This past year more than 60 of our immigrant neighbors were provided transportation by local volunteers to legally required immigration proceedings in Baltimore and Salisbury. The transportation is coordinated by a volunteer from the non-partisan Immigration Task Force, Mobilizing for the Humane Treatment of Immigrants, in close coordination with the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center. This is so much more than just a ride. It is a group of people volunteering their time, with no reimbursement for expenses, to support others with kindness and compassion.
Without fail on the 4th Friday of each month, a group of Task Force volunteers, trained through the DC Detention Visitation Network, have visited detained immigrants held at the Snow Hill Worcester Co Jail. These volunteers have met in the past year with more than 50 detainees and fulfilled requests such as reading materials and contact with clergy. Some have formed Pen Pal relationships. Visitation access to the detainees is regulated by agreements between the jail and DC Detention Visitation Network. These volunteers from our community are recognizing the humanity of individuals separated from their families and communities all of whom face an uncertain future.
15 community members signed up for a Community Spanish Program offered in partnership between the Task Force, Chesapeake College, Mid Shore ProBono, and the YMCA which provided the meeting space.
A Task Force volunteer provides interpretation services between Mid Shore ProBono attorneys and immigrants. Another volunteer has been reaching out to immigrant children through the arts, as part of an after school program sponsored by the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center. Another, expert in immigration law, filed objections to proposed regulations that would raise barriers to documented immigrants becoming citizens.
2 volunteers from the task force have reached out to the many other congregations throughout the county to expand the network of congregations associating with the task force. There are 6 local congregations that are already associated with the task force and include Temple B’nai Israel, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship At Easton, Third Haven Friends Meeting, Easton Church of the Brethren, Scott’s United Methodist Church and Grace Lutheran Church.
Who are these volunteers? Our neighbors who are part of a local, non-partisan volunteer immigration task force, Mobilizing for the Humane Treatment of Immigrants. Task force members share the belief that that on the moral grounds of justice, compassion, and human dignity you support humane treatment of immigrants.
Reach out to: Helpingimmigrantstc@gmail.com, to learn more. The next meeting of this group will be Tuesday, February 11 4-5:30 PM; at Temple B’Nai Israel, 7199 Tristan Drive, Easton, MD, 21601. A speaker from CASA in Action, a Latino and immigrant organization in the Mid-Atlantic region supporting immigrant families and ensuring that all individuals have the core supports,will present on immigration pertinent legislation.
