April 2007
Hello, my friends!
"Mr. Tim. We have a big problem. INS came into the complex this morning looking for a man living at Miriam's house," he explained to me in Spanish.
This was every undocumented resident's nightmare: Immigration! Beating on the door!
"Did they find him?" I asked.
"No. They kept knocking and when Miriam answered they told her who they were looking for, asked for her papers and began looking through the house. They terrified the daughter."
Jemillin is a fragile and very tender hearted second grader. She's a daughter to me, too!
"When they couldn't find the man," Oscar continued, "they went to the front of the complex and stopped everyone coming in and out of the property. They arrested six men and carried them away in their van."
"This is terrible news," I said. Anna, the mother of several of the kids at the mission then came up to me.
"Mr. Tim. What about Daisy? Can I send her to school? What happens if they arrest her on the way to school? What will happen if I can't find her?"
I shook my head in disbelief. How can this be happening? "Anna, I'm not sure what to tell you," I said in Spanish. "I'll make some phone calls and get back to you." She nodded her head in understanding, her face racked with concern.
Later, I called Jean - a friend of mine who specializes in Immigration Law. "Jean, I have a family that is afraid that their children may be arrested on their way to school. What's your take on that? Can they arrest minors?"
"Absolutely! If the parents are illegal, they are illegal. The INS can take children, parents, whomever they please. They have deportation centers full of families. Many times the father is taken leaving the families to fend for themselves."
I knew she was right. I got in touch with my manager friends and families and told them what I had learned. Obviously, everyone was concerned. INS had come to Azalea several times since this first incident. At least eight families had left the complex during the night.
I went over to the mission. Jouvens, my partner at Azalea, said, "It looks like a ghost town." I had to agree. In my Bible study that morning I read how we were supposed to take care of "widows and orphans and strangers in this country." I thought about Anna's fear of losing her children. From time to time I have church people yell at me about "helping all these illegals." As one cop friend told me, "If we look hard enough, we can always find you doing something illegal." All I know is God has called me to share the Good News. Whether they have a green card is the least of my worries. I want to keep them out of hell, not out of America.