Issue 20: "Because I was living in the desert, in Adelanto, where there weren’t any flowers"
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: a domestic violence survivor adapts to life outside Adelanto, and an asylum seeker from Cameroon shares hope and a family recipe.
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.
After Surviving Years of Domestic Abuse, and Years in Detention, Anna Finally Looks to the Future
Anna came to the United States in 2008 on a J1 visa from Russia, where she was a victim of physical and sexual assault. The authorities did nothing to investigate. In the U.S. she lived with a Russian man in Los Angeles, and their relationship quickly turned abusive. He forced her to assist with his business, emailing clients and scanning documents. In 2016 they both were arrested for emailing fake documents, even though Anna was forced to do this work against her will and did not know it was criminal behavior.
Anna served two years in the Metropolitan Detention Center before she was transferred to ICE detention at Adelanto for another two years.
“It still feels surreal to be out. I spend a lot of time going to social services. The process of applying for various documents and services takes forever, and they keep sending you to different offices. It’s crazy and overwhelming. I need to be driven everywhere, and I’m lucky and blessed to have all these people helping me, because I don’t know how I would have done anything on my own.
I see flowers, and they’re blooming and I stop to smell them, because I was living in the desert, in Adelanto, where there weren’t any flowers. And they smell so beautiful...”
Read Anna’s inspiring story here.
After 2 Years in Detention, Achiri is Working on a "Recipe" for Success
Achiri arrived at the US border in July, 2017 after fleeing political persecution in Cameroon. After requesting asylum, he then spent the next two years being transferred from one immigration detention center to another. He was finally released on October 28th on a $25,000 bond plus ankle bracelet.
The idea to start a food truck came after his recipes received rave reviews from family and friends. Achiri enrolled in an online course and quickly earned a certificate in food handling. But he just as quickly learned that starting his own food prep business in California would require more than a certificate - a lot more. He originally envisioned buying a food truck, but he estimates that at around $35,000, the cost would be far more than he could afford.
This is his recipe for beignets and haricots, a popular street food in Cameroon:
If you can, consider donating to Achiri’s GoFundMe, where he is raising money to buy a food truck. Read his full story here.
Get involved:
In an age of pandemic, it is important to think about all those in jail, prison, and detention right now. There are big, important fights ahead. But one tangible, immediate thing we can all do now to help free people is donate to local bond/bail funds. Find your local fund here.
Freedom for Immigrants is working to keep a family together while the Trump administration continues its deportation and detention machine amid COVID-19. Please consider donating to their GoFundMe so that they can secure legal representation.
Join one of the many local calls to #FreeThemAll!
Here is a graphic to support the release of all immigrants detained in Louisiana immigrant prisons. Call-in script available at the bit.ly link.