‘Families Belong Together’ rally held in Lumpkin

LUMPKIN — On Saturday, people across the United States gathered for “Families Belong Together” rallies organized nationwide.

The rallies were in protest of the Trump administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy, in particular the act of separating families at the border. One rally took place close to home in front of the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin. It was organized by the Columbus-based group Indivisible and the Lumpkin-based group El Refugio.

Before this Saturday, I knew very little about the history of the United States’ immigration policies, and I still will not claim to be anywhere close to an expert in the issue. But I do believe it is important to be informed on the issue at hand before forming an opinion.

The first thing I learned was that only about an hour away from where I grew up is a detention center with a ruthless reputation. Stewart Detention Center is a privately owned prison operated by the Corrections Corporation of America. Holly Patrick, who is on the board of El Refugio, said that the detention center has a 98 percent deportation rate for detainees held there.

“What I want people to understand is whether or not you get deported has a lot to do with the court you show up in and the judge you get,” Patrick said. “It has a bad reputation because the courts here are more likely to deport you, no matter your story.”

Secondly, from protesters at the rally I learned that there have been multiple reported deaths of detainees during their stay at the Stewart Detention Center. According to a news release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May 2017, Jean Jimenez-Joseph, a 27-year-old Panamanian national, was found unresponsive in his cell at the detention center and later was pronounced dead at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center. ICE sent another news release in January 2018 reporting the death of 33-year-old Yulio Castro-Garrido, who was convicted of conspiracy to transport and move an undocumented alien within the U.S. by means of transport. There is no confirmed evidence of neglect in these cases.

When ralliers were given the chance to speak, one protester carrying a remembrance for Castro-Garrido spoke on behalf of the detainee’s brother to tell his side of the story. She said that Castro-Garrido was a green-card holder and was detained for simply giving someone a ride. On behalf Castro-Garrido’s brother she said, “It is just so unfair that he went there in full health, full of dreams, full of everything that an immigrant hopes to be better in this country, and he just came out as a dead body.”

I noticed that participants at the rally ranged in ages and were from all around south Georgia. Many of the protesters were a part of El Refugio, so I talked with the organization to find out their mission and their reasons for the rally. They are a nonprofit based in Atlanta with a house operating in Lumpkin. In Lumpkin, they offer hospitality for families coming to visit loved ones detained at the Stewart Detention Center since there are no hotels around the area.

“We also support the detainees by sending them baskets of clothes if they get deported,” Patrick said. “We send them books so they have things to read, we write them letters and we visit them so they know we care about them.”

Patrick also said the main reason for the rally was to make people aware of the detention center close by and bring awareness to the issues closer to home.

“Some people don’t even know that this detention center is here,” she said. “The rally will bring attention and let people know that detention is not something that’s just happening on the border. It’s happening around the country in basically every state.”

Patrick said she also wanted to bring awareness to the injustices that detainees face. She said that people in detention are not granted the right of the safeguards of the criminal justice system, such as legal council. She also said that they are vulnerable to abuse and are constantly subjects of complaints of inadequate medical care, inappropriate use of solitary confinement, and sexual and physical assault.

“Every quote ‘authorized’ unquote ICE facility has passed every inspection since 2012,” Patrick said. “Even those where multiple people have died in what was later reported as medical neglect.”

Patrick also went on to deliver an alternative to detention centers, which is to allow immigrants to stay with their families in humane, uncostly and safe housing while they seek proper legal council. She pointed out organizations working on these alternatives, including the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“Immigration officials try to convince us that when it comes to seeking refuge, there are only two options: that we treat all people as dangerous criminals that we can just lock up or we open the gates to the whole world,” Patrick said. “There are other ways that are more affordable and humane than detention.”

For more information on the organization El Refugio, visit their website at elrefugiostewart.org. For more information on Indivisible, visit indivisiblecolumbus.com. More information on the Stewart Detention Center can be found at www.ice.gov/detention-facility/stewart-detention-center.

Tessa GreenTessa Green

Tessa Green

Tessa Green

Tessa Green