Three days of accompaniment: advocacy, visitation, and post-release support

We would like to tell you about our activities over three days earlier this week. But first, we want to thank everyone who has supported our Join us at the table! Spring Campaign. If you haven’t contributed yet, please consider a donation. No amount is too small as we work to ensure we can continue meeting the needs of people detained at Stewart Detention Center (SDC) and their loved ones. 

A rally for Salvador Vargas

El Refugio co-organized and participated in a rally at the entrance to SDC in partnership with Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) and other advocacy groups, visited with a man from Guatemala who is detained at SDC, and purchased a ticket for a flight to Texas for a man who was released.

On Saturday, El Refugio welcomed about 50 advocates and community members who attended the rally at SDC. House coordinator Helen Hobson hosted the group at our hospitality house before and after the event, which took place outside the SDC gates.

The rally was in response to the recent death of Mr. Salvador Vargas, who died in ICE custody at SDC on April 4.  Advocates called for the shutdown of this facility and honored the 11 people who have died, including Mr. Vargas, 61, of Mexico. 

In addition to El Refugio and GLAHR, Project South, Georgia Detention Watch (GDW), the ICE Breakers, Community Estrella, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) participated in the rally. 

Executive Director Amilcar Valencia was especially moved by letters sent by a group of women inside SDC read aloud during the event. “Later, we learned this group of women was retaliated against for making calls that day,” Amilcar said. “Their tablets were taken away.”

El Refugio has a long history of participating in rallies, vigils, and marches calling for the closure of SDC. We do so to let people know they are not alone or forgotten, and that people outside of SDC are aware of the conditions and human rights violations at the facility. Along with our partners, we held a press conference at the ICE field office in Atlanta last week in advance of Saturday’s rally. While our Atlanta events are more convenient for most of our supporters, we recognize the importance of making the drive to Lumpkin, separated from the people being unjustly held at SDC by only about 50 yards—and a lot of barbed wire. 

Lifting spirits through visitation

On Saturday afternoon, Helen visited a man from Guatemala who has been detained at SDC for two months. This was his second visit from El Refugio. Greg Wickersham, a board member who visited him previously, had sent him a book on Greek architecture. 

The man told Helen conditions are crowded with so many people coming directly from the southern border. He said he had been treated more like a human being at the detention center in Virginia where he was previously held. 

“Visits for my new friend are serving a huge role in his self care right now,” Helen wrote in her report. “ It has reminded me how powerful that human connection can be. He would also beam when he talked about the Greek architecture book Greg had sent to him. That was really all that made him smile.”

Our visitation program is not as large as it was before the pandemic due to continued Covid restrictions at SDC, but visits remain deeply meaningful to the people who receive them, as well as to the volunteers. Books and commissary deposits also continue to bring comfort to people detained at SDC. 

A plan to pay it forward

On Monday, SDC released 18 people, a large number compared to recent weeks when releases have been few and far between. Michelle Fierro, our Post-Release Coordinator, took calls from families all day, helping them work out transportation. 

A man trying to get to Texas did not have money for a flight. “He started crying on the phone when I said we would support him,” Michelle said. “He said, ‘I want to start working soon so I can pay it forward to another person.’ “

So there you have it: three days of accompaniment at El Refugio. Thank you again for your continued support. Without our donors, none of this work would be possible! 

Advocates from organizations around Georgia call for the closure of Stewart Detention Center