San Diego volunteers bear witness daily as ICE continues courtroom arrests

The hallways at San Diego Immigration Court are crowded not only by those with appointments to go before a judge but also by federal immigration officers and the contributors who have been inspired to help immigrants who might be detained Particular record what they see especially during arrests as seen here Photo by Swasti Singhai Times of San Diego May th is reportedly the first day that ICE began arresting individuals inside San Diego Immigration Court And just two days later the officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement had company helpers public members and advocates lined the hallway They ve come back each day since May documenting every arrest jotting down urgency contact information and assuring detainees that they are not alone Ruth Mendez was in the immigration court that day She has volunteered with Detention Resistance a San Diego-based collective advocating for the self-determination of refugees and immigrants since when she joined to conduct visitations at the Otay Mesa Detention Center On May Mendez was accompanying a neighbor one of her close friends and an asylum seeker to a routine hearing He didn t have an attorney at the time but had filled out all his asylum paperwork prior ICE officers were just telling me we need to speak with him after his hearing just so you know you guys have to talk to us Mendez disclosed And I kept asking why They didn t say why And at that point all my alarms internally went off Mendez declared her friend was granted a continuance by the judge who set a court date to continue his asylum process Regardless he was detained by ICE agents right outside the courtroom The response was rapid a setup of non-profit organizations neighborhood members and pro-bono organizations organized almost forthwith when Mendez sent out messages She began writing down rights in her notebook that attorneys relayed to her in Spanish giving the instructions to families sitting behind her in court There s a lot of waiting in immigration court between arrests Here volunteer Nancy Francis in blue stands against the wall with uniformed federal officers Photo by Swasti Singhai Times of San Diego By May a group of approximately people were ready to step in and help explained Mendez Participants at the courthouse are split into three groups one is focused on the courtroom hallways primarily documenting arrests The second group observes population hearings and monitors trends in cases The third is largely stationed at the front of the courthouse handing out Know Your Rights cards and filling out contact information forms to help connect individuals with their friends and families if they get taken to a detention center They may have shared values and goals but the assistants have distinct backgrounds and interests One who has come to court every day since May is a retired court reporter Others are students or researchers or organizers numerous are neighbors and neighborhood members As of this moment contributors are still joining the effort Two of the newest Susan and Leonard spent their first day volunteering on Tuesday Due to fears of retaliation they preferred to be referred to by only their first names They first learned about the courtroom arrests through the news and were aware of the detentions but being there watching and witnessing was still painful they commented Regardless they described volunteering as an attempt to make a difference It makes sense to me that being able to look somebody in the eyes even if I don t speak their language and say we re trying to help you here s several information that might help you Susan declared You can t change the whole system So maybe you can help one person at a time Susan stood outside the courthouse for part of the day asking those without attorneys if they desired to be accompanied to their courtroom Leonard stood inside the hallway of the immigration court escorting individuals to their elevators after their hearings Particular made it outside the building Others didn t It was gut wrenching Leonard disclosed I think it s gut wrenching to realize that you re looking at somebody who s lost their rights at this point and you don t know what their story is but it feels so wrong People are sought to volunteer to assistance immigrants File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego We can t really do anything except provide moral backing But I think that matters Alondra Alvarez has been in the courtroom almost every other day since early June She keeps two items on her while volunteering a miniature U S Constitution in one pocket and a rosary in the other It s major to her she declared that ICE agents are continuously reminded that the area cares There are several things you can t unsee Alvarez announced Families that enter the courtrooms with their children that are gripping their little hands that are terrified that they re going to be separated Having observed dozens of arrests Alvarez explained the predominant reaction has turned out to be one not of shock but of resignation and defeat She recounted all the things loved ones have disclosed while witnessing family members being detained There was a possibility that this could happen and we were aware of that possibility but my father s not a criminal my mother s not a criminal my brother s not a criminal my sister s not a criminal They ve been working hard they do these jobs they pay taxes they don t deserve this Specific participants like Alvarez and Mendez are veterans in immigration advocacy Selected like Susan and Leonard are just beginning For others like Emily Mahmoud it s also personal their grandfather immigrated to the United States from Egypt Mahmoud who participants once a week at the courthouse noted the hope is that immigrants who are arrested at their hearings know that there are people on their side We are here with them Mahmoud explained We are witnessing what s happening so it s not going to just go away We are there We see it We re recording it We have power just with our eyes and our voices The aggression that ICE agents have shown both during arrests and towards society members filming has been particularly traumatizing according to multiple assistants The dehumanization of other people to just witness it it s heartbreaking Mahmoud mentioned Also to see people cry to see people be in pain and not really be able to do anything without being detained arrested or thrown on the ground like I was shoved But the work of participants has not been in vain Mendez s friend the first arrest observed by participants was granted bond by a judge last Friday He was circulated on Monday and greeted by Mendez with sunflowers His situation in a way sums up the region s advocacy one of the attorneys who responded to Mendez on the day of his detainment took his incident pro-bono and another coalition NorCal Resist was able to pay his bond Mendez declared that her friend s release is a good sign Yet there is no end in sight for supporters Like a great number of others Mahmoud mentioned they would not stop volunteering until ICE agents are out of the hallways and asylum seekers can attend their hearings without fearing detainment I ve seen first hand what a warm and welcoming face means to people that are being detained by ICE Alvarez explained I ll continue showing up for my population as long as ICE keeps terrorizing them and violating laws in the process