58 | APRIL 14 • 2022
continued from page 56
PASSOVER
back to Metro Detroit, a customs officer
asked my mom for her travel papers. She
did not have any.
My mom said two big officers escorted
her in front of everyone else on the boat,
“I could hear [the Yocheveds’] kids asking,
‘Where are they going to take her?’ I tried
to compose myself not to cry because there
were so many people there,
” she said.
“I was so embarrassed. My emotions
were everywhere. I didn’t know what was
happening or what was going to happen
next. I didn’t know how to respond. So basi-
cally, I just walked with them and didn’t say
anything.
”
The Boblo boat brought her back to
Detroit, where immigration then interrogat-
ed her for hours.
“I was so scared. You know, with all these
people asking constant questions over and
over and over. From 4 o’
clock that afternoon
to 1 o’
clock in the morning, I was interro-
gated,
” my mom said.
“I didn’t know what else I could say. They
kept drilling me, and they didn’t even ask
if I needed to go to the bathroom. They
were inhumane,
” my mom added with tears
streaming down her face.
After the intense questioning, the officers
said that she didn’t exist in the U.S.; there
was no record that she was ever here, so
they deported her back to Canada.
When my mom arrived in Canada,
Canadian immigration greeted her and
asked her if she needed to go to the bath-
room or if she was hungry. My mom said
after hours of being terrified during the
interrogation, “they treated me like a per-
son, a human being.
” She then broke down
after being offered some kindness.
The Canadian immigration authorities
apologized and explained how she would
have to stay the night in jail if she couldn’t
pay for a $1,000 bond. She didn’t have
any cash on her, so they contacted the
Yocheveds. It was very early in the morning,
and my mom said she didn’t know what
was going to happen next.
As time passed, they told my mom they
hadn’t heard from the Yocheveds in a while
— and not to worry about the other peo-
ple in the holding cell; they were nice. As
they began to get her ready for lockup, the
Yocheveds knocked on the door with the
cash in hand.
That began my mom’s sojourning in
Canada. When my dad caught wind of
what was going on, he filed a fiancée visa
application.
“I wasn’t considering marriage at that
stage of my life, but the thought of her
being gone made me realize I didn’t want to
live without her,
” he said.
While in Canada, my mom stayed with
several families, finally settling with a
Filipino family in Windsor. My parents say
it took two years for the visa to go through.
My dad traveled from East Lansing to visit
her on weekends, with the ongoing possibil-
ity of her deportation at any time.
“The incredible thing is, after all that, it
was the first night of Passover, and she came
over the water [the Ambassador Bridge] for
her Exodus. We find it hard to believe that
was just a coincidence,
” he added.
PASSOVER FREEDOM
My mom, Remy, now resides locally with
my dad, Ben Sweet, her husband of 35
years. Together, they raised four children.
As the season of Passover begins, there
are always bittersweet memories for my
mom.
“That night, Ben’s family welcomed me
in their home to celebrate Passover. After
everything that had happened … thinking
back on how I got there, it was a lot,
” she
said with tears in her eyes.
After receiving the fiancée visa, my par-
ents say they had to get married within
90 days. June 25, 1987, my parents had a
multicultural Jewish wedding filled with the
Filipino friends my mom made and family
and friends on my dad’s side, who happily
welcomed her into the family. The two
began their life together as an interracial
Jewish couple. While my mom knew about
Judaism, she was raised Catholic in the
Philippines. However, she decided to raise
their four children, including myself, in the
Jewish faith.
“I converted to Judaism when I felt ready,
and after taking classes for a year learning
more about the faith,
” she said.
My mom said raising a Jewish family
just felt right. As she continued to learn
more about Judaism, she felt even more
connected and wanted to go through the
mikvah conversion ritual along with my
The Sweet family gathering together for a selfie. Remy, Ben, Megan Allen, Leila Allen-Sweet,
Jeremy, Isaac; front row: Shirley, Amanda and Rachel.