Well, this day didn’t go as planned. I don’t think a trip to KC was on my BINGO card for the day.
Around 11:00 I was getting ready to go to Emporia to pick up a prescription. I got a call from the Captain at the Detention Center that he had an ICE Detainee that was being released and needed a ride to Emporia so he could rent a car. Perfect timing! I headed over to pick up the Detainee.
We went to Emporia to the Enterprise Rental and found out they didn’t have any cars available. We called two other places in Emporia and no one had a one-way rental car available.
We called Enterprise in Topeka and reserved a car and headed that way. We got there and then found out that he needed a hard copy of his driver’s license and he only had a paper copy. ICE had taken his license when he was picked up.
We then went to the Department of Homeland Security office which is out by the airport so he could get his driver’s license. I then took him to the airport rental place and he was finally able to secure a car so he could drive himself home.
He was born in Afghanistan and came to this country seeking political asylum some years ago. He was one appointment away from getting permanent status. They had given him work papers, a social security number and the ability to get a driver’s license. He was a truck driver in the US and had been in the Chicago area when he pulled into a mandatory weight station. ICE agents were there and he was pulled from his semi and put into handcuffs. He got sent to KC and then to the Detention Center in Chase County on December 15 last year.
He finally had his hearing this week and the judge granted him permanent legal status and was released from detention today, 75 days later.
Back home he was a teacher with a degree in political law. He is the oldest of eight children and he is the only one in the US. He sends most of his income home to help support his family. They didn’t know where we was for over four weeks. He found out on the trip to KC today that his uncle has passed away while he was in detention.
He was an amazing young man. He offered to pay for gas and to pay me for my time. I told him after what my country had done to him, he deserved some grace and mercy. He was very positive and grateful that he had gotten permanent status and didn’t seem angry that he had been held for so long.
I had to smile when he called the Caption the old man at the Center. There was a young man there that was helpful as well as some women. He was quite surprised there were women working in the Center with the men. We stopped to get gas and he got a cup of coffee which he really enjoyed.
He told me that other Detainees that have been held in the large warehouse type detention centers call the Chase County Detention Center a five star resort. He was grateful he was sent there as most of the people that were picked up the same time he was were sent to the big detention centers.
Transports don’t seem to go to plan. I am learning to expect the unexpected. The Captain was gracious and kept checking on me throughout the day to ensure I was safe. He apologized for it turning into a much bigger trip than just a drop off in Emporia.
I stopped at Walmart when I got back into Emporia so I could pick up a prescription but it was 5:15 and I couldn’t find the end of the line for the pharmacy. I will drive to town either Sunday or Monday and pick it up. I had run out of patience by that time and couldn’t make myself stand in line.
I didn’t get cookies baked for tomorrow or the house cleaned. Trusting my guests tomorrow will give me a pass. I will run to the Dollar General in the morning and pick up something to serve. Won’t be homemade but we will survive on store bought.
Today was supposed to have been a rest day but that didn’t happen. I am grateful I got the call today though as I could make the transport happen. I will rest another day.
All the way home I thought about my new friend. I keep asking myself what the hell are we doing to each other in this country? What are people so afraid of that when someone looks different than they do that fear becomes tangible and disappearing the person seems like the right thing to do? I am grateful I was able to offer a small bit of grace and mercy to him but how does he recover the 75 days of his life that were taken from him? How does his family recover from not having his financial support for 75 days? I am also grateful for the judge that did the right thing for this guy. I truly trust he doesn’t have to go through another round of this treatment in the future.
I will take some time and process all the emotions this transport brought up for me today and release them. I can’t change the system that is causing this to happen but I can step in when asked and offer some grace and mercy.
Grateful for the opportunity to be in service today, grateful for the concern and care of the Captain, and grateful this young man is finally on his way home.