Issue 2: "You will be responsible for my death."
Welcome to this week’s edition of IMM Print Weekly, 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 communities, celebrate the work of those advocating for detention abolition, and provide resources on how to get involved.
In this week’s edition: an asylum seeker from Nicaragua recounts abuse by U.S. border officials, three Dreamers affirm that they are #HereToStay, and a young woman from Angola, detained for over 2 years, pleads for freedom.
Young Nicaraguans, facing violence at home, face more abuse at the U.S. border
Waiting in Tijuana because of the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, Jonathan Rayo Lopez has just a few days left until his asylum court hearing. Jonathan, like thousands of other young Nicaraguans, fled his home because the country’s president, Daniel Ortega, has killed hundreds of young people since the start of the protests of April, 2018. This is does not include the hundreds of children and young people that are missing.
When he arrived at the border, U.S. immigration office asked him to sign a paper in English he couldn’t understand. When he refused, the guard put him on his knees, made him put his hands on his head, and forced him to look at the wall for an hour.
“The guard replied, “I don’t care, you are not going to get political asylum. I am going to deport you back to your country." Jonathan then said, “If you deport me back to my country the government is going to kill me and you will be responsible for my death." The guard was surprised and asked, “Who told you to talk to me like that?” Jonathan replied “No one told me. I read the United States Constitution and it says that the U.S. is supposed to open its doors for people coming from a different country and seeking refuge."
Read the rest of Jonathan’s story here.
The resilient dream
In his series Immigrants Are US, award-winning photographer Mark Tuschman photographed and interviewed over 100 immigrants across varied socio-economic and documentation status.
These are their stories and this is their home.
"I am scared to go back, and I don’t know what I can prepare myself for."
Aminata (whose name has been changed for her protection) arrived in the U.S. from Angola when she was 19 years old. She just celebrated her 23rd birthday in ICE detention.
“And I have been locked up for 2 years and 3 months as if I had committed a crime, but I am just a simple immigrant. The only crime I committed was entering the United States in an illegal manner. I need your help. Please. I now have gastric problems since I have been here. For the love of God, please help me get out, even on probation.
If I wasn’t scared of this problem that I had in my country, I couldn’t have fled Angola for the United States because I knew the USA was the number one in the world for human rights and liberties, but to my surprise it’s already been two years and three months that I’ve been locked up in detention.”
Read the full letter she wrote us from the El Paso Processing Center. Unfortunately, her current whereabouts are unknown.
Get involved
If you are in the LA County area, Tony-nominee Norm Lewis will host a night of singing and storytelling on November 8 at the Sayers Club to raise money for Freedom for Immigrants.
Tickets and information available here.
Freedom for Immigrant’s eastern Iowa affiliate is hosting a charity dinner on October 29.
Details found here.
If you are moved by these stories and want to do help, please consider a paid subscription to IMMPrint Weekly. We use the money for our National Bond Fund, which frees immigrants from detention and allows for them to fight their case from outside of a cell.
To share your story, reach out to Cindy Knoebel at cknoebel@freedomforimmigrants.org or Rebekah Entralgo at rentralgo@freedomforimmigrants.org.