One of the people the Fellowship has been supporting as they seek asylum has been reunited with her family here in the Fox Valley. She was a pre-teen when she was separated from her mother at the border, held in detention for 8 months, and then sent to live in a series of problematic foster homes in the United States. Her mother, in separate detention, was told she would be reunited with her daughter if she signed a document. She did so not knowing what it said, and was then taken to the airport where she had been told she’d meet up with her daughter. Instead, they deported her alone back to El Salvador. Her daughter has now been in the US for 3.5 years without her.
PBS did a special segment on them recently: http://bit.ly/pbsspecial
Because the family separation policy — and this specific case — involved violations of US laws and protocols regarding child migrants and asylum seekers, efforts are being made to bring some of the separated families to the US on legal visas to reunite them with their children. This family has been included in this effort, and arrived on June 19th. As is often the case with refugees, there has been a very long wait punctuated by sudden permission and their impending arrival, with much uncertainty and little time to prepare on this end!
We are working with the Quaker worship group to find housing for the family, along with various forms of support. While the family will have legal status, it is unclear what kind of assistance they will be eligible for.
We all watched in horror as the child separation policy unfolded at the border a few years ago. Many of us have been alternately dismayed and encouraged by the current administration’s actions regarding refugees and asylum seekers. Well, we have a chance, right here and right now, to help partially remedy a great wrong that was done. Can we come together in support of this family?
Thank you for your support! Contact Marie Luna at [email protected] or 920-731-0849 with questions or suggestions on resources or other ways we can help this family acclimate to the Fox Valley.
What is needed:
- The most useful and flexible thing at this point would be financial assistance for rent, food and other expenses in the short term. They will have work permits and hopefully will be able to find jobs fairly quickly. You can write a check made out to FVUUF and mail it to 2600 Philip Lane, Appleton, WI 54915 (memo line: immigration justice). If you want to pay online, go to fvuuf.org/give – Choose Online Giving or GivePlus Mobile(search for Give Plus in APP store or Google Play to download the free app), then select Immigration Justice Fund. To text a donation, text 833-278-1690, enter the amount, space, IMJ (ex: 100.00 IMJ) Or mail a check to the Fellowship with “IMJ” in the memo line.
- We are also seeking donations for their new apartment. You can see the list needed and sign up here: http://bit.ly/apartmentneeds
