There have been a lot of deportation in Homestead, which is a suburb and major agricultural area just South of Miami.
Angela, a woman I met recently, woke up at 5am to have her home surrounded by armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and local police officers who pounded on the door, saying if she didn't open up they would knock the door down. Angela was terrified and opened the door. ICE then went through her entire home, searching, going through bedding and closets. When she asked what they were looking for, they wouldn't say. Turns out they were looking for her husband. Her 8-year-old, Benny, ran out into the yard, climbed a tree, and -only knowing that armed gunmen had entered their home- started shouting “Criminales! Criminales!” from the tree. An ICE agent told him to get down from the tree, but he wouldn't. The ICE agent then threatened to deport him, his two brothers, and his mother if he didn’t get down. This agent, who’s salary is paid by us- the taxpayers- threatened a child who is (by the way) a US Citizen, as are his siblings. His mother has legal status in this country, with Temporary Protected Status.
Angela's husband, Benito, came home from work at 6:30, and was immediately taken into custody. Benito has a valid work permit and has been trying to process his immigration paperwork for years. It seems that he was taken advantage of by an unscrupulous notary public.
I had a conversation with a pastor recently that I’ve been reflecting on a lot. If your child was hungry or sick, what would you do for them? If you couldn’t find work that would save them, what would you do? If someone told you that you couldn’t move to the U.S. where you could work, where you could make the money that could save your child, would you say, “Okay, that’s that. I guess my child will have to starve”? No. I cannot believe that anyone would choose to give up, to refrain from breaking some man-made law and give up on their child’s chance at health and life.
Pray for the families in Homestead.
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