Immigration advocate Marshall Fitz recently termed the recent onslaught of executive orders a “shock-and-awe campaign of repressing human rights.” The intersectionality of racist, misogynist, and xenophobic trauma of the current political surround has left many in our community and in our nation, angry, afraid, and overwhelmed. Here are just a few examples of the impact on members of our wider community.
IMPACT: “I don’t understand why they don’t want me.” Daniela Vargas
Attorneys for Daniela Vargas, the young “Dreamer” who was detained by immigration agents in Mississippi on March 1, after speaking to the media about her family’s plight, are racing against the clock to prevent her from being deported without a court hearing. Her attorney states that she is likely to be flown back to Argentina without a court hearing or bond. The timing of her detention— after leaving an immigration rally and news conference in Jackson, Mississippi — have suggested to some of her supporters retaliation by the government.
IMPACT: “Do you have power of attorney?”
“It’s unfortunate that we have to have minors now deal with this reality,” said a Lincoln Heights school’s executive director, Ricardo Mireles, following the arrest of a parent just after dropping his daughter off at school. The arrest by ICE agents wearing jackets that said “POLICE” on the back, so shook the school that administrators held an assembly to discuss what happened and to ease fears. Mireles has ordered his teachers to talk to students whose parents are here illegally about creating a family plan in case they are detained or deported.
IMPACT: Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Amid growing fears of mass deportation, pediatricians and clinics serving undocumented immigrants and other low-income patients have reported a spike in anxiety and panic attacks, particularly among children who worry that they or their parents might now face deportation. Children are showing up in emergency rooms alone because their parents are afraid of being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they show their faces. Even American-born children are suffering: including one boy who asked a doctor for Prozac because he was worried about his undocumented friend.
In collaboration with the Kaleidoscope Institute, Healing for Action begins our first of four sessions, this Thursday March 9, from 6-8:30 p.m.
This meeting will be dedicated to brave and safe spaces, designed and structured to promote individual and collective trust among the participants. Those who attend will have options to gather in small groups, as a diverse community and/or in self-identified groups, to express experiences and feelings being triggered by our new Administration. There will be opportunities to connect with others in our community along with education around identifying feelings and how we move forward. Our goal is to understand and integrate the impact of the current political landscape, in order to strengthen our sense of agency and find our unique call to action.
Please join us in Sweetland Hall, March 9, 6-8:30pm. All are welcome.
For more information contact:
Ada Ramirez at aramirez@allsaints-pas.org or 626-583-2734
Register online here
