Undocumented Immigrants are in D.I.R.E Need of Our Help
Over the past few years, the current administration has made it a clear mission to target undocumented immigrants in the United States. Migrant families, with a specific focus on the Latinx population, have been targeted and labeled by our president as the most pressing threat to our culture and society. As our president promises to build literal borders between those who need our help, the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agency, which was formed in 2003 under the Homeland Security Act of 2001, after the events of September 11th, has begun to detain migrants, including young children, in detention centers. Today, families are torn apart, children are traumatized, and thousands have been relocated into detainment; yet many Americans are still left wondering why? Why are undocumented immigrants targeted in America and who are the people or organizations targeting them; who are the most vulnerable and how can we educate audiences?
Through the use of scripted monologues and staging, I plan to answer these questions. I have sought out answers through the help of DIRE (Deportation and Immigration Response to Emergencies), an organization based in Highland Park, New Jersey located within the Reformed Church of Highland Park. Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale, the pastor of the church and one of the founding members of the organization, works to house migrant families who are in desperate need of shelter and protection from detainment or government interference. He also works to provide legal and personal services to undocumented immigrants in need. With an ICE detention center mere miles away in Elizabeth, New Jersey, along with the incredibly diverse and economically vulnerable populations in our area, the organization’s help is desperately needed.
I had the chance to sit in on one of DIRE’s monthly meetings to gather a deeper understanding of the work their volunteers accomplish. The incredibly diverse group of volunteers consisted of college students and interns, members of the congregation, legal professionals, and even just concerned members of the Highland Park community. No matter their background, each member clearly had a deep passion for DIRE and was aiming to provide any services possible.
After being warmly greeted by Pastor Seth and the other members of the organization, the meeting began with acknowledgements towards members of other pro-immigrant organizations present, including Still Waters, New Labor, First Friends, and Living Undocumented. With formalities out of the way, Pastor Seth began informing the group of new cases that DIRE is beginning to assist with. For instance, a man named Jude had been pulled over in East Brunswick, just miles away from Rutgers and from Monroe Township, the town I was born and raised in, for a broken taillight, leading him to be detained by the state trooper and brought to an ICE detention center on a $20,000 bail. A 16-year-old girl was given a court case to apply for asylum just five days before her 18th birthday, meaning if it is postponed even once, she is in danger of detainment. Perhaps the most heartbreaking however was the retelling of a woman from Highland Park who had fled Pakistan to protect her three sons after their father was murdered, only for her 11-year-old to fall seriously ill. The hospital denied him treatment due to the fact they were undocumented, and five days after being released with a respiratory machine he passed away. The circumstances migrants face within our communities are horrific, though oftentimes citizens may remain completely oblivious to this reality. There is still hope, as incredibly, DIRE is working to change this, while also directly collecting funds for the cases mentioned and for countless others.
Alongside Pastor Seth is Joel Wattacheril, co-founder of DIRE and a member of the congregation of the Reformed Church. Joel’s parents immigrated from India and raised him in Texas, where their neighborhood had a largely Hispanic population. Because of this, Joel grew up understanding the struggles of immigrants in America, which were highlighted even more so after his family moved to a rural, upper middle class neighborhood. This deep connection to the immigrant community is a large factor behind the inspiration to create DIRE, which was founded directly after Donald Trump was sworn in as president. Joel and Pastor Seth knew of the threats that our community would face under the new administration and worked diligently to protect migrants in the area. Aside from the direct work that DIRE does, Joel explained that they work to destroy harmful rhetoric and “educate the public of heinous groups to expose their lies,” in reference to government organizations like ICE. He elaborated that though there are some officers who work hard and aspire to have a positive impact on their community, a system cannot work when “there is one eye that is blinded,” meaning the harm ICE does cancels out any good that others may try to accomplish. Through his work with DIRE and from personal experience, Joel clearly understands that detainment is “heavily weighed against Black and Brown communities,” especially since many fall under lower income brackets by default. All of this information is easily understood by members of DIRE and anyone who is willing to take time out and look at the facts of discrimination against undocumented immigrants, though it tends to fly under the radar of the general public.
As I sat in on the DIRE meeting and listened to Nana, a man who traveled to the United States from Guyana and was immediately detained at JFK airport due to an error in the email address listed on his documentation. Nana was detained in the ICE detention center in Elizabeth for 7 months, and through the help of DIRE was able to be released. As I sat and listened to his account of how detainees were “treated like animals,” I realized how powerful hearing stories directly from undocumented immigrants can be. These stories have inspired me to plan to devise monologues spoken by characters inspired by real life stories, in order to replicate the emotional response I felt in the hearts of an audience that may not yet understand the issue at hand. In the words of Joel, “People forget where they came from. America was built on immigration,” so at the end of the day, every human is deserving of the same freedoms.
Iryna Yafimchyk for Working Families/flickr
