My Experience as a Visitor at the NW Detention Center by Miriam Lorch

This summer I began visiting an immigrant at the Tacoma Detention Center. Before our first meeting, I was very nervous. What was the setup? What would the guards be like? Is my Spanish good enough? What could I actually do?

I met a frightened young man from Honduras – gentle manner, tension in his face, tears in his eyes. I learned his story.

In Honduras, he had been attacked 3 times for being homosexual. His mother sold her 4 pigs so that he would have money for the 3 month trip to the US. She accompanied him through Honduras, but they separated at the Guatemalan border. In Mexico, he earned money washing dishes. At the US border, he applied for entrance but found his number in line to be more than 1800. He waited 3 days without food or housing, finally finding help at a church – showers, food, safety. He rested there for a few days, then attempted a crossing and was apprehended.

Some of our conversations have been very difficult for me. It’s hard to be confronted with such pain and fear, and have so little that I can actually do. People say, “Just be there and listen”. So, that’s what I did.

I’m strengthened by seeing the joy and pleasure he has in seeing me return. It’s so little that I do, but so significant for him. We now can talk about everyday things; my family, hobbies, his love of drama, dance, and art.

Aid for Immigrants in Detention NW (AIDNW) is a local organization that provides volunteer visitors. They have posted a message inside the detention center which asks, “Would you like a visitor?” They work with the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project (NWIRP) a group of immigration attorneys who represent detainees in court. My friend, who has no family or friends in the US, now has an attorney without cost.

His journey continues with obstacles. His mother paid an attorney to send medical records about his injuries to his US attorney. He took the money but did not send the records. His next court date is mid-October and this documentation is required if he is to receive asylum. So, the uncertainty continues.

For me, this is a way I can fight back against unfair immigration policies. If I do nothing, I get depressed. Visiting this young man is personally very rewarding. So, I’ll continue to drive to Tacoma once a week, wait an hour for the guards to get him to the visiting area where we can talk, laugh and cry together.