Welcoming the Stranger through Faith & Friendship
Metro attender, Edmund Wong, visits a friend in Hackensack weekly. It’s been a year since they first met.
They may talk about their families or his friend’s aspiration to own a business. The topic could be a book Edmund sent over via Barnes & Noble. Sometimes, the conversation may touch on food.
“That's one thing that he really misses -- a decent meal,” Edmund said.
Edmund’s friend is one among the 600 or so administrative detainees held at the Bergen County Jail and 2,200 in northern New Jersey. They face possible deportation for crossing the border illegally. (In the case of Edmund’s friend, it was for crossing into the United States as a two year old from Honduras.)
Their days are spent waiting for a court date that may determine if they can stay or be deported.
In New Jersey, the average case lasts 969 days from start to finish, said Victor Salama of First Friends of New Jersey and New York. First Friends advocates and provides resources for detained immigrants and asylum seekers.
Salama spoke about the topic at an interfaith gathering for Selichot, a communal prayer and service for forgiveness, at Congregation B’nai Israel in Emerson in September. Edmund attended the event and is one of several volunteers from Metro’s Justice, Advocacy and Compassion ministry working with First Friends. He was motivated to help after hearing a sermon at Metro on social justice in 2018 and attending a subsequent workshop on detained immigrants.
“[My wife and I] wanted to try and see if there is a way to get involved somehow to help immigrants,” Edmund said.
That led him to volunteer with First Friends. His first visit to see his friend was in December 2018. Since then, the experience has opened his eyes.
“You really start to see: Wow, this is a very dire and desperate situation that all of these immigrants are going through,” he said. “You really don’t understand until you go in and talk to them."
Lorelei Pratt, a Metro Partner, also attended the same workshop as Wong and visits a detained immigrant in an area county jail several times a month. She got involved to help the marginalized as Jesus would.
“It’s not that I'm doing that great of a thing,” she said. “I’m just being there. I feel like [Jesus is] there, too.”
Pratt encouraged others to do the same as her, noting that First Friends has many ways for them to get involved.
As for her experience, what stood out for Lori, as it did with others who visited the jails, were the conditions.
“You see it on TV. You see it on the shows. You think that’s the exception and not what really happened,” she said, “But reality’s even worse.”
Salama of First Friends said detainees are kept separate from the main jail population and have no chance to go outside. The only sunlight they receive is from small windows.
The worst part, he added, is the uncertainty they face.
“They have no idea when their court case is up,” Salama said at the Selichot service.
That weighs on Edmund’s friend.
“Just being in the prison, there’s not much to do,” he said. His friend is constantly thinking, ‘Am I going to be deported?’”
A newfound faith in God has helped Edmund’s friend through these times, he said. Their conversations and many talks have allowed Edmund to share about The Gospel.
“Every so often I go in and he has a big smile,” Edmund said. “He shares about how God just gave him peace.”
But he looks forward to the day when he can get a home cooked meal.
“He would appreciate any meal with fresh ingredients,” Edmund wrote.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
According to Salama of First Friends, here are some ways you can help people like Edmunds friend:
Learn about the topic
Volunteer to visit detainees in jail, pick them up when they are released or house them for a night upon release
There is an acute need for Spanish speakers
Advocate the plight of immigrants with local, state and federal politicians
Story written by James D. Yoo