Tucson: Immigrant-Welcoming City

This post is an update regarding the three Tucson community members, Arturo, Agustin, and Rosa, who were taken into ICE custody on October 8th despite peaceful protest from Southside Presbyterian Church members and the broader Tucson community. Here is my previous blog post on this topic if you want a refresher: Ni Una Mas Continued. Thankfully, all three of them were soon thereafter released on bond! They are still waiting about the details of their cases, however. In the meantime, they can be with their families and go back to work. 

Additionally, these three can advocate for the undocumented community that continues to live in fear of simple infractions that lead to polimigra cooperation and deportation. You can read about some of the follow-up here: October 21st follow-up article. This time, the Tucson community decided to exercise their rights to have their voices be heard at a public forum with the City Council. 

The word went around to gather the community on October 22nd, so Amy Beth and I went to show our support. Steph wanted to go, especially because she was part of the spontaneous non-violent protest (Fuera Polimigra is about our experience with the incident), but she could not get back from work in Florence in time, so we helped recap the meeting for her when we got home. 

I can honestly say I've never been to a City Council meeting before! The idealist in me was excited to see the community and its democratically elected leaders working together, and I hoped something would come of this more than disgruntled activists voices finding a space to vent and then being forgotten. Many waited outside City Hall in anticipation, and we've discovered you get to see a few of the same faces taking time out of their lives to do justice work.

The media is here too!

Delicate shadows befall the center of the city at 5pm.

When it was time to enter, community members passed one-by-one through a metal detector and bag search, for our safety of course. Amy Beth and I walked through the double doors past security and into the hall just as a prayer for actions under good conscious was beginning. I at first wondered if that was because many of the community members were from Southside Presbyterian to support their fellow community members who do not have what is considered proper authorization to exist in this country, however, I soon learned it is customary. Customary? Customary to have prayer in one religious tradition when we purport to abide by religious freedom through the Bill of Rights for all?

Separation-of-church-and-state commentary aside, the room filled despaciadamente, gradually, after the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance as people got out of work. Hey Amy Beth! (She's in the blond ponytail and black shirt).

I just kept sneaking photos as the City Council went through their usual business.

For a while the audience was mainly members of the allied community, and I was worried members of the affected community would not be able to or would be afraid to come. But they are amazingly "undocumented and unafraid," and eventually filled the room with members from the Southside Worker Center and Corazon de Tucson (community organizations that provide networks of support for day laborers and families of varying immigration statuses)!

In the back row sat Arturo, one of the men taken into custody on October 8th, and his family.

Hey Miquitzli! He's in the green shirt and one of the main organizers at the Southside Worker Center.

After the City Council got through what they had to, the mayor made an announcement: "I think most people here tonight for the call to the audience, so I will extend the call to the audience to one hour." He went out of his way to recognize the time and presence of all here to speak directly to City Council about their concerns for the community. Three minutes per person is not a lot of time, but it keeps things moving and ensures fairness to all who submitted their name ahead of time. Another note of appreciation, this City Council was basically gender balanced! 

Various cameras stayed perpetually pointed towards the podium when it became time for the community to speak. This young woman was first on the docket, saying, "I have always thought of Tucson as a welcoming city to all people," and demanding an end to the polimigra and attacks on brown people.

Next, this woman spoke of her plight as an occupier. Her home was foreclosed on in 2011, and she has been occupying it since. She appealed to City Council's authority and purpose to represent the wellbeing of the community, which she certainly did not think was happening, especially with regard to the transitory lives of many of Tucson's people of lower socioeconomic status.

Another group with members interspersed throughout the lineup wanted to hold the City Council accountable for its first plan to turn a private golf course into a family golf center. This group argued that since the initial plans had been made, different deals have taken place without public knowledge that would instead increase gentrification instead of opening the course up to the public. And it was fascinating who all put in their two cents about the October 8th incident and the collaboration between local police and immigration authorities. 

An immigration law professor added his legal knowledge and perspective to the incident at Southside, saying he had talked to the prior police chief before Chief Villaseñor, and with this new chief, he has work to do. This professor emphasized that the "show me your papers" part of SB 1070 section that requires local police to ask people to provide legal documentation has qualifiers, such as "reasonable suspicion" and "as practicable" so as to not hinder the processing of the original offense. The language in SB 1070 gives local police considerable discretion as to investigate someone's immigration status and further call Border Patrol or ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). And beyond that, as I've mentioned in prior blog entries, police need to have a reason other than immigration status first, such as traffic stops or another violation of law, and they are only allowed to hold the person as long as it would normally take to process the other offense, not any longer to purposely wait for Border Patrol. Consequently, the professor called for an investigation into not only policy, but also practices and procedures within the police force that will be in conformity with Tucson being an immigrant-welcoming city.

The room stood up to cheer when one of the victims of the October 8th incident was called to the podium. Arturo brought his family, and he brought the room to tears.

Another mother from Corazon de Tucson filmed on her iPad, and I snuck around to get photos from the front.

Rosa, the community member who was swept off the sidewalk for just being present outside Southside on October 8th, is here in the blue shirt next to another woman from Corazon de Tucson and Agustin, also detained that night.

Arturo captivated the room in Spanish and the interpretation of his words in English. He explained how he did not understand why the police questioned him when he was simply the passenger. Agustin was the driver of the van without a front license plate light, so he should have been given a ticket y nada mas. But Agustin's documentation status was questioned, and then his passenger, Arturo's, which is quite against the law. And that's just the legal piece.

"We want united families... I hope you look at my children and see the face of America because they are citizens... We must protect families," he pleaded with the City Council, appealing to their hearts and minds alike.

Members of the community...

 ... and members of the press took it all in.

And then the room rose in support.

... Except for one man. He used his three minutes to speak about welcoming illegal aliens as an illegal act (his language, not mine by choice), which in a room full of day laborers and their friends and family, was a rather unpopular sentiment. Another community member 
 They got their three minutes like everyone else through this public process. 

From the Worker Center, Augustin was next up. He was the one who was actually driving the car with the missing front license plate light which catalyzed this whole incident. "I know I'm driving without a license, but so are others... Regarding this law, I ask for discretion. Just stop us, give us a ticket, and stop separating our families," he pleaded. 

"The precedence of Tucson should be to soften city presence so that it supports, not represses... Supports the homeless and undocumented workers... This community is directly affected by deportations. I have so much anger because I am a religious person, and I believe God created this world for all of us to enjoy it."

This student was present on October 8th and said she was a witness to police brutality along with other students, churchgoers, and community members. She declared definitively, "Traffic stops should never result in deportation and separation of families," which ellicited a roaring applause. 

This woman was at Southside and demonstrated how her arm was twisted forcefully by police. "This was a meeting of Southsiders, 50-85 years old..." She told of one woman who is battling cancer and was wearing a scarf over her head, and she was thrown to the ground. She emphasized "These are choices we can make... We can separate the police from Border Patrol... This happened to white people, just imagine what happens to peope with darker skin out in the desert..."

And then a mother and member of Corazon de Tucson came up with her adorable daughters. She tearfully shared how she and her daughters were testigos a esa violencia, witnesses to that violence. Her children asked her, "Why are they [the police] taking your friend? What did she do?" And this mother had to simultaneously scan the entire crowd to confirm that none of them had anything that could hurt anyone, and the only way she could respond to her daughters' fear was to shield them and respond, "I don't know."

"Tucson es una ciudad amigable a inmigrantes" - "Tucson is a city friendly to immigrants" repeated many of those who testified. 

This Samaritan preached about why people are coming, touching on many topics BorderLinks tries to open a space to discuss: NAFTA, federal policy, civil rights, international human rights. He concluded, "'Just following orders' is not good enough for me."

"I was standing 20 feet from the incident. I saw them ask a brown woman for her papers. They didn't ask me for my papers... I saw police pepper spray women my age and older and push them to the ground... I pray to the God of justice who stands with the oppressed, and I think we need to be careful which side we're standing on."

And then Raul came up to introduce fellow organizer and activist Leilani, who in rapid syllables recounted her experience and showed a well-publicized picture of her being pepper sprayed in the face from four feet away. Quoting Dr. King, she said we had a moral responsibility to stand up to unjust laws. She advocated a practice of cite and release and called out the officers for wasting resources and pepper spray - community members acted peacefully and were in fact leaving the scene when they were pepper sprayed without warning. "I also demand an end to police brutality. That's always wrong! ...An immigrant-welcoming city cannot enforce 1070, there's no two ways around that."

Last up was Rosa Leal, wife of Eleazar, and they are one of the world's most adorable couples. "I was only picked up because I'm Hispana. A driver's license isn't a legal document? That's all my information, you don't need anything else... Stop this polimigra, stop the deportations!"

People of all causes were welcome to their three minutes to voice their thoughts to City Council, and while there were a couple other groups talking about different development projects, this man went up by himself to advocate for the legalization of marijuana, saying marijuana usage is a victimless crime and arresting young people especially just throws their lives away. Billions of dollars go towards drug arrests/busts which overwhelmingly targets minorities and young people. 

Meanwhile, Raul worked to organize a group photo. 

"Ni una mas!"

And then Raul was interviewed and translated for several of the affected family members.

Celebrities for justice! 

There you have it. These were just my attempts at grassroots journalism, and here's a real article! Activists Ask Tucson City Council to Change Enforcement of SB1070

Just a few days ago, police chief Villaseñor was interviewed by Channel 4, saying, "'I don't agree with SB 1070. But that doesn't mean I get to say I'm not going to enforce it, because then I don't stand for anything...' We asked Villasenor, 'If you could re-write the law, how would you?' He replied, 'Well, I wouldn't involve local law enforcement. It's not our purview, that's a responsibility of federal government.' Villasenor has repeatedly said he thinks SB 1070 puts local cops in a tough spot." Check out the full article here: TPD Chief fires back on immigration law.
 
Since, on November 8th, another member of the Southside Worker Center has been taken into ICE custody, and actions are happening this week to call for his release. Because us YAVs were in San Francisco for the weekend, I have less knowledge about this case, but this keeps happening to the Tucson community because Villaseñor will continue to enforce the law as he think it should be enforced.  

This Wednesday, members of the Tucson community are once again going to speak with the City Council about continued collaboration between the local police and immigration authorities. I'll keep you posted on what becomes of those talks!

Dwelling

Since I last published on this blog, I have been writing. I've started and left unfinished several trains of thought that I desperately want to finish and share with you. They threaten to burst out of me, but the collective is so large it's overwhelming and I don't even know where to start. The thing is, all of my experiences in Tucson have been so life-giving that I keep drinking in more, that I keep breathing in more without adequate time to reflect, write, and share.

I process best through writing. That's not to say I'm a great writer, it just means I am healthiest when I judiciously choose each individual word and its place because words have meaning, and looking back at my experiences, I want to know I spent the time to express each thought as fully as I could. I still want to tell you all about Operation Streamline, about immigration "reform," about my program's time on our own border delegation in Mexico, about Tucson's way of celebrating Day of the Dead, but that is still to come, I promise.

This weekend us Tucson YAVs have been invited to San Francisco Theological Seminary's Inquirer's Weekend. We are here to learn about the programs and environment the seminary has to offer, and to begin the process of discernment about future careers and the graduate education we would potentially need. Many from our program through the Presbyterian Church (USA) will go on to seminary, and these couple days are foothills to that mountainous path if we feel so called. For Heather, Amy Beth, and I, some sort of theological education or deep church connection runs in our lineage. My momma was ordained towards the beginning of the time frame when it was revolutionary for women to do so (and humans are still in the middle of that time frame), and I think of her often here, especially thinking about her work as a prison chaplain before I was born, as the other man here for Inquirer's Weekend has been doing prison counseling in Texas - phew!

When I sat down with paper in front of me yesterday morning, I was supposed to be devoting my full attention to our brief orientation, but phrases connected to our life in the desert spilled out as doodles in the beautifully arranged and tabbed binder complete with resources for the weekend and beyond. Perhaps all I needed was a change of scenery. And a good night's sleep.

I don't really know what this is, kind-of poetry, kind-of spoken word but written? I cannot claim a culture or upbringing or any sort of education around spoken word, but I imagine the syllables caressing my tongue, spitting out as rapid-fire as my audience could take it, and leaving spaces. Spaces to breathe. Spaces to dwell.

Here we have been called to dwell in God's words. 

And we are dwelling in the beauty of God's creation. 
Changing leaves. 
Hills. 
Fog. 
Micro-climates. 

And it calls me to remember the beauty of the desert that used to take my breath away six times daily, that perhaps I now have gotten too accustomed to, or grown complacent with. 

I have gotten so busy with daily life in the desert and have these amazing experiences all rolling around in my head of the vast world, but my focus gets buried in my bike frame and a street-level panorama.

Responsibility takes me out of the clouds and grounds me, but every so often I need to dance in the sky;

leap from star to star;

dance in the rain! 
when it appears...

What I really want to do is push those pedals until a streetlight stops me and breathe and reflect and soak and dwell. And later write. My head is super-saturated, but my body needed rest. 

In this time of reflection that I can share with you all, I pray that I will never forget those who will may never see the beauty of the desert as I have, and those who face more of the dangers of the desert than I ever will. 

Those who face the sticks and spines of more than just cacti and cholla and burrs, but of polleros, Border Patrol, and barbed wire.

Those who crawl in silence through the deep night in more than just el desierto, but also through the shadows of life without the right kind of documents and the right kind of language. 

Those who are injected with more than just poison of rattlesnakes but of loss, desperation, racism, and repeated discrimination. 

When we return to Tucson, I pray that I will never forget to appreciate the expansive sky and think of all those who journey under it. I pray that I will never forget God who makes the stars twinkle, who touches the horizons, who touches my heart and calls me to walk in Jesus' footsteps to, in some small way, use my life to walk with others out of their time of darkness, however that is manifested. 

Until next time friends.


The passage preached and reflected on this week: Colossians 3:12-17
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God every step of the way.

Rainbow Defense Fund

Through BorderLinks, I have connected with the Southside Worker Center. This is one of the ministries of Southside Presbyterian Church that organizes and fights for the rights of mainly male, undocumented day laborers. One of their main activists, Raul Alcaraz Ochoa, has recognized the need for education around issues of sexism and homophobia, so he and other volunteers have been doing workshops for the past couple of years to shift attitudes in a historically macho environment. In conjunction with the Worker Center's Protection Network that supports the families if a worker is detained, Raul, himself a young gay man, has started this initiative called the Rainbow Defense Fund to support immigrants who may be doubly oppressed by the shadows of the undocumented life and the LGBTQ closet.

"The Rainbow Defense Fund seeks to raise funds for the bond release of migrant prisoners in immigration detention centers in Florence, Arizona. Due to the high rate of systemic abuse and discrimination towards LGBTQ detainees, support and solidarity are critical to ending the plight of our LGBTQ friends in immigration detention." Florence is a city outside of Phoenix whose economy is mainly supported by its four detention centers, including both state and for-profit prisons. It seems most immigrants detained in Tucson end up there.

Especially for my St. Luke readers, this is a project I feel meets St. Luke missions for both immigration and LGBTQ justice. The current need is that the Rainbow Defense Fund is working its hardest to raise $30,000 by the end of October to potentially bond out eight gay and transgender workers who have been in detention for over six months and have therefore qualified for bond hearings. That would allow these migrant prisoners to be released to work and be with their families until their final court ruling, and in many cases where undocumented immigrants fight deportation, they actually have a chance if they have no other criminal charges! If you would consider supporting the Rainbow Defense Fund in any way, that would be so appreciated! If you are not able to give financially but still want to support their work, please tell a friend. Their website is rainbowdefensefund.wordpress.com if you'd like to check it out, and donations can be made there or to The Rainbow Defense Fund, 127 N. Palomas Ave., Tucson, AZ 85745.

Justice for Jose Antonio

First off, some exciting news in the immigration justice world in Tucson: the three Tucson community members who were detained after forcible removal by the Tucson police and Border Patrol have been released on bond! Thank you to all who have been staying up with and supporting this case. Arturo, Agustin, and Rosa are now waiting for news about a potential future court date for their case, but at least they are all back with their families!

And tonight, the Nogales community is seeking a different kind of justice. One year ago today, October 10, 2012, 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents across the border wall while he was in Mexico and they were on the U.S. side. Different accounts of that night say Border Patrol was in pursuit of two suspects on the run and Jose Antonio was not the intended target. More frequently the story is that he was throwing rocks, which is a threat to the lives of the agents. Some accounts are a combination. One thing is certain: when you go down to Nogales, Sonora and stand where he was killed, imagine taking a rock and throwing it from fifty feet from the wall and trying to aim over the top of the 20-foot fence. How much of a threat are you? He was just a kid.

It is hard to know the full truth. But to me, at least, the real question is what justifies shooting a 16-year-old at all? What justifies shooting and killing across an international border? What justifies putting eight bullet holes into his body, and leaving several more in the building behind him?

For more about this tragedy and the Border Patrol's use of deadly force, here's a current article: Questions Linger Over Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez' Death

Additionally, BorderLinks' Nogales sister organization, HEPAC, put together this powerful video. Warning: some sounds and imagery are disturbing, but very powerful. Watch if you can: Campaña: Justicia para Jose Antonio

This kind of justice is very real. The Nogales community has held vigils on the 10th of every month, placing candles around a white cross at the site where he was killed. His mother and the community have rallied to call for an end to Border Patrol acting with complete impunity. There has been no investigation into their actions. His mother simply wants to know who killed her son and how they will be held accountable.

And tonight, on the year anniversary of his death, a few of us from BorderLinks went down to Nogales to show our support for this community still crying out for Jose Antonio. They are still crying out for justice in this singular case. And they are crying out for justice on the border so that no more die at the hands of the Border Patrol or in the grips of the desert. 

According to their Facebook page, "the campaign has two objectives:
1. Build through strategy and coordinated actions a movement led by People Power that will take Justice for Jose Antonio, Justice for the victims of Border patrol Abuse and Murder, Justice for borderlands people and put an End to Border Militarization policies.
2. Develop the capacity and political vision for the struggle of the people of Nogales. Increase the leadership of individuals and families of Nogales. Put at the forefront the voices of the people of Nogales."

So tonight, Nancy (BorderLinks office manager), Maddie (BorderLinks' YAV last year), and I piled into Indira's (BorderLinks' Education Associate) car for the hour drive south. I unfortunately did not grab any photos of Indira or Maddie, but the four of us were the crew crossing to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico for the night. 

Meet my colega, my co-worker, Nancy! She's our office manager at BorderLinks, and my partner in crime in attempting to do regular five-minute exercise breaks during the workday. Today over lunch, the office was really quiet with most of our co-workers on vacation or out for lunch, so we ended up having a really long conversation, mainly realizing we have a lot in common with our long-distance relationships. She's such a lovely person (when she's not being purposefully annoying while I'm trying to nap in the backseat), and I'm thankful to get her know her more as a person through our bonding conversation and time outside of BorderLinks for this event.

Here's what this section of the port of entry looks like:

Since this is a higher traffic time at the port with people going to and from school or work, there are more officers around. I've never had any issue crossing to the Mexican side, but this time, U.S. Border Patrol had a presence and was stopping people at random. Our group of four young women, two Latina and two white, were asked questions like, "Where are you from? How did you get here? How much money do you have?" Tucson, ummm we drove... And, about $5 in cash. Was there a need for this interrogation? Were we supposed to have our guard up when talking to law enforcement on our way out of our country? I definitely was not mentally prepared for that, but apparently we passed.

And then we ran into Shurra! She is one of the Green Valley Samaritans (a humanitarian aid organization of volunteers that bring water, food, and medical supplies out to the desert) that helps take BorderLinks groups on desert walks so see common migration trails and also things that have been left behind by people. I am realizing the immigration justice community feels like a small world sometimes. In any event, Shurra still had to find her other Samaritans, but she walked with us to find the marcha. I was not sure what this event would be like, I just wanted to be there with the community on this tough night, but I think I anticipated more of a vigil than a march through the streets of Nogales.

By the time we got there, people had already been marching a little ways from a plaza in town, and we were all headed to the site of Jose Antonio's death.

HEPAC director Jeannette. When we first met, the second she heard me speak two words in Spanish, she started going a mile a minute! She is one of the sweetest, most energetic people I've ever met, but sometimes it just takes me a second to fully catch up to her. Here she's working her magic.

Press are on the scene.

I never learned why some painted their faces white, but here they are!

Many marchers carried white balloons with them to release into the sky. 

MaryCruz, one of BorderLinks' delegation trip leaders from our Nogales sister organization, HEPAC. 

People put the Jose Antonio stickers everywhere they could. 

Passersby took a look at why we were on the streets, as we chanted slogans such as "Ni una más," not one more, "Abajos los muros de la frontera," down with the border walls, and "El pueblo unido jamás será vencido," the people united will never be defeated. 

Members of the "policia turistica," tourist police, followed along with us.

Baby in solidarity!

Turning the corner next to the border wall.

MaryCruz and baby marcher.

Others taking photos of murals on the walls.

Then, the balloons were released into the night sky, little white dots, joining the stars. 

 Messages on the bank up to the border fence. "¡No más muertes! ¡Justicia!" No more deaths! Justice!

 "¡Chinga la migra!" ..... "F--- the Border Patrol!"

Check out this artwork: "We are as free as paper!"

White candles are painted along the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. 

The crowd gathering along the wall near where Jose Antonio was shot and killed.

 Shurra of the Green Valley Samaritans connecting with supporters on the U.S. side.

Those who had candles shared the flickering flames as community members began speaking about Jose Antonio and how to work towards justice and celebration of his life. A couple even played home-written songs as well. One of the lines: "Jose Antonio, tu vela simpre estará prendida," Jose Antonio, your candle will forever be lit.

Jose Antonio stickers on the border fence and U.S. supporters looking on.

Poster from No More Deaths, a humanitarian aid organization and one of BorderLinks' partners.

Nancy from BorderLinks and MaryCruz from HEPAC! 

This is precisely my college major: International Relations! People relating across a physical barrier that divides their two nation-states; here, BorderLinks' Alex on the U.S. side (because he forgot his passport), and MaryCruz and her daughter on the Mexico side. Both in solidarity and support of a grieving Nogales community so hurt by cross-border violence and injustice.

Cross-border high-five.

After the songs and speeches were finished on the Mexico side, they turned to the U.S. side for its voice in the form of Aztec dancers performing - I was not able to get a good picture of the dancers, but here are a few faces on the Mexican side trying to get a good vantage point. 

One of the policia turistica officers who had been following the march on his bike actually came closer to watch the Aztec dancers as well. It is amazing how tragedy brings people together.

After their performance was over, we said our goodbyes to our HEPAC brothers and sisters, made it through to the U.S. side of the border uneventfully, and reunited with Alex to take him back in the car with us as well. Before throwing on the Latin tunes for the hour back to Tucson, we were primed with bachata music in the Burger King bathroom. This is life on this border. Cultural duality and intermingling. Conflict and unresolved tension. Despair. Hope. Connection. Flickering candles and crosses in remembrance of lives lost. Resolution to fight for "ni una más" muerte ni deportación, not one more death or deportation.

Ni Una Más continued.

In response to today's noon press conference and in support of the three remaining detained community members (Mari, the U of A student was released earlier today!), an organizing meeting was called for 5:30 pm at Southside Presbyterian Church. I had no idea what to expect, but gosh darnit, I was going to be there. I found Amy Beth, my housemate whose YAV placement is at Southside, inside the office where we connected with a couple of the main organizers. Trying to not get in the middle of a giant tag game involving many of the children of the community members present for the meeting, we made our way to the fellowship hall and found ourselves a few seats.

Over 80 people packed the room, and at the beginning, each person stood up to introduce themselves and either the work they are doing or how they are connected to the detenid@(s), the detained (for those unfamiliar, the @ symbol is used to represent both males and females are present in the group).

"Buenas tardes, me llamo Kathryn y trabajo con BorderLinks." "Good afternoon, I'm Kathryn and I work with BorderLinks." In the crowd, I believe there were just two English-only speakers, so the entire meeting was conducted in Spanish, which made my notes to myself a pretty entertaining Spanglish blend. That in turn made writing a letter in English to an "Estimado juez de inmigración," "esteemed immigration judge," pretty interesting.

It was just awesome to have the whole meeting in Spanish. Not often will a native English speaker be in the linguistic minority in the U.S., and it is indeed a privilege to not be forced into that immersion, as opposed to how all the time immigrants with native languages other than English are forced into the other language space requiring more brain power to make it make sense to you. I thought about this a lot as I went from my notes in Spanish about the quality of the character of these community members. Fifty handwritten, personalized letters are going to each detenid@'s immigration judge with messages about why we are writing, our connection to the person, who we are and what we do, and what kind of person this is that should be reunited with their community and family.

We were to sign our full names and anything else that would give our name more weight, such as an organization or religious affiliation. The organizers encouraged people to include their documentation status if it were anything denoting permission to be in this country, as it would give us more clout. Amy Beth remarked something like, "That is the first time I have ever written 'citizen' on anything." I agreed. Certainly not everyone in that room has that privilege, but we were all there to bring these community members home, so we'll see what happens next.

Here is a photo from Raul, organizer extraordinaire.

What can you do? Please sign this petition! These were the three Tucson community members detained last night by illegal means. They are loving family members and valuable to the community, not criminals, and they deserve to be reunited with their families! Pass it along, and we will overwhelm the immigration judges. Not One More Deportation petition''

Any support helps! Your thoughts, prayers, and actions are so appreciated!