This blog was originally written for Red Letter Christians, under the title “How the Church Can Directly Support a Detained Sister in the South Texas ICE Detention Center” and is being cross-published here with permission.
This is the story of my friend, Linda. Linda has been detained and separated from her community and family in the South Texas ICE Detention Center in Pearsall, TX since June.
She missed her son going for his first ride on the big yellow bus, she missed my birthday (although that didn’t stop her from helping me plan it from inside detention), and she’s missed so many moments with friends and family that many take for granted.
It’s been nearly 90 days. 90 days seperated from her husband, two children, and the local community she dedicated countless hours to serving.
Linda did everything this country asks of those seeking asylum but put her trust in an attorney who radically mishandled her case. Now, another attorney is doing her best to pick up the pieces and find a way forward with severely restricted options.
As a sister, I’ve been doing what little I can to support and advocate for Linda: keeping our community updated, organizing support for her family, and raising funds for legal filings and applications—on top of what she must pay in detention just to have a video call with her kids or a really bad cup of coffee.
People keep telling me what a good friend I am. But I’m simply advocating for my friend with the love Jesus both commanded and modeled for us. What’s the alternative? Do nothing?
We are not called to lukewarm inaction. Whether it’s the paralysis of overwhelm by the system, or the inaction of apathy, both would fall under the “lukewarm” concept John writes about in Revelation 3.
Neither are an option when your loved one is in detention.
We are called to be healers; to be harbingers of justice and mercy and good news for the marginalized and foreigners among us; to be a strange people marked by the aroma of grace. Of course I’ll do what little I can to advocate on behalf of my sister. There’s no other option.
I want to do this for everyone; I know that there are so many across the hundreds of detention centers that don’t have anyone looking out for them on the outside, and that breaks my heart. But this is why I’m sharing Linda’s story, along with my story of how I’ve been advocating for her:
No one can do this work for everyone, but everyone can do this for someone.
We are part of a greater faith heritage that welcomes us into a family designed and called to do just this:
To do justice,
To love mercy, and
To walk humbly with our God.
Not in isolation, but as part of a global and diverse family bound up by faith.
Want to join me? Linda urgently needs help covering legal fees, detention expenses, and support for her family. For safety reasons, we are not sharing her GoFundMe publicly. To receive the link, contact me on Instagram at @k.nguyen.palomares or email katie@dwellcoworking.com. Or give through Venmo at @kPhoenix128 or Cash App at $kphoenix128. Please write “Linda” in the description.
We can’t do everything for everyone, but I’m praying you will do something—whatever you can—to help bring Linda home and reunite her with her children.
