Guest commentary and photos by Sharon Kutz-Mellem
Zero tolerance. Human beings seeking asylum from dangerous situations in their own countries, yet denied due process in ours. Children as young as 11 months old ripped from their parent’s arms, separated and screaming in terror. Children in cages covered in shiny Mylar blankets sleeping on cement floors – in the United States of America – in 2018.
By now, we have all seen these disturbing images. Thankfully, a federal court judge ordered the U.S. government to halt family separation of immigrants. But the damage had been done. One official with U.S. Customs and Border Protections said from May 6 to May 19 of this year, 658 children were separated from their parents due to the zero-tolerance policy.” However, we really don’t know the true tally. The numbers of children seem to change daily. Even with a court order to reunify the children, the deadlines have come and gone. Families are still separated. Some parents were deported without their children. It seems that the U.S. government never had a plan to reunify these families in the first place. Zero tolerance = zero consequences for our government.
In May and through most of June, I grieved and raged about the treatment of these families. I had nightmares. These were truly evil acts contrary to my beliefs as a follower of Jesus and as a Presbyterian ruling elder. Jesus calls us to welcome the stranger, to suffer the little children, to do unto the least of these. Apparently, I was not alone in my rage and sorrow. In late June I spotted a notice on Twitter about a new group called AbuellasResponden/GranniesRespond. This was a group of grannies (and others) who were outraged by the government’s inhumane treatment of immigrant children and their families. The plan was to caravan 2,000 miles from New York City to McAllen, Texas, to raise awareness about the situation of immigrants at our borders. I clicked on the link and immediately signed on. It was an answer to prayer.
In a little more than five weeks, grannies from every walk of life and every religious background formed a caravan that departed from New York City. We stopping to share our outrage in Reading and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Louisville, Kentucky; Montgomery, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Houston and McAllen, Texas. Other vehicles joined us along the way — one from as far away as Alaska and several from the West Coast. Others joined us in New Orleans and Houston. Our demands are less about changing border policy and more about human decency: “All children must be returned to their families immediately. Families must be kept together at all times and no child should be isolated from their loved ones. U.S. immigration policy must reflect the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. All human beings must be treated equally, fairly, and with decency.”
I was surprised to find that at each stop we were greeted warmly by large crowds of like-minded people. Strangers housed us. Most of the grannies did not know each other prior to this trip, but we formed deep bonds and even deeper resolve to do whatever we could to end the human misery caused by U.S. immigration policy. When we reached McAllen we were ready to learn and to participate in 24 hours of action and service. We partnered with local groups such as the Angry Tias and Abuelas of Rio Grande Valley. They bring backpacks filled with essential items to asylum seekers waiting to enter the country — many who often have to wait for days with little or no food or water and only the clothes on their backs. In July, one of the original members of the Angry Tias and Abuelas of Rio Grande Vialey, ruling elder Joyce Hamilton, brought this ministry to the session of her church, Treasure Hills Presbyterian Church in Harligen, Texas. The session approved and now the church stores snacks, water and personal care items. Backpack stuffing events are held weekly and sometimes twice weekly as the need arises. Pastor Charles Palmer and elders Rosemary Courtney and Maria David shepherd this important ministry along with session and congregational support.
While in McAllen, I learned about the heart-wrenching process an immigrant faces at the border: Immigrants are arrested by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and detained in a facility simply for fleeing danger and violence and seeking a safe place for their families. They spend a night in a room called the “ice box,” which is kept very cold (the rational is that it kills disease). Families, at last report, are no longer being separated, but housed in cells without beds and sleep on concrete floors with those infamous Mylar blankets. They are processed and given a unique “A” (or alien) number and then paroled until their asylum hearing. An ICE bus then takes them to the Greyhound bus station. If they have a ticket supplied by a sponsor, they are left at the station with only their paperwork and little or no money, food or water. If they do not have a ticket, they are walked over to the Humanitarian Respite House run by Catholic Charities where they can shower, get clothing, food and a bed for the night.
On my last day in McAllen, I held the hand of a little girl and walked with her and her father from the bus station to the Respite House. I will never forget her tiny hand in mine and her sweet curious face looking in the store windows as we walked by. Never. I am my brother and sister’s keeper. Jesus said to love God and to love each other, but he never said it would be easy. That is the charge and Great Commandment we who claim to follow Jesus have been given. Along with the great human tragedy that is taking place each day, I have witnessed churches and relief organizations, mission teams and even individuals lovingly helping their brothers and sisters. We who claim to follow Jesus must help too.
SHARON KUTZ-MELLEM is a ruling elder and member of Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. She is recently retired after serving congregations in southern Indiana for more than a decade as a commissioned ruling elder.
