This is an excerpt of a heart-wrenching letter written by detainees at the infamous Delany Hall Detention Center in New Jersey. Here’s the link to the remainder of it.
By means of the present, we take the liberty of providing an account of the situation that thousands of immigrants are living in detention centers. In this case, we speak directly of DELANEY HALL NJ 07105.
Initially, we ask for forgiveness for the way we entered the United States, but given the circumstances we were living in our countries, which placed our lives and those of some members of our families in danger.
At the moment of entry, we turned ourselves in to border authorities, who processed us and some of us were granted “parole” or given a court date to continue with our processes, in accordance with the opportunity granted to us by the Constitution and the laws of the United States. Likewise, we had periodic check-ins in order to report to the authorities. We also obtained work permits, Social Security, we filed taxes, and we were working legally and contributing to the country’s economy. We must also mention that within this group there are individuals who crossed the border, integrated into society, formed families, and have lived in the country for 10 years or more with their citizen children, who despite not having legal status have also been paying their annual taxes and have a clean record.
I’m reminded of something the great missionary to India and Africa, E. Stanley Jones, wrote: “The fact is that each nation needs every other nation. A cross-fertilization of each national life with the genius of other peoples will enrich the receiver as well as the giver.”
And of course, the much greater (the greatest) Lord Jesus: “I was a stranger and you invited me in.” Matthew 25:35
barney wiget 