It was useless, of course, to try to persuade the ICE officer not to detain her. I should have known that. She had taken an order to voluntarily depart but in the intervening time four months she had gotten pregnant, so she stayed. That was almost 30 years ago. And she had a second child, married the US citizen father, and lived quietly.
I had expected that she would have to leave and wait for all the approvals to come through, but I did not expect to see this woman, now in her mid-50s to be detained, especially since she said she would buy the ticket and leave. Her children, now adults, her daughter now pregnant, had come to the interview with her along with her husband.
They rushed to hug her as she was led away but the ICE officer pushed them away. Why couldn’t they hug her good-bye? Policy was the answer. What utter nonsense! Heartless nonsense. And then they threatened to arrest the son who had broken into such a howl shaking the room. I felt so helpless. I could only try calm down her son, who continued to sob with grief as we left the building.
This, of course, from the administration preaching “family values.” What hyoocrites!
Prayer for the Day
Sovereign God, infinite as the universe, yet as intimate as love itself,
We confess that you are God and that we are your people;
Forgive us, we pray, when we forget whose we are;
Subsuming you to other things and ideals.
Infuse us with your redeeming grace giving us strength and spirit,
And open us to the world beyond our particular communities.
Be with us now and in the future, as you have been in the past,
In the name of the One who shares you with us all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
You can’t undo a deportation.
Jonathan Shapiro, Attorney
What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.
Pope Francis (1936-2025)
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to stingers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them …
Letter to the Hebrews, 13: 1-3