What accompanying an immigrant to their ISAP office appointment in Grand Rapids looks like

Editor’s note: For transparency purposes I was representing the work of GR Rapid Response to ICE in my capacity of accompanying someone to their appointment.

Two weeks ago I shared a story about a young man I had done an accompaniment with to a court appointment. Today, I want to share a story about someone whom we did accompaniment with to the ISAP office here in Grand Rapids.

There were two of us from GR Rapid Response to ICE that agreed to meet someone who wanted us to accompany them top their ICE contract appointment at the ISAP office, located at 545 Michigan, near downtown Grand Rapids.

The young woman who requested accompaniment also came with another woman whom they had befriended. However, there must have been some miscommunication, since while we walked to the office we saw someone on the 3rd floor of the building looking out at us and waving. We motioned to them to wait for us to come in but by the time we got there they were already buzzed into the office.

I say buzzed into the office, since the private company that has a contract with ICE to manage these appointments now has the door locked and the only way to get in is to be buzzed in by the office manager. It wasn’t like this before at the ISAP, but ever since GR Rapid Response to ICE has been offering to accompany people to their appointments at the 545 Michigan office, the company that manages the ICE contract has significant changes to which people they allow in.

In June I wrote about the ISAP office, saying:

What is instructive about the ISAP office in Grand Rapids, is that it is run by BI Incorporated, which is a subsidiary of the GEO Group. The GEO Group is one of the largest private prison entities in the world, which also runs prisons that are specifically ICE Detention Centers.

In addition, BI Incorporated also sells location tracking devices, such as ankle bracelets or wrist bracelets that people have to wear, so that ICE or other cops can monitor their whereabouts.

Since GR Rapid Response to ICE has been providing accompaniment for people going to their appointments, BI Incorporated has added a buzzer for people to get in and they included signage, which is reflected in the image included above, making it clear that they don’t even want people in the building who are there to support people who have appointments. If anyone else comes into the building the ISAP office will call the GRPD and have people removed from the building.

The Honduran woman that we provided accompaniment today told us that they left Honduras because someone with the drug cartels was pressuring her husband into getting involved in drug trafficking. This is not something that he wanted to do, but he also knew that it was risky to say no to them, so they fled their country and eventually came to the US. Her husband had applied for asylum, which means he is here until the courts decide whether or not he is worthy of being granted asylum. Being granted asylum seems unlikely, since the US has had cozy relations with Honduras for years, since the Obama Administration supported the coup. The coup created tremendous instability and corruption in the country, which is why so many people are fleeing, with many coming to the US.

The Honduran woman that we accompanied to her appointment came out after just 15 minutes, but told us that the ISAP office staff was very rude to her and was asking questions about us, like “who are those people with you?” She chose not to share information with the ISAP staff person, but did say that they had taken our picture from the 3rd floor window.

This woman was very upset by the interaction and also shared with us that the ISAP office staff wanted to see her work papers, since the Honduran woman had recently found a job. She told them that she would bring it to the next meeting in February, but then shared that she was just going to make a copy of her work papers, since the ISAP office people took her passport, and only gave her a copy of it, which we believe to be illegal.

This was also the first time that the Honduran woman had interacted with GR Rapid Response to ICE and was glad to hear about the Mutual Aid work we do, along with offering sanctuary to people who no longer feel safe where they are living.

I spoke with her briefly, since I have spent some time in Honduras and knew the area she was from. My sharing that bit of information helped her to feel a bit at ease for the few minutes we were talking. She then shared how grateful she was for our presence and will call us before the next appointment. She then gave us both a hug and went on her way.

The other GR Rapid Response to ICE person I was with said this experience was a bot intense and that she couldn’t imagine how undocumented immigrants are feeling when coming to these appointments. Most people we have done accompaniment with have a feeling of dread and are treated with suspicion. So much for the sentiment etched onto the Statue of Liberty.

”Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

This is just part of the work that GR Rapid Response to ICE does. If you want to get involved you can contact them through their Facebook page or by sending an Email to info@grrapidresponsetoice.org.