August 1, 2008

CHICAGO – At the invitation of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) New Jersey Synod, Hamilton Square, the Rev. Bruce H. Davidson, director, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministries, ELCA New Jersey Synod, and staff of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Baltimore, visited an immigration detention center July 28 in Elizabeth, N.J.

Riley said his visit at the detention center, a privately run facility, is his second there. "It is difficult to gain admittance into the center," he said. On May 21 Menendez had invited Riley to participate in a news conference in Washington, D.C., where Menendez discussed legislation for improving health care provided at U.S. immigration detention centers.

During the July visit, "we were able to meet privately with three asylum-seekers from Liberia, Tibet and Guinea," Riley said. The group discussed the detainees' health care situation. "Although the situation is better, there is still a lot to be desired," he said.

Riley said he and others are developing some suggestions to address the situation. One possible suggestion is to grant "medical personnel better access to the living areas (at detention centers) rather than relying on guards to relay the health issues of detainees," he said. But this suggestion also brings up other issues, such as the need for translation since there are many languages spoken among detainees. Most medical personnel may need to be accompanied by a translator, Riley said.

An important message to convey to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other officials is the need to keep them "aware that we are watching" and express "our ongoing witness to our care and concern for people who are being detained," said Riley.

"Most of these folks who are asylum-seekers should not be incarcerated, particularly those who pose no threat to our society," said Riley. "There are other options than placing people in jail. It is a pretty sad situation for all folks being held."

"As I looked at the faces of the detainees I thought of my own family, who came to this country as immigrants," said Kelly Macias, coordinator for LIRS' "Be Not Afraid" project. Macias participated in the detention center visit.

"As I saw more faces, I began to see the faces of the people I love – my husband, my in-laws (and) friends. (There were) immigrants who fled civil wars and famine and persecution, who made the difficult decision to leave behind family and homes, and who had faith that the United States was a place that offered hope and new life," said Macias. "Our immigration detention system punishes asylum seekers and torture survivors and has a devastating effect on families. It is not only inhumane, it is essentially anti-American," she said.

According to a 2007 report from LIRS, the federal government now spends more than $1.2 billion a year to detain immigrants at a price of more than $100 per day per person.

Bishop Riley's comments at the May 21 press conference are at http://tinyurl.com/6bupe4/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service