Attorney sheds light on the realities of the immigration process
By Abbi Rameau
Observer Contributor
Immigration attorney Cindy Burke recently spoke at MWCC, presenting the struggles immigrants face in U.S. detention centers and encouraging people to change their attitudes.
Burke addressed a crowded room of interested students for an hour, moving some students to tears. The event opened the conversation on immigration in a calm way where people expressed their opinions peacefully.
Burke detailed the conditions she saw at the border, speaking of chain link fences meant for 15 people holding up to 60 or more immigrants. She described four meals a day that are all the same: two slices of white bread and a piece of bologna, dumped over the top of the fences.
“We’ve always had border issues,” Burke said, “but we never treated people this way.”
On top of the overfill of the fences and the food situation, immigrants are either given blankets made of recycled aluminum or thin nylon for warmth. Burke also mentioned there are no pillows, no beds, and only one toilet in the enclosures.
Burke also spoke about the process immigrants must go through before they are granted admittance into the United States. For people from Africa and the Middle East, it generally takes eight to nine months on average to reach the border, usually crossing deserts and oceans.
“They went through all this, only to get tortured again,” she said.
Once immigrants reach the border, anything that is on their person, whether it has sentimental or instrumental value, is taken and thrown away. Cell phones are discarded, love letters from partners and family photos are tossed in the trash. Even cans of food are taken, and none of the items are ever returned. Burke was moved to tears explaining this process.
Burke explained that the current administration’s policies, specifically the Public Charge rule, have made it nearly impossible for almost half of incoming immigrants to become residents.
The Public Charge rule states that intending immigrants cannot have received any government benefits, and if they have, it must have been for a limited period of time. However, receiving government benefits is by no means a rare occurrence, said Burke, since half of US citizens have received benefits at one point or another, so the Public Charge rule cuts off more people than it helps.
When asked what prevents the media from reporting on the events of the border, Burke explained that they’re not allowed to bring cameras into the facility. Immigrants that are being held are threatened if they speak up about conditions to reporters. Since these centers are all privately owned but used for national security, guards are trained privately and have a great deal of freedom to treat people however they deem appropriate.
In response to a question about what the general population can do to help immigrants, Burke said, “the change has to start with people not feeling like immigration is a bad thing.”
Besides a change in attitude and opening the conversation on immigration, she also emphasized donating to nonprofit organizations that are able to help in the areas of the borders, as well as volunteering with similar organizations.
Comments are closed.