New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 33

New World Outlook

SUMMER 2017

No Legal Remedies

Almost everyone, it seems, is afraid
of something, either for oneself or for
another loved one: the US Department
of Homeland Security Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
raids, repercussions for driving without a license (something that is out of
reach for undocumented immigrants
living in Florida), racial profiling, rough
treatment by ICE officers, calling the
police to report a crime or in situations of domestic violence (for fear of
deportation), deportation, facing the
nightmares fled in home countries.
As part of Friends of Miami-Dade
Detainees' volunteer program, I recently visited a couple of immigrants
who were being detained inside the
Krome Service Processing Center.
During that visit, I learned that we
were seeing the first Cubans being
detained as a result of President
Obama's decision in January 2017 to
end the "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy.
In February 2017, I read an article by the Associated Press that said
680 Cubans had already been returned home since the end of that
policy. Maybe "Wet Foot, Dry Foot"
was only put into place all those years
ago to make Cuba look bad. Maybe
it was unfair to allow Cubans to become Lawful Permanent Residents
(LPRs) after a year, while people from
many other immigrant groups struggle and, as a whole, often have no
legal remedies in the United States, at
least from what I've seen. But, both
as an American and as a Christian, I
find myself growing increasingly frustrated whenever we make it more difficult for immigrants to come to the
United States.

From a Place of Love

As an American, I remember that my
great-grandfather immigrated to the
United States illegally from Norway. I
remember that we live on land stolen

Emily Kvalheim meets with a Haitian client at the South Florida JFON office.
PHOTO: COURTESY SOUTH FLORIDA JFON

from many indigenous peoples. I remember that I did absolutely nothing to become an American. There is
no "American culture." There is no
national language. There is no government-sanctioned religious persecution. There is only the American
dream, community, and a hope for
a better tomorrow. And that, to me,
makes America great. Our diversity
makes America great. Immigrants
make America great. We will forever be stronger together, and keeping
people out or holding people back
will only lead to a less bright future
for us all. We must choose to lead
from a place of love together and not
from a place of fear alone.
As a Christian, I believe that the
Bible is pretty clear that we should
welcome the stranger and the refugee: "The foreigner residing among
you must be treated as your nativeborn. Love them as yourself, for you

were foreigners in Egypt. I am the
LORD your God." (Leviticus 19:34)
It has been such a blessing to
work with our clients as we navigate
the immigration system together.
They have taught me so much about
life and about resilience. I hope everyone who reads this has a similar
opportunity to learn from immigrants
in her community. And who knows?
Maybe if you take a risk and show
hospitality to a stranger, you may
even end up entertaining angels
without realizing it.

Emily Kvalheim (Advance #3022060)
served as a Global Mission Fellow US-2
from 2015 to July 2017 with the South
Florida Justice for Our Neighbors agency
in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Originally from Westerville, Ohio, she earned
a B. A. degree in Political Science and International Studies from American University in Washington, DC.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open