ICE to maltreat people like this unless they want to dissuade others from legally seeking asylum.

When ICE buses dropped off refugees, a wonderful volunteer nurse from West Virginia watched for who needed medical attention, especially children or babies. Flu was rampant. Some days I spent day and night taking children to the ER and to a local doctor who would treat the little ones with compassion and kindness and the parents with respect. Although prescriptions were at noninsurance prices, the hospitals and doctors never asked who would pay. They just cared for the children like they were their own. That is my country.

Multiple little ones were admitted to the hospital. One baby, sent immediately upon shelter arrival from ICE, was admitted to ICU for five days. At discharge, the ICU nurse told me three more hours without treatment and the baby would have died. That volunteer nurse saved the baby’s life.

My encounters and experiences along the border were not unique, based on conversations with “permanent” volunteers. I have spent many weeks in Greece working in refugee camps, but this was different. This is my country; a country I want to believe desires to open its arms to those in need, rather than cross them with disdain and disgust and spew blatant lies to support a political ideology that effectively denounces our humanity.

This can be solved. If the administration can build “temporary” refugee child prisons for 7,000 in nine months and send thousands of troops to the border, it can find a way to process asylum seekers quickly, safely, with fairness and dignity. That is not complicated. That is compassion and justice.

That is what this country should stand for. If you disagree, I challenge you to volunteer at a border shelter. Then we can talk.