Under I.C.E.’s Gaze
by Floricel Liborio Ramos
The following testimony is in both English and Spanish and will be delivered by Floricel Liborio Ramos on March 13th, 2019 at the “Stand up to Trump in court, in the streets, and beyond” Rally in response to the Trump administration’s lawsuit against California’s sanctuary policies. Scroll down to read in English.
Aunque he sido librada de un centro de detención, aún tengo que enfrentar al mundo como una mujer marcada y señalada ya que oficiales de Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE) me obligaron a usar un brazalete electronico en el tobillo. Les escribo en estas líneas un poco de la triste y desgarradora situación que he estado viviendo bajo mi caso de inmigración, y los daños que me están causando, daños psicológicos, económicos, así a mi persona y a mi familia.
En el año 2017, ICE me arresto después de entrar a un restaurante donde yo disfrutaba de la compañía y armonía de mis tres hijos menores de edad. Inmigración no tuvo ninguna compasión de actuar así ha mí, dejando a mis hijos solos a la deriva.
Estuve en un centro de detención por 12 meses, sufriendo separada de mi familia. En el año 2018, inmigración me soltó gracias al apoyo de la comunidad, quienes peleaban por mi liberación. Pero fui liberada aun atada con un brazalete electronico en el tobillo, que hasta este día me ha causado daños irreparables.
El brazalete no solo crea estigmas sociales cuales me criminalizan, pero también me causa problemas físicamente. Desde que fui forzada utilizar el brazalete, he tenido quemadoras en mi piel, con dolores y infecciones cuales hinchan mi pierna.
Esto limita mi habilidad de trabajar, cual en turno afecta mi situación económica. Yo limpio hogares para poder sacar a mis hijos adelante, pero en veces no puedo trabajar por el dolor causado a través del brazalete. Para empeorar la situación, dos casas que yo limpiaba me han despedido por el fuerte sonido que emite el brazalete. Por estas razones, mi situación económica ha tomado turnos muy negativos, incluyendo un fin de semana cuál mis hijos y yo vivimos sin luz por no tener los recursos necesarios.
El mismo ruido cual fue causa de mi despedida también ha espantado a mis amistades, quienes temen que oficiales de inmigración podrían llegar a mi hogar a cualquier momento. Poco a poco, las personas quienes estaban a mi alrededor se han ido. Mi casa esta sola, no tengo visitas por el miedo que tengo yo y ellos de que los puedan detener. De esta manera, el brazalete me ha aislado a mí y a mis hijos.
Con el brazalete, ICE me sigue vigilando todo el tiempo. Salí de las sombras, salí de un centro de detención, pero aun me siento presa. Aun así, me levanto y cuento mi historia, esperando que contándole al mundo podremos pelear por un mundo en el cual mujeres como yo puedan ser verdaderamente libre.
Although I have been liberated from a detention center, I still have to face the world as a marked woman due to the fact that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has obligated me to wear an ankle monitor. I write this testimony so that people understand the sad reality that I live with, and how this monitor affects my physical health, my economic standing, and my family.
In 2017, ICE entered the doors of a restaurant where I enjoyed the company and harmony of my three children, and arrested me. ICE didn’t have any compassion for my family as it began the processes of separating us, leaving my underage children to fend for themselves.
Shortly after, I was in a detention center for 12 months, suffering from the mental toll of being separated from my family. In 2018, thanks to the support of community advocates, I was liberated. However, I was released with an ankle monitor, which continues to cause irreparable harm.
The ankle monitor not only creates social stigmas that criminalize me, but it also causes physical problems. Since I have been forced to use the bracelet, I have had burn marks on my skin, with pains and infections that swell my foot.
This has limited my ability to work, which in turn has affected my economic standing. I clean homes for a living, but sometimes I can’t work because of the pain caused by the monitor. To make matters worse, two employers whose homes I used to clean fired me due to the loud sounds that emit from the bracelet. For these reasons, my economic situation has taken a very negative turn, including a few days that my children and I had to live without electricity because we were unable to pay the bills.
The same noise that caused me to be fired affected my friendships, causing many of my close friends to fear that immigration officers might come to my home at any time. Little by little, the people who were around me have left. As such, my house is a lonely place now, for fear of an unexpected ICE raid brought about by my ankle monitor. In this way, the bracelet has isolated me and my children.
With the ankle shackle, ICE monitors me non-stop. Though I have been brave enough to come out of the shadows as an undocumented person, though I have been liberated from a detention center despite being criminalized, I still feel imprisoned. Even so, I tell my story, in hopes that doing so will inspire people to join me in fighting to ensure women like me can be truly free.
Floricel Liborio Ramos is an indigenous immigrant woman from Guerrero, Mexico. She immigrated to the United States in 1998. She has been in the United States for the past twenty years. Floricel has worked hard to provide a home for her children. For the past years, Floricel has fought the injustices of the immigration system. After being freed from a detention center, Floricel continues to fight tirelessly against detention and now she advocates for those who continue to be detained.
Read the new #NoMoreShackles report on ending the use of electronic monitoring for people on parole and join the campaign here.
This is part of a series titled #NoDigitalPrisons. Learn more about the issue here.
