By Caroline Pitchkolan
I am a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in social work on the pre-law track. I interned for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center this summer with their legal staff.
This nonprofit organization offers affordable legal assistance and advocacy for immigrants all around the world.
My experiences meeting with clients at detention centers and watching immigration court brought me a more extensive understanding of the urgency of community support for immigrants.
Detention center visits were unsettling.
Upon entering the El Paso Service Processing Center, I was greeted by a small painting of a rainbow. The irony of such a beautiful and peaceful sign being displayed in a detention center was shocking. Every time I saw the rainbow, I thought about all the abuse, violence, trafficking and hate crimes these detained immigrants have gone through.
The detention officers didn’t have to read the horrific memos or listen to any of our clients’ life stories as we did. They didn’t have to watch people break down and cry when we asked questions about their life experiences. They didn’t see what we saw.
They either had a pure lack of awareness or lack of compassion, or both. To be proud of detaining and deporting people seeking asylum or a better way of life is inhumane and incomprehensible.
Unaccompanied juvenile court works with immigrant children who have no legal guardian in the United States.
While waiting to listen to unaccompanied juvenile court hearings, I witnessed Estrella del Paso, a friend organization of Las Americas, hand out fidget toys to the children awaiting their court hearings. Some kids were holding the toy with a blank face, while others were using it, knowing the joy was soon to flee.
When we entered the courtroom, we witnessed child after child sit at the stand. None of these children had legal representation, nor understood what was taking place.
The confusion on the faces of these children has left a haunting imprint on my mind. The attorney for the government was fighting the children with such ease – threatening to come for the children the day they turned 18, arguing against children who had been trafficked, and fighting with the judge for having a sense of sympathy for their situations.
I had never seen something so heartless happen in front of my eyes. One of our clients in court had just been released on bond that morning and was back in court again. How could wins and joy escape us so fast? Any wins never felt long enough.
The ruthless nature of the current administration has created an environment of panic that we can’t downplay. The government tells a narrative filled with deception.
Immigrants with lawful permanent residency and valid visas are being detained. They are being unlawfully picked up and taken to live in centers that don’t adequately care for people.
Advocating and fighting for our clients can feel nearly impossible when your own government is arguing against you.
We even witnessed the government’s attorneys try to entice our clients’ attorneys to come over to their side because the pay was better – like a cold business transaction.
Las Americas staff gave me hope to prevail, though. It was incredibly empowering to observe such a great team of intelligent, dedicated and caring people.
Their collaboration and thought that went into decisions was inspiring. To be part of such a resilient team was an honor. With detrimental cuts to Las Americas’ funding, they are in desperate need of assistance from the community.
My experience made it clear to me that we have to stand up for El Paso, our community, and immigrants in need, young and old, by supporting Las Americas.
For more information on how to volunteer or donate, visit las-americas.org/.
Caroline Pitchkolan is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin majoring in social work. She interned for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center this summer.
The post Opinion: The fear created by immigration enforcement is real — and we can’t ignore it appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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