On a warm day in early August, I park my car in an unused lot between stores and office buildings. Dozens of folks are walking toward some trees next to the sidewalk carrying water bottles, and sun hats, and signs – I’ve found the right place. I pull on my clergy collar and rainbow stole and carry my Love Your Neighbor sign. Within a few minutes after, there are hundreds of us, our attention turned toward a small office building. We are Bearing Witness @ ICE.
An organizer comes to the mic to welcome us. “We are here to support the dignity and rights of every immigrant.” He shares the story of this moment in this place. Inside the ICE facility, detainees are held in converted conference rooms, with no beds, no natural light, no clocks. Immigrants sleep on concrete floors with a toilet in the middle of a room. There is no soap. Sanitary products are not available for those menstruating. This is cruel and unusual punishment. Lawyers are not allowed to see clients being held here, and detainees are not able to contact their families. Due process is not available. We are within sight of the Burlington Mall.
The gathered crowd walks slowly down the sidewalk. Just before we begin to walk, our conveners ask us three questions. Are you here because you support immigrants? We cry, yes. Do you support the Constitution? We cry, yes. Are you committed to nonviolent witness? We cry, yes. We walk or wheel or use rollators toward the main road chatting and holding banners and flags.
One Friday we gather with Blanca. She has been called to an appointment at 7:45am and no one knows whether she will come back out of the building. Hundreds of us sing and pray with her. The wind blows through the trees and I find myself praying that the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and love (Hebrew: ruah – the breath of God) will blow through this innocuous-looking parking lot and move through the hearts of everyone in the ICE building. We don’t know why and we don’t know whether our presence helped, but Blanca is released – for now.
Every time I attend, I see people I know from Lexington, Arlington, Burlington. Last week that included Pilgrim folks.
There is power in these gatherings. Immigrants called into appointments know their neighbors care for them. The people who work in that facility are asked by their neighbors to follow legal and ethical standards and treat every human being with dignity and due process. For the foreseeable future, I’ll be there, most Wednesdays, 11-1. Bearing Witness. Would you join us? Feel free to email me if you’d like to coordinate.
Pastor Reebee
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