12 July 11 • 2019
jn

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The local Jewish community is doing what it can to help.
Crisis at the Border

H

earing accounts of the 
overcrowded, unsanitary 
detention centers where 
asylum-seeking migrants are being 
warehoused and separated from their 
children, who also are being held 
in similar conditions, can be over-
whelming and frustrating. 
On July 4, some in the Jewish 
community joined a protest against 
U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforement (ICE) at its office in 
Detroit. Many chanted the new slo-
gan: “Never again is now.” And in 
New Jersey and Boston, 
a total of 54 Jewish 
protesters were arrested 
June 30 at ICE offices.
 
Sarah Allyn, execu-
tive director of Repair 
the World, said her 
organization on June 22 
worked with Detroit Jews for Justice 
(DJJ), We the People - MI, Rapid 
Response and MIRC to mobilize 150 
volunteers in more than 300 hours of 
service ahead of a potential ICE raid. 
Although the raid was delayed, vol-
unteers were able to distribute infor-
mation in both English and Spanish 
so vulnerable populations will know 
their rights in the event of an ICE 
raid. 
One participant was Dana 

Kornberg, a sociology graduate stu-
dent at the University of Michigan 
who is active in DJJ. She said the 
images of the mistreated children and 
news of them being separated from 
family members are “too familiar and 
scary” to her as a Jew. 
Kornberg said in the long term, 
advocating for sanctuary cities can be 
effective in stopping the harsh depor-
tations and detentions. 
However, this spring in Lansing, 
House Bills 4083 and 4090 were 
approved by various committees. If 
passed into law, they would punish 
cities, counties and local government 
entities that limit cooperation and 
information sharing with federal 
authorities on immigration mat-
ters, effectively requiring local law 
enforcement to act as immigration 
enforcement agents.
Rabbi Jen Lader of 
Temple Israel in West 
Bloomfield said though 
it is difficult to direct-
ly help those in the 
detention centers, she 
was able to find a way 
to bolster relief efforts 
with Congregation 
Albert of Albuquerque, N.M. Since 
the early spring, ICE has brought 
busloads of migrants daily to this 
southwestern city. These migrants 
have been cleared to enter the coun-

try and now await their asylum hear-
ing, but they have been stranded with 
no provisions; and their host families 
may be hundreds if not thousands of 
miles away. 
“We (at Temple Israel) have tried 
for weeks, but we cannot find any 
way to get anything or any (health or 
law professional) into these detention 
centers directly at the border,” Lader 
said. But, she found another way for 
her community to help. 
“At Temple Israel, we are kicking 
off an emergency campaign to help 
asylum-seeking families. The inhu-
mane … treatment of children and 
adults who are seeking refuge in the 
‘
Land of the Free’
 is abhorrent, and 
we, as Jews, have to take action today 
in whatever way we can.”
Temple Israel is looking to raise 
$6,000 or more to support the 
efforts of Congregation Albert. This 
amount will cover one busload of 
50 people with lodging, meals and 
snacks, clothing, basic medical care 
and transportation to wherever their 
sponsor is located. Each family is also 
given $15-20 transportation allow-
ance, which is often a three-day bus 
ride to their destination. For more 
information, go to temple-israel.org/
helpfromafar.
“We are proud to be partner-
ing with Congregation Albert in 
this holy work,” Lader said. “While 

we can’
t be on the ground in 
Albuquerque, we can provide finan-
cial relief to support these people and 
truly live our Jewish values.”
Finding ways to help at a grassroots 
level — be it sending needed supplies 
or donating one’
s legal or medical 
services to our far-away southern 
border — are being blocked. 
According to news reports, border 
guards, due to federal regulations, 
are turning away offers of diapers 
and toiletries. To offset the severe 
conditions, Congress recently sent 
President Trump a $4.6 billion bipar-
tisan humanitarian aid package, 
which he signed. The bill did not 
contain stronger protections for the 
migrant children in overcrowded 
border shelters that some House 
Democrats wanted.

LASTING HARM BEING DONE 
While Jewish organizations and con-
gregations are finding ways to help 
as best they can, mental health care 
professionals are concerned about the 
damage family separations can be to 
children in detention centers. 
Child psychology professor and 
researcher Ericka Bocknek of Wayne 
State University said she and her col-
leagues are doing their best to edu-
cate politicians on the harsh, lasting 
impact the detention and separation 

jews d
in 
the

June 27 protest against 

child detention outside 

of a border facility in 

Clint, Texas, where chil-

dren were found living 

in filthy conditions.

CREDIT: SUSAN BARNUM, WIKIPEDIA

Sarah Allyn

Rabbi Jen Lader