A Former US Marine Almost Gets Deported; His Guatemalan Mom Saves the Day

Jilmar Ramos-Gomez (Michigan ACLU)

If you've ever wondered why a municipality decides to become a Sanctuary City, the story of one US Marine veteran who was recently detained by ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) may help provide an answer.

As reported by the Detroit Free Press and other news sources, Jilmar Ramos-Gomez was a US Marine, decorated for his service in Afghanistan. He is also a US citizen and had his US passport and other identification on him at the time of his arrest.

Ramos-Gomez was arrested for an incident in a local hospital. After he was released on bond, ICE officials transported him from the Kent County jail (in Michigan) to a jail in Calhoun County that has a lucrative contract with ICE, which uses part of the jail as an immigration detention center.

Reportedly, ICE officials had "confused" Ramos-Gomez at the time of his arrest and were set to deport him out of the country he had served. Even though he was a citizen.

Ramos-Gomez's mother got an attorney to keep the deportation mistake from happening.

This particular incident received nationwide attention, including much support from groups that were critical of county officials and ICE being "overzealous."

As a result the Kent County sheriff issued a statement, saying that the county will no longer routinely cooperate with ICE.

ICE issued no apology for its actions. While Ramos-Gomez is a US citizen, his mother is not. She's from Guatemala. Which should have nothing to do with the case. What was at issue was Ramos-Gomez's arrest. He had caused some damage at a local hospital - and had suffered from PTSD - since leaving the Marines.

Ramos-Gomez's Mother (Neal Blake, Associated Press)

It's pretty clear that what Ramos-Gomez, a former Marine who was decorated for his service, needed was mental health care. Not detention. Or deportation.

And it makes a person wonder how often this sort of thing happens across the US, when over-zealous ICE agents seek detention on unsuspecting individuals. Who may have no means to legal representation, or even know that they could appeal.

When ICE agents show up at meat packing factories, and make mass arrests, whole towns can be drawn into the immigration debate. 

Part of the "bottom line" of all of this, regardless of which side of the political fence you are on, is that it is not illegal to seek asylum in the US. There are quotas set by each administration in the White House. It should come as no surprise that the current administration had ratcheted down the quota for refugees to its lowest level in thirty years.

A fifteen-year analysis of ICE detention practices, conducted by the American Immigration Council found that detainees faced significant barriers. Like being detained in remote locations far removed from urban centers with social service providers. Parents and children rely on volunteers and pro-bono lawyers to represent them. Ninety-three percent of hearings involving families were conducted remotely, via video, not in court. Families had been subjected to overdetention by immigration officials. 

To quote from the American Immigration Council's report:

"ICE officers issued initial custody decisions that unnecessarily prolonged the detention of families. Immigration judges regularly found that family members were eligible for release, overturning detention officers' previous decisions to keep families detained. Among the detained family members ICE decided not to release, 59 percent appealed ICE's custody decision and were provided a bond hearing in front of a judge. Of these family members who had a judicial bond hearing 57 percent of them were granted a form of release by the judge. DHS officials regularly refused to set bond, or issued prohibitively high bond amounts, resulting in the overdetention of families. Immigration judges systematically reversed these no-bond detention decisions by ICE. When ICE officers did set bond for detained families, immigration judges routinely found that the amount was too high."

Is it any wonder why cities across the US are joining the sanctuary cities movement? Currently, there are over 200 municipalities across the country that are sanctuary cities.

With a president leading an administration in the West Wing that is decidedly anti-refugee and anti-immigrant, it's no wonder that the various agencies under its jurisdiction, including ICE, will also reflect the same bias. 

We could quote a plethora of religious sources (including Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist) that encourage followers to look after the stranger among us. Suffice to say that any country that contends to be faith-based while ignoring the plight of the afflicted really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Non-Profits Step Up to Help Undocumented Refugees

The New York Times has done a follow-up report spotlighting a few of the many non-profits that have stepped up to help hundreds of undocumented immigrants seeking asylum that were caught by ICE and then subsequently dropped off, sometimes at bus stations, sometimes at the nearest homeless shelter, to fend for themselves.

Says the Times, "one way or another, once the migrants have been dropped off by discreet white Immigration and Customs Enforcement vans in border towns across the Southwest, they are no longer the federal government's problem."

What this means, in practical terms, is that once these families and individuals are dropped off, they are on their own while waiting for their cases to go through immigration court. 

The Times reports that "as the number of migrant families in recent months has overwhelmed the government’s detention facilities, the Trump administration has drastically reduced its efforts to ensure the migrants’ safety after they are released. People working along the border say an ever larger number of families are being released with nowhere to stay, no money, no food and no means of getting to friends and relatives who may be hundreds or thousands of miles away."

So there is a "growing network of charities, expanding along the border from California to Texas. Dating back well into the Obama administration, when the surge in migrant families began, these churches and other nongovernmental organizations have strung together millions of dollars worth of assistance to help keep migrants off the streets and speed their reunion with family members in the United States."

To be fair, this patchwork approach to helping undocumented immigrants didn't start with the current administration in Washington. However, it is the current administration's policies that have exponentially worsened the situation.

Reports the Times: "Undocumented migrants are held initially at Border Patrol and ICE facilities as their claims for asylum are registered. Previously, government agents would help coordinate plans for their release, contacting family members in American cities and helping secure transportation, even sometimes paying for bus tickets. When charity-operated shelters were full, government agencies sometimes held them a little longer, until they could be transferred."

But these practices, known as "safe release" ended in October because ICE has been overwhelmed at the sheer number of undocumented migrants seeking asylum.

The US system of handling immigration and refugees has been broken for decades. But those on the front lines, offering services to families and individuals point out that "the government has abandoned its moral responsibility to make sure they are released safely.

Under President Obama, the government also had no infrastructure to provide services to newly released migrants; instead, it relied on a cooperative relationship with private shelter operators. Now, the shelter operators say, that cooperation has become fraught."

So, as the current Congress begins to reexamine how the US treats immigrants and refugees, this network of non-profits is being strained to continue serving as the need increases. 

The good news in all of this is that we can directly help by providing monetary support. In the New York Times article, three organizations providing services to undocumented migrants were mentioned. Here are their websites, each with donation options:

Annunciation House (in El Paso)

Jewish Family Services of San Diego

Catholic Charities of McAllen, TX

And for extra credit here is an excellent blogpost by Karen Gonzalez on the subject of immigration and our conversation around it.

Resolutions for 2019!

Real Simple

We're a week into 2019.

Traditionally, the new year usually involves some sort of resolution making. As in, I resolve to eat in a healthier way; I resolve to exercise regularly; I resolve to take better care of myself.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these, I'd like to propose that this year - given the state of our fractured civil discourse - that we consider the following.

I resolve to make an honest effort to get to know someone who doesn't look, think, believe or act like me. 

It could be a co-worker, a neighbor, someone down the street or in your neighborhood, the grocery store clerk. Anyone that you find yourself regularly bumping into. And to make it fun, why not ask the questions beforehand: "Why do I keep bumping into this person? And what is the Universe trying to get me to pay attention to through her/him?"

Keep it honest. But keep it friendly!

I resolve to back off a bit from social media.

I'm not suggesting an out-and-out break. But something more subtle.

Refuse to make social media your main source of current events. Instead turn to a local/national newspaper that is reliable (meaning publishes reports from a variety of national news sources like the Associated Press, New York Times, other syndicates  that employ seasoned journalists). 

Do yourself a favor and cut back on all cable news, which isn't really news. 

Steer clear of programs that involve panel discussions of experts, that quickly dissolve into shouting matches. You won't learn anything from of them. Avoid programs that feature a host who is more interested in fronting their own opinions instead of letting their guests inform the audience. 

Learn the difference between a first-hand, second-hand and third-hand source. Make sure your news has a high percentage of first-hand sources. (Reading the ingredient label on processed food will quickly show how far away from real food it is. Taking the time to note how much information offered is first hand will help you determine the likelihood of its truth.)

Become really good at spotting the difference between a fact, an inference and an opinion.

Calvin & Hobbes

Develop/keep developing a solid network of a few friends you can depend on.

This means individuals you can meet in person or call. Not followers on Twitter, Facebook on Instagram.

And among them, be sure to include friends who will be honest with you. 

Read more books. Especially non-fiction.

Three years ago a friend challenged me to read more non-fiction than fiction.

At the time, my mix was 95% fiction, 5% non-fiction.

It was an adjustment, but now I've reached the point where my mix is closer to 85% non-fiction/15% fiction. I am a big fan of fiction. I love a good story! And sometimes fiction speaks to us in ways that non-fiction simply can't. For instance, Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Her book, although based on real-life experiences, was a work of fiction. But it spoke volumes about the evil of racism.

Reading newspapers and magazines is fine for having a birds-eye grasp of current events. But there are many events that are simply too complex to be covered adequately this way. It takes a book to provide background material, historical perspective and analysis leading to suggestions for action.

Get involved with your community.

Let 2019 be the year that you initiate, continue or expand your volunteer hours! 

Currently our country is going through a difficult period, within which non-profit groups are struggling with increased demand against a political climate that negates the need.

Let your good reading habits lead to a personal call for action! 

Annie Taylor Lebel

Don't let politics get in the way of finding a way to express your soul!

Realize that politics was never meant to be a substitute for religion. 

There is no doubt that the political climate in the White House has had an effect on religious expression - particularly among those of the evangelical stream. Despite where you may stand on the political spectrum, be sure to tend to your soul!

Tap Into Your Creative flow.

Oftentimes it seems like creativity becomes the prerogative of the young. But that's not necessarily the case at all. It doesn't matter what physical age you are. Here's a NY Times article that spotlights a few folks who took a creative leap and found a new, and successful career because of it.


Finally, focus on solutions, not sarcasm. 

Let your sense of humor work for you, not against you!

Happy 2019 everyone!

Pondering In the New Year

Christopher Santer, Pacem Studio

On the last Sunday of 2018, I heard a sermon that included a theme of Mary "pondering" things in her heart. And that, we in the West tend to forget the 12 Days of Christmas, putting the beautiful celebration of the Birth to rest on December 26.

So, I've been pondering about what it means to ponder.

The first thought that comes to mind is that we don't seem to put much emphasis or value on pondering. Blame who or what you will, it seems to be a dying art. It's almost as if you have to meditate to get yourself into the state of mind required.

Pondering takes attention. And this seems to be the age of attention deficit. Not so much in the medical/psychological sense, but in the literal, expressed in the simple inability to stay at attention. Speaking of which, Simone Weil had a lot to say about that (see her WAITING FOR GOD for further details).

Saturday I spent a few hours volunteering at a mailing bee. I struck up a conversation with a couple of folks around the table - both of whom work for the local public school system. We got to talking about how kids are learning a new way of doing math. Multiplication in particular. Which doesn't require memorization. (As in memorizing the dreaded multiplication tables.) On one level, I totally understand avoiding this exercise. On the other hand, not engaging in an activity that stimulates the part of the brain responsible for remembering sort of scares me.

The final thing that comes to mind is how pondering actually helps us put two and two together. For instance, last night I watched Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 11/9. There's a long bit, towards the middle of the film, where Moore makes the point that Rick Snyder, Michigan's current governor, is a lot like our current president. Moore uses the example of how the state of Michigan woefully mishandled and then unabashedly lied about the Flint water crisis as a precursor to the current president's love of falsehood.

Point being: What happens when a society looses its collective memory?

Ironically, one of the main points of WAITING FOR GOD is public education, and the power of attention, Weil wrote "Most often attention is confused with a kind of muscular effort. If one says to one's pupils: 'Now, you must pay attention,' one sees them contracting their brows, holding their breath, stiffening their muscles. If after two minutes they are asked what they have been paying attention to, they cannot reply. They have been concentrating on nothing. They have not been paying attention. They have been contracting their muscles."

Which brings us back to Sunday's sermon and Mary. 

TruthAngel - Wordpress.com

At a fairly young age she had been told some astonishing news (that she was going to be the mother of Jesus). I wonder what Mary's response to Gabriel would have been if she had not already been in the habit of pondering? 

Even before Jesus' birth, Mary had pondered enough to give us the beautiful Magnificat (starting in Luke 1:46).

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
  for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
  for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
  And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
  He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
  he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
  he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty."

Happy New Year everyone!

An Advent Meditation

First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo, MI

Last night I was fortunate to attend a Candlelight Vespers service held in a beautiful stone church. The church (First Presbyterian in downtown Kalamazoo) looks more like a cathedral. Immensely high ceilings, iron chandeliers, big oak beams. Everything about the place speaks of permanence.

As the prelude gave way to the Processional Carol ("Once in Royal David's City") I slowly began to stop focusing on the setting and started to meditate on the reason we were gathered.

The carol speaks of the lowly setting of Jesus' birth and begins:

"Once in royal David's city
stood a lowly cattle shed
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for His bed.
Mary was that mother mild;
Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from Heaven,
who is God and Lord of all;
and His shelter was a stable,
and His cradle was a stall.
With the poor and mean and lowly
lived on earth our Savior holy..."

Well before the end of the fifth stanza, my mind was transported back to Bethlehem's fragrance. Of what a cattle shed, complete with livestock, must have looked like. Smelled like. Wondering what Mary must have felt, giving birth in a place where she and her newborn were one step away from being homeless under the open sky.

MercyHomeForBoysandGirls

Soon another song was sung, "Breath of Heaven," which focuses on Mary's experience on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

"I have traveled many moonless nights
Cold and weary with a babe inside
and I wonder what I've done.
Holy Father, you have come
and chosen me now
to carry your Son.

I am waiting in a silent prayer.
I am frightened by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone,
must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now.
Be with me now..."

I cannot imagine what Mary was facing. Especially in a male-dominated culture.

Barely a teen.
Unmarried.
And pregnant.

Three huge additional strikes against her. In essence Mary as far as her hometown of Nazareth was concerned, was alone. Immaculate conception? No one had ever heard of such a thing. Even Joseph initially doubted her story.

Mid-way through the service, "The Dream Isaiah Saw" spoke to the miracle of a humble and meek baby, giving way to a savior.

"Little child whose bed is straw,
take new lodging in my heart.
Bring the dream that Isiah saw;
life redeemed from fang and claw.

Peace will pervade more than forest and field;
God will transfigure the Violence concealed
deep in the heart and in systems of gain,
ripe for the judgment the Lord will ordain.

Little child whose bed is straw,
take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream that Isiah saw:
justice purifying law..."

iBelieve

What a beautiful transition!

And the reality behind the lyrics and music.

That the saving ultimately involves our human systems of government.

A profound, life-changing call to renewal.

Full of hope!

Consequentially, the candle lit on the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, is pink. Gaudete is Latin for "joy," and pink is seen as its symbol. Especially to differentiate this particular week from the other three weeks of Advent, in which purple candles (symbolizing fasting) are lit.

All-in-all the Candlelight Vespers was a fitting reminder that, although we are still in the season of longing for the savior, there is light, joy, hope soon coming!

Fred Rogers: It's a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood...

Growing up, I was more of a Captain Kangaroo type of kid, as compared to Mr. Rogers.

The Captain was on at eight in the morning. And almost as soon as our family owned a television, I was hooked. In fact, Captain Kangaroo and his Treasure House served as my stay-at-home preschool.

Mr. Rogers came on in the afternoon. Everyone once in a blue moon I watched it, but not sufficiently so to become a fan.

The few times I did tune in, it seemed to me, that the flow of the show was too slow. No sarcasm to speak of. And the neighborhood Mr. Rogers lived in was far too gentle for my liking.

Fast-forward six decades later and Mr. Rogers seems a whole lot more appealing.

The thing of it is, Fred Rogers genuinely cared about kids, and the quality of the television programs they watched.

He even went before congress one time and talked about it.

And then, there's his neighborhood.

Remember the opening song?

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!"

A great way to set a kid's mind at ease, isn't it? Automatic reassurance, affirmation, invitation.

"I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you!"

Come to Mr. Roger's neighborhood, just as you are. No preconditions. Total, unconditional invite to join. Everyone is accepted and welcomed.

"I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you."

Mr. Rogers not only wants you as his neighbor, he is unequivocally letting you know that this is no mere spur-of-the-moment decision. He isn't capriciously doling out friendship. It's heartfelt. Intentional. Real.

"Please, won't you be my neighbor?"

Considering all of the above, Mr. Rogers finishes up his invite by letting us know - in no uncertain terms - that he's extending an invitation.

No border walls. No threats. No flip-flopping, No uncertainty borne of insecurity.

Pure.

Open.

Honest as it can possible be.

What a refreshing breath of fresh air to the hyper-critical, hyper-active, hyper-everything society we live in today.

Annie Murphy Paul, a science journalist, recently wrote a review of a new biography of Fred Rogers written by Maxwell King.

She writes:

"Rogers' show was earnest, quirky, amateurish in the best sense of the word: It was also groundbreaking. Into the lily-white world of midcentury children's programming, Rogers invited actors of diverse backgrounds... In the 1970s Rogers became a vegetarian, offering as his reason another understated gem: 'I don't want to eat anything that has a mother.'"

Murphy Paul notes the faith of Rogers. "For eight years, he slipped away from his duties at the television station three or four times a week to attend classes at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; he was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1963."

And as Fred Rogers said: "Love is at the root of everything. All learning. All relationships. Love, or the lack of it."

Perhaps it was this foundation upon which Mr. Rogers built his neighborhood.

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For extra credit: Here's a TED Talk given by Annie Murphy Paul, about fetal origins research, titled What We Learn Before We're Born.  She has written two books and you can get more details about them on her author's page at Simon & Schuster.
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Photo Credits: Top, PBS, Bottom, The Columbian

Advent is Patience

This week we mark the beginning of Advent.

A lot could be said about Advent as the beginning of the liturgical year for Christians. About the significance of preparation.

But a simple observation by Nathan Hamm on his Twitter account really caught my attention. He wrote:

"violence is impatience
war is impatience
consumerism is impatience
greed is impatience

Advent is patience."

I had really never thought that being impatient is violent. But then, when you stop to consider what actions typically flow from impatience it makes sense. Things like cutting remarks, sarcasm, rudeness can all escalate to violence. 

Violence can lead to war. Think of the beginnings of the two "world" wars we've had. Each was started by violent actions. An Archduke gets assassinated. Royal families take sides. Soon Europe is drawn in. Followed by much of the rest of the world. Or an extremely narcissistic individual conveniently blames all his frustrations and the frustrations of a nation upon one religious group. And proceeds to gain political advantage through racism. Then proceeds to gobble up neighboring countries, bent on world domination.

I read once that most modern (post WWII) wars could be blamed on a growing impatience with diplomatic means to end conflict. So, rather than expend the energy and time necessary to negotiate, military might is seen as the answer - simply because it's a convenient, quicker solution.

How about consumerism?

Well-healed ad firms on Madison Avenue tell us we need the latest thing, and we need it now. There isn't just build-in obsolescence with material things, there's build-in impatience. We can't seem to wait for the latest, newest version of whatever we have. Smartphones and other electronic devices are notoriously geared this way.

Black Fridays usually feature photos of crowds roaring through the front doors of big box stores. And nowadays, Black Friday has morphed into Black Thanksgiving. Some retailers are actually open on Thanksgiving, while on-line sales begin a few days before.

I remember as a young boy, in the 1960s, waiting with my Dad at the neighborhood Sears automotive center, as snow tires were being put on the family car. And my Dad turned to me and said, "You wait. Pretty soon they'll be playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving." I thought he was being really sarcastic, but he was right.

On a spiritual level, you could say that violence, war and consumerism are all run on greed. 

We're most prone to become violent when we're fearful. Or feel threatened. Or insecure. But rather than admit how we're feeling, or face the cause of these feelings, we can resort to violence. It's a quick way to get our way without having to consider others.

War involves violence on a mass level. Wars seldom settle problems. They only temporarily mask them until the deeper issues that caused the war are addressed. 

For diplomacy to work, it requires patience. And trust. But violence and war don't promote either one.

Which brings us to Advent.

What if, over the next four weeks, we considered a way to break the cycle of impatience in our lives?

What would that look like?

What would it look like if we were patient while driving our cars? Would we let more people in ahead of us? Would we drive a little slower? Would we be less inclined to tailgate? Would we slow down at yellow lights instead of barreling through them? 

What would it feel like to stop assuming for a day, and patiently give people the space to explain? To stay calm instead of racing to judgment? To give the other person the benefit of the doubt?

Where would our actions take us if we were patient? Would we open the door for others? Would we give up our place in line? Would we smile at the cashier at the grocery store? Would we offer to help our neighbor?

If we were patient, would that help us appreciate our family and friends more? Not taking them for granted? 

Would patience result in thankfulness? 

And thankfulness in generosity? 

And generosity in a better world?

Photo Credits: Top: MarshmallowRanch,  Middle: The Muslim Time, Bottom: Womenplatform.