Subject: Immigration Prayer Request from Jim Brenneman > Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2016 15:33:12 -0600
I wanted to update the mission commission on what is going on with immigration at the Texas border. Over the last couple of weeks immigration and specifically border crossings by family units with children have dropped drastically. My sources through the Catholic diocese here in south Texas are telling me this is because of a major shift in the administrations policy towards these persons. Previously they were finger printed, given a court date to appear (sometimes given an ankle monitor) and released to family members or re-settled in other areas of the country to await a court date on their asylum request. As you might imagine many of these people did not appear at their court hearing for asylum. Within the last couple of weeks ICE has started to detain these people and placed them in two large detention centers at Karnes and Dilley , Texas. These detention centers are in extremely remote areas of Texas with limited or no access to attorneys, family or other advocates. > ICE has not publicly stated how long they will detain people in these centers (which are rumored to have deplorable living conditions) before deporting them back to the country of origin. We do know that it is a relatively short period of time. Without time or resources to make an effective request for asylum ICE is going through the motions of allowing asylum requests but in fact is just detaining people for a few weeks and sending them back. So as I said the number of Central Americans crossing the border are down drastically as they hear about this new policy. > I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know about the living conditions in many Central American countries but these people don't just leave family and the only home they have ever known on a whim and make a 2-3 week journey on foot or on top of freight trains to the US border. They are in fear of gangs and in their home countries and are in desperate poverty. > It pains me to know that my country is treating the "least of these" in such a way. > > Anyway, this is somewhat lengthy but I want the commission and the larger church to have a better understanding of what is going on here. You may disseminate this information as you see fit. > > Peace > > Jim > > It's an Upside Down Kingdom
