After a brief hiatus, IMM Print Weekly, has returned!
IMM Print Weekly is a newsletter that showcases the stories of detained immigrants and their allies. We seek to shine a light on how immigrant prisons and jails impact human beings and their communities.
In this week’s edition: a poem from a Cameroonian immigrant and a letter to the Governor of Louisiana.
Freedom for Immigrants is continuing to raise money for our National Bond Fund. Since we launched our bond fund, we have bonded out over 260 people, paying over $1.6 million. If any of the stories we’ve published in IMM Print have moved you, please consider donating here.
“Resting in the Lord" / "Bars"
Malex Meh, a Cameroonian woman who had been detained until earlier this year at Otay Mesa, sent us two poems about hope and resilience. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
Listen, support, and learn from Black immigrants
BARS
With an eagle's wing I fly
Fly away from trials
Tribulations never ceased
Cold is the nest I perch to live in
Annoying the sound of bell
But rules are imminent
The bars seem bigger by the day
And all I have is hope
Hope for a new dawn
Though the tunnel looks longer
Long not to see the end
For the wind will take you there.
Read both of her poems here.
From LaSalle Processing Center: "We are currently on quarantine."
Louisiana ranks among the top ten states hit hardest by the virus (as measured by cases per one million people), with over 44,000 confirmed cases and nearly 3,000 deaths.
Immigrants detained at the LaSalle Processing Center, which currently has 6 reported cases of COVID-19, have written this letter addressed to Gov. John Bel-Edwards. In the letter they express their fear of the virus but also their frustration at the lack of action:
“We don’t know if our letters are actually reaching your office or the fact that you are also less concerned for our lives. We say so because to date, know one that we know of, be he with chronic health conditions or older detainees, are yet to be released from this facility.”
Read their full letter here and share on social media, tagging the Louisiana Governor.